Scotland’s flourishing gin industry is maturing and part of it may have already reached its peak, one of the duo behind an award-winning young north-east firm said yesterday.
Peter Sim and his older brother, Callum, launched their Raven Spirits business – producing their Norse mythology-inspired Hrafn gin – last May.
Their first two premium gins were their “signature” Thought and Memory and a limited release Founder’s Edition, followed by a winter edition.
Thought and Memory has won international honours, most recently with a gold medal success in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The Sims brothers, who hail from Caithness but moved to Inverurie when they were very young, are about to launch a new gin, Valhalla, and summer edition.
Their gins are produced and bottled at Deeside Distillery, in Banchory.
Raven has sold “several thousand” bottles in its first year, Peter Sim said yesterday, adding: “Until now, it has been about getting ourselves launched and well known. The second year will be about growth.”
The gins are currently available only in the north-east and online, but the firm is about to go UK-wide with a distribution partner. “We’ve also got our eyes on exports,” Mr Sim said.
Raven is focused on the premium end of a gin market which has enjoyed spectacular growth in recent years.
“The market is probably reaching its peak at entry level,” Mr Sim said, adding: “It is maturing and those who came into it for money rather than a love of gin may be in for a shock.”