About us
a wee bit about us
When the world changed in 2020, we were given the nudge we needed to finally move our wee family from the East coast of Scotland to the West Coast of the Scottish Highlands, which has always had an inexplicable and mystical hold over us. We moved to the village of Strontian, on the Sunart Peninsula by Ardnamurchan, and four years later, we think we’re beginning to understand that hold a little better. What a place it is!
We are Graeme and Vicki; a husband and wife team. A couple of years ago, inspired by our new surroundings, and its stories, Graeme had the idea for a new Scottish Gin called “Sr38”. Sr38 is the symbol on the periodic table which represents Strontium. A new species of Earth was discovered in the mines above Strontian in the 18th Century and this was named Strontianite after the village. And from Strontianite they managed to isolate Strontium, a new chemical element. Graeme envisaged Sr38 in an apothecary-style bottle with a tea-stained label. The seed for our new business was planted!
As we started researching the Scottish gin industry, the recipe & development of locally foraged potential ingredients, as well as Strontian itself, two things became clear:
Strontian, its geology, its history, its ecology and its folklore cannot possibly be represented by only ONE drink or product. The idea to create FOUR signature gins; one to represent each of the natural elements seemed to become startlingly obvious.
And secondly, this idea was bigger than just us. The community within Strontian is extraordinary. Not only has our family been welcomed unreservedly to the area, this community’s achievements are astonishing. With that in mind, this new project should enhance sustainability of the region by supporting the local economy and the community.
why are we doing this?
Our passion and love for the West Coast of Scotland, the Sunart Peninsula and the village of Strontian inspired us to move our family here in 2020.
With its geology, its history, its ecology and folklore and more importantly the people and community here, this inspired us along with our love of the Scottish Gin industry to launch The Strontian Distillery.
We are so grateful and excited to be able to call Strontian our home; that our children will spend their entire childhoods growing up here. We have been inspired to create a product that reflects and celebrates the natural wonders, the history and the people of Strontian.
Graeme Aitken (A kitchen designer)
Vicki Balnaves Aitken (An actress)
our Strontian gin stockists
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