Historie

From a pipe dream about a kitchen table to a global brand. Summerhall Distillery was built in the heart of Edinburgh and was the first gin distillery in Edinburgh in over 150 years when it opened as one of the city’s first hand-built gin distilleries. Pickering's Gin was born in 2013, and when the distillery opened, it was consumed and celebrated in 2014 – including 350 bottles of gin for the launch and a party themed around Creek activities surrounding Pickering's Gin Launch. In July 2014 Navy Strength Gin was launched and became The Official Gin of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Baubles sales skyrocketed in 2016, with 30,000 units launched online and sold out in a record time (82 seconds). As part of Tattoo partnerships and further expansions, we also launched Pickering's Gin with Scottish Botanicals in 2017 and expanded our e-commerce during the pandemic, where we focused on e-commerce for extended periods and even produced hand sanitizer during lockdown. We launched our first whisky, The Broody Hen, and describe it as an initial, hitherto hidden spirit that was developed into a blended Scotch Whisky. In 2022 we began expanding into Europe, and in 2024 we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Pickering's Gin, while our whisky range was documented and released. We also muster a strong team and partnerships, including Cunard and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and document the history through our products and experiences.

Produktion / Fremstilling

Destilleriet og processen

Our distillery starts in our botanical room, where our distillation testing and development take place. We use copper pot stills to ensure flavor and purity through a slow, controlled distillation, which is characteristic of our gin and whisky production. After distillation, our spirit is diluted with triple-filtered Scottish water to achieve the right precision in strength and flavor profile.

Genstande og håndværk

We have a unique bottling station, which is a technical feat poured with craftsmanship; Matt has designed and assembled a large part of the equipment, including the manual capper, and we work closely with neighbors to manufacture parts of the process. Our distillery is located in the historic Summerhall area, and we maintain a constant connection to the Royal Dick Pub, which is nearby.

Besøg og oplevelser i selve produktionen

Due to the historic building and the necessary safety, tours are often part of the production, and some experiences include glimpses of the production and our staff in action during certain periods. We also support on-tap gin experiences via the Royal Dick connection.

Arbejdsstyrke og iscensættelse

We produce handcrafted beverages in small batches and are proud to be an independent, small producer in the heart of Edinburgh. Our approach reflects the artisanal and locally rooted ethos—from numbers to bare hands, testing and fine-tuning botanical components for the perfect balance.