Tayport
Fife, Scotland
Most distilleries talk about local ingredients. Tayport took one look at surplus Scottish fruit and decided to build much of the business around it.
Based on the edge of the River Tay in Fife, the family-run distillery focuses on spirits and liqueurs made using locally sourced fruit and grains. The inspiration reportedly came from seeing French producers transform excess seasonal fruit into eau de vie rather than letting it go to waste, which feels like a fairly sensible response to good produce.
The range covers gin, vodka and a growing collection of fruit liqueurs. Raspberry, blackcurrant and coffee all feature prominently, alongside spirits made from Scottish malt barley and botanicals gathered from the surrounding area. Scots pine and wild rose appear in some of the gins, giving the range a distinctly local character.
What makes Tayport interesting is that the products feel genuinely connected to agriculture rather than simply using Scottish branding as decoration. Fruit and grain remain central to the flavour rather than disappearing behind endless marketing language.
Scotland may be famous for whisky, but smaller producers like Tayport show there is plenty of room for different styles of distilling as well. Particularly when there is good fruit involved.
