We're Nat and Gez, and we're delighted to share our story with you.
We relocated to the Isle of Lewis six years ago after visiting the island for a holiday. We felt a strong draw back to the island and found ourselves picking up the keys for our new island home by the sea within the year in the depths of a Hebridean winter.
We both fell in love with the outdoor lifestyle that living on the island provides - we're in sea at every opportunity, either paddleboarding or sea-swimming. We also love hiking in the hills, and taking our crazy spaniel Coco for long walks along our beaches.
Since arriving we knew we wanted to create a product that showcases how amazing the Isle of Lewis is and we are passionate about creating local year-round jobs on the island. We landed on Gin as the way to do this, and set about designing a recipe that captured the spirit of the stunning landscapes that surround us featuring wild island botanicals that we forage by hand.
MAKING LANDFALL
Our Journey started small - with just a 5 litre mini copper still, we could explore flavours and work on recipe development. We couldn’t afford our own production still from the very beginning, so we partnered with a small craft distillery in the Scottish Highlands, and Gez travels to Aboyne to distil our gin on their still alongside their team.
Back in Stornoway, we started off with a small temporary unit where we finished, bottled, and labeled our gin by hand. In spring 2025 we're moving this process to our new site on Cromwell Street where you'll also find our visitor centre and cafe. Shortly after that we'll begin working towards commissioning and installing our own production still and bring all spirit production, including distillation, to Stornoway.
SUSTAINABILITY
We are passionate about sustainability and the environment. Living on a small island really puts you in tune with nature, be that respecting the power it can wield watching a big storm pass over or slowing down and taking the time to see and hear the seasons change around you.
Our vision for Stornoway Distillers Co. is a business that matches our personal ethos, and puts looking after its team, its community and the planet on an equal standpoint with making a profit.
Our bottle is made out of 70% recycled glass, and is 20% lighter than a standard gin bottle; we use packing options that minimise waste and are entirely plastic-free, we pay at least the real living wage, and we’re aiming to generate long term, sustainable employment in Stornoway.