Purist Gin is a Glaswegian gin start-up creating award-winning London Dry gins. During a national lockdown, Bruce Walker, aged just 21 at the time, went from making bathtub gins whilst at school to founding an award-winning gin brand.
From traveling in Asia discovering botanicals like Yuzu, to completing a Scottish distilling apprenticeship, Bruce's journey into the world of gin began long before he started Purist Gin.
What started out as a passion project in the West End of Glasgow would, after just six months, take Bronze at the prestigious Scottish Gin Awards for Best London Dry Gin.
Soon after came the launch of the Purist Gin Initiative; Bruce wanted Purist Gin to always be fresh and ever-changing, which is why in November 2020, their flagship gin became 'Purist Art Gin'.
For almost two years now, independent Scottish artists have been invited to design a one-off, unique label for the bottle. This offers a fantastic, fresh face for the gin as well as the opportunity to support some terrific artists. Same award-wining gin, all new aesthetic.
So far twelve different art bottles have been developed with seven different artists, ranging from illustrators, oil painters and graphic designers to photographers, digital artists and multimedia artists.
Amongst the most popular label designs are the enchanting florals of Francesca Moseley featured on the third batch of Purist Art Gin. - "Honing her craft whilst studying architecture at the University of Edinburgh, Franny's floral paintings were so unique we just immediately knew that we wanted to feature them on a label!"
Alongside their Art Initiative, Purist launced their second gin, the navy-strength, Purist Black 57. Big brother to their London Dry Gin at 42% ABV, this gin uses the same award-winning recipe but bottled at 57% ABV, navy-strength. After a tentative distillation of 72 bottles to see how it would be received, it sold out in a week.
Since then, Bruce developed two lighter, fruitier London Dry Gins whilst still being true to the Purist name. Purist Marble and Purist Zest are distilled using real fruit, dried cranberries and strawberries and plenty of additional lemon and lime peel resepectively. All of the citrus is peeled, dried and powdered in-house to ensure that all the essential, aromatic oils that give their gins their flavour makes it into the still.
In the last year Purist Gin have moved into their very first premises, raised thousands of pounds for the DEC Ukrainian Appeal, collaborated with a renowed Scottish artist and won multiple international spirit awards, including a silver at the IWSC 2022 with a score of 93/100, a bronze medal at the World Gin Awards 2022 and a silver medal at the China Wine and Spirits Competition.
Purist Art Gin - Details
A Classic London Dry
A quintessential London Dry expression. Rounded, punchy and smooth.
Distiller's Notes
"There's aromas of orange and cassia on the nose, then it develops further in the mouth to a more classic juniper and coriander flavour. Afterwards the yuzu bursts through, enveloping the palate. The whole experience is completely refreshing, our process achieves a smooth finish with a lighter-than-air mouthfeel."
Bruce Walker, Distiller and Founder.
The Process
Whilst the bottle art changes from batch to batch, the award-winning, single-shot London Dry Gin recipe never changes. Purist Gin uses a single-shot process, meaning that water is only added after distillation, making the gin ultra-smooth and extra-drinkable.
Gin Details:
Key Botanicals: Yuzu, Juniper, Coriander, Almond powder, Cassia and citrus peel.
ABV: 42%
Perfect Serve:
Serve with tonic and plenty of ice, and garnish with a slice of pink grapefruit.
Purist Gin Cocktail - PURIST GIN FIZZ
Ingredients:
- 25ml of Purist Art Gin
- 12.5ml of Elderflower cordial (or liqueur)
- Prosecco to finish
Method:
Shake together 12.5ml of Elderflower cordial and 25ml of Purist Art Gin with plenty of ice, before straining into a flute glass and topping up with a generous glug of Prosecco!
Our Purist Art Gin Gift Set contains one full size 70cl bottle of Purist Gin, two mixers and a bar of chocolate from Coco Chocolatier, another Scottish company which highlights Scottish artists on their brand design.
A British Company.