Based on a small farm by Alyth in Perthshire, Highland Boundary is a new distillery which is making a range of spirits using botanicals gathered from the local countryside.

Their first release is Birch and Elderflower Wild Scottish Spirit. This is a clear, 40% ABV spirit inspired by Scandinavian distilling customs.

Marian Bruce and Simon Montador, the couple behind Highland Boundary, recommend it as a shot over ice or served with soda and a slice of apple. It also makes a very clean and refreshing Macito, the couple's Caledonian take on a Mojito.

'Scotland has a long distilling heritage but we wanted to make something that wasn't whisky or gin,' explains Marian. 'We felt that we were not making the best use of the flavours available in our own eco-system. We wanted to create spirits using the resources that are on our doorstep, as they do in eastern Europe and Scandinavia.'

The company name comes from the Highland Boundary Fault, the geological feature on which the farm lies. 'One foot in the Highlands and one in the Lowlands of Scotland' is how Marian describes it. 'To the North of us lie the Angus glens and the mountains of the Cairngorms and looking South our distillery has stunning views of the fertile Strathmore valley. '

The Birch and Elderflower Wild Scottish Spirit uses birch buds and elderflowers picked from spring woodlands near the on-farm distillery.

According to Simon, the birch buds add wintergreen flavours while the elderflower adds floral and sweet notes. Wintergreen is a minty flavour but, in this spirit, the birch also gives a deep, warming flavour which reminds Simon of woodlands.

'We hand-pick all of our botanicals from Scottish woodlands either on our own farm or nearby,' says Marian. 'We are careful to only harvest a small amount of the foliage, flowers or berries from any single plant, taking in one season only what would be browsed naturally. This means plants stay healthy and we leave plenty for the wild animals, birds and insects that also rely on mother nature.'

Flavours of the Scottish wilderness

As well as infusing the botanicals before distillation, they are rectified in a copper pot still and then there is a period of post-distillation infusion. The new spirit is diluted to 40% ABV by mixing with mineral-rich spring water from Alyth Hill. The spring has been naturally filtered through the 450 million-year-old Devonian sandstone bedrock of Strathmore.

The Birch and Elderflower Wild Scottish Spirit has been developed in conjunction with Dr Annie Hill and her team at Heriot Watt University International Centre for Brewing and Distilling. More varied products are in the pipeline.

Marian says, 'Our aim is to bring you the flavours of the Scottish wilderness. After a few years in development we’re excited to now launch Highland Boundary and the first of our new Wild Scottish Spirits.'

The Birch and Elderflower Wild Scottish Spirit retails at £29.99 for 50cl. Email shop@highlandboundary.com to buy.