Sky Garden Galloway Gin

Sky Garden is the first spirit to be launched by an exciting new Scottish producer called Dark Art Distillery. This luxurious gin was inspired by the crystal-clear and star-speckled night skies above the Galloway Forest Park just down the road. 

Crafted in a London Dry style, the super-smooth Sky Garden Galloway Gin uses 18 different botanicals, including juniper, orange peel, grapefruit peel and coriander, as well as locally sourced calamint, gorse and lavender. The result is a dazzling piece of distilling that twinkles with notes of tangy citrus, icy menthol, blossoming florals and warming spices. Only launched in the summer of 2021, this sensational creation is destined for stardom.

Based in Kirkcudbright, Dark Ark Distillery is the most southerly distillery in Scotland. Its location is actually further south than Newcastle. The name takes influence from the nearby Galloway Forest Park. Thought to be the largest forest in the UK, it was granted ‘Dark Sky Park’ status, because the light pollution is so low. It was the first ‘DSP’ to be designated in western Europe, and apparently on a good night you can see something like 7,000 stars. So, that’s where the ‘Dark’ bit comes from. The ‘Art’ part is a reference to Kirkcudbright being known as ‘The Artists’ Town’. It has long been a centre for visual artists of all kinds. Presumably, many of those artists went to the old primary school that the distillery was built in. Although the derelict school was completely refurbished to make space for Peggy the customer-built 450-litre still, many of the old blackboards and other features were retained. So, consider this an education in gin format.