Strathearn Distillery and Scottish cidermaker, Thistly Cross, have created the world’s first Scottish cider brandy.
The spirit was released in small single cask batches of 200 bottles on the Summer Solstice. Ingredients in the spirit are sourced locally from the Scottish countryside and made into cider at Thistly Cross in East Lothian before being sent to Strathearn Distillery in the heart of Perthshire to be transformed into the final spirit.
Tony Reeman-Clark, founder of Strathearn Distillery, said, “Distilling cider was something I’d always been interested in, so I applied for a cider licence when I built the whisky distillery, just in case. The plan started to come together when I passed Thistly Cross on a train. I hadn’t realised that there was a cider maker in Scotland so, from that point, everything clicked into place. A few months later, Peter and I bumped into each other at an event in London and that’s when our cider brandy journey began!” Peter Stuart, Head Cider Maker at Thistly Cross Cider, said, “Cider brandy tends to be produced in parts of the world with strong cider making heritage, such as the Calvados region in Normandy. Traditionally, Scotland hasn’t been thought of as a big producer of cider, but we’ve changed that perception in recent years. This, along with Scotland’s world-renowned spirits industry, spurred us on to try something new. We are both proud to be contributing to Scotland’s distilling heritage.”
Scottish cider brandy from Thistly Cross

Category: Brands and Drinks