Rafters Gin

  The Rafters Gin Story

Rafters Gin is named after a fire that spread through the gin’s home – Peebles Hydro in 1905. The fire started in the kitchen before roaring through the wooden rafters of the hotel, eventually burning the whole building down, as the fire engines couldn’t compete with the fire.

The team at 1881 Distillery wanted a gin to remember this key fact in their history and decided that a smokey gin named “Rafters” was the best way to remember it. During the blending down process, Rafters Gin is gradually infused with natural oak-smoked water to produce the wonderfully unique gin.

1881 is a young distillery, but with a very unique and historic past, going back to 1881, when their private, mineral-rich water supply named Shield Green was connected to the Peebles Hydro hotel. City dwellers used to come from the large industrial cities for two weeks at a time to be ‘rejuvenated’ by the Peebles Hydropathic water supply, experimenting with different water treatments. Now, the hotel is home to a distillery and gin school that produces an excellent range of Scottish Gins, created using that same private water supply: Hydro Gin, Rafters Gin, Pavilion Gin & Honours Gin as well as yearly special releases. All with a special history behind them, and an even better taste!

Peebles Hydro also hosts the UK’s largest residential gin school with 26 mini stills, letting you take a peek behind the scenes at 1881 Distillery as well as making your very own bespoke gin to take home with you.