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Kombu is a leafy kelp with a fullbodied flavour described by Japanese cooks as umami – a pleasant savouriness quite distinct from the four standard taste sensations. Dulse is a purple-red seaweed with an exceptional, slightly spicy flavour. It is also, ironically, a popular hangover cure in Ireland. Our heritage revolves around the sea - fishing for lobsters, crabs and crayfish and racing traditional pilot gigs. Flower farming also thrives here; Scilly's scented narcissi are renowned the world over. If hell is other people, heaven is the Isles of Scilly. Here, 28 miles to the west of Cornwall’s Land’s End, is an archipelago that will make your heart leap. It’s like Cornwall before the boom in second-home owners, where islanders welcome you like long-lost friends, where the ice-cream-white beaches are deserted and the air smells like sun-drenched salt and sweet narcissi. For every dazzling wild marigold, there’s an honesty box, teeming with home-grown vegetables, just-laid eggs and crumbly fudge, spread out like a village fete’s prize-winning produce. Head to the secluded Great Par beach to find the gallery of local artist Richard Pearce, inside a renovated gig shed, where he paints magical Scilly seascapes all day, every day. Stop in the shallows for a spot of shrimping or starfish spotting. If you’re up for a proper Famous Five adventure, hire a kayak from the Bennett Boatyard and make your way across the water to the twin-peak uninhabited island of Samson. The last families, by then subsisting on a diet of little more than limpets and potatoes, moved away in 1855, and now all that’s left is the crumbling remains of their tiny stone cottages, the roofs and most of the walls long collapsed. The views from Samson, out across the archipelago, are astonishing.
Of course, the more traditional gin botanicals have been used in herbal medicine for centuries. Juniper, lemon and orange naturally stimulate and enhance the mood; coriander, cardamom and cinnamon sooth and calm the mind. Although Tresco is owned by the Duchy, the Dorrien-Smith family have taken it over on a very long lease. The family still live in the grand house, the Abbey, beside the ruins of the original 12th-century monastery and the famous gardens, where the family’s flag flies when they’re in residence. Step onto an enchanting archipelago that is like nowhere else in England. Get active or get away from it all as you experience the simple pleasures of island life.
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You will have a guided tour of our distillery and see our beautiful stills, Bishop, Sir Cloudesley Shovell and Daisy, whilst learning about distillation and the history of gin. The sea air, clean seas and mild weather also provide the additional secret ingredients to local fare - including lobster, tender island-reared beef, freshest vegetables and melt-in-the mouth ice-creams. Enjoy our cafes and restaurants; explore our local stores and farm stalls. Above all, Scilly gives you the space and freedom to do everything – or next to nothing – in a breathtaking location that enjoys the mildest climate in the UK. On the most south-westerly edge of the Isles of Scilly, St. Agnes is totally unspoilt and astonishingly peaceful. It measures just a mile or so across, and its closest neighbour is Gugh, to which it is joined by a sand bar at low tide.
The imbiber will not only benefit from a deliciously different gin but seaweed is, of course, one of the most powerful superfoods on the planet with the highest number of vitamins and minerals of any food group. So what are these superfoods that have extracted so much goodness from the ocean, ready to impart it so delicately into this superb spirit? With Hils’ family having been on St Mary’s for over 70 years and so many fun-filled childhood memories, Scilly was always destined to be “home”, and so it is that we both (married at Old Town church) established our little Scilly Spirit Distillery, in Old Town, on St Mary’s. Here's a taster of their life here.
A guide to the Scilly Isles best islands
The gin is distilled using a closed cooling system – the botanicals, once spent, are composted and the result is sold with donations going to Cornwall Air Ambulance and the RNLI.
Are there any new items or additions Scilly Spirit Distillery are going to launch, that we can buy in the coming months?Then it’s over to the Gin School where you will take charge of your own mini still. Our library of over 60 botanicals will be available for you to create a ‘recipe’ for your own gin. We will guide you through the flavour profiles to craft a delicious spirit!
Coming from such a pedigree, what could possibly make Tarquin's Hell Bay Gin any better? The answer: one of the world’s most unassuming and underrated superfoods: seaweed. Yes, it is this most humble of seashore botanicals – specifically locally foraged dulse and kombu – that lends our gin something truly unique. Just across the way is 49 Degrees whose IOS brand has become synonymous with Scilly. You’ll see that famous crossed oars logo on colourful hoodies and T-shirts everywhere on the islands. The name comes from 49.55N 6.19W – the map reference for St. Mary’s Quay.
Facilities
Beyond food and art, St. Mary’s, and Hugh Town in particular, offers the most options when it comes to retail therapy, with a range of clothing shops, gift shops, newsagent and the like. Hugh Town retains its traditional high street feel with a post office, newsagent, butcher, hardware store and a deli, as well as souvenir shops, clothing stores and Co-Op. Amongst all that is Steamship House, offices for Isles of Scilly Travel where you should go if you have any queries regarding your travel plans. On Scilly, you can’t get more local produce than that which is produced on one of our five tiny inhabited islands! My father always said that the good thing about sailing is when it stops – perhaps what he really meant was the relief at arriving to a cosy pub … The experience starts at our Scilly Spirit Distillery in Old Town where we serve you our Island Gin and tonic.
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