The Global Meaningful Travel Map
Dunnet Bay Distillery
OUR EXPERIENCES
Dunnet Bay Distillery is a small, family-run business producing the multi-award-winning Rock Rose Gin, Holy Grass Vodka, and Mapmakers Rum. We have a lovely gift shop stocked with our exceptional spirits and many locally produced goods. The Distillery offers a range of different distillery tours and visitor experiences. Dunnet Bay Distillery is a VisitScotland 5-Star Visitor Attraction and is fully accessible.
ABOUT US
Dunnet Bay Distillers Ltd, established and managed by Claire and Martin Murray, is a family-owned business in Caithness. Their goal was to create local jobs, and now they employ sixteen people, making them one of the largest independent local employers in the North Highlands. Their products, including the award-winning Rock Rose Gin, Holy Grass Vodka, and Mapmaker’s Rum, are distributed worldwide. Their Visitor Centre, opened in 2018, attracts around 20,000 visitors annually and holds a VisitScotland 5-star rating. Their ethos emphasizes authenticity, flavor, heritage, innovation, sustainability, and tradition, reflecting the cultural and natural heritage of Caithness.
OUR IMPACT
Dunnet Bay Distillers Ltd, a Gold Green Tourism Award holder, adheres to strict environmental principles, detailed on our website. We partner with the Caithness Access Panel to ensure our visitor experiences, website, buildings, and marketing materials are accessible to the widest possible audience. Our Accessibility Guide, cited as a best practice example by VisitScotland and the Caithness Access Panel, is available online. All staff receive regular disability equality and customer care training. We collaborate with local schools and Thurso College through the ‘Developing the Young Workforce North Highland’ initiative, offering career talks and work experience placements. Additionally, we recruit young people through the ScotGrad Scheme and engage in research and development projects with universities via the Interface Scheme. Our botanicals are often hand-foraged from the Pentland Firth cliffs, Dunnet Forest, or our herb garden. We support and volunteer with the Caithness Biodiversity Group's Juniper Restoration and Small Blue Butterfly Projects. Our monthly column, ‘Beautiful Botanicals,’ in the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier, explores the history and use of gin botanicals. In November 2020, we purchased Castletown Mill, a Grade B listed building, to transform it into a craft whisky distillery and historic environment visitor attraction. This project aims to conserve the building, which was in severe disrepair, and open it to the public in Summer 2025 as the home of Dunnet Bay Distillers Stannergill Whisky. We have produced limited edition gins, with profits donated to the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals and the Caithness Broch Project. We also financially support the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Taste North, and provide raffle prizes for various good causes. For more information, visit our websites Dunnet Bay Distillers and Stannergill Whisky.
DETAILS
To learn more, contact: info@rockrosegin.co.uk
What are your minimum and maximum group sizes?
12-20
Do you require visitors to pre-book?
Yes
Do you have group rates?
No
Do you pay commissions to travel advisors?
No
What languages do you offer your services in?
English
When are you open?
Monday - Saturday 10am until 5pm (April to September), Monday - Saturday 10am until 4pm (October to March), Closed for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year holiday period
What accommodations do you make for people living with disabilities?
Dunnet Bay Distillers partners with the Caithness Access Panel to ensure that our visitor experiences, website, buildings, and marketing materials are physically and intellectually accessible to the widest possible audience. Our Accessibility Guide, available on our website, has been cited as a best practice example by both VisitScotland and the Caithness Access Panel. Additionally, all our staff receive regular disability equality and customer care training.