First Impressions
Crofter's Tears comes from Ice & Fire Distillery in Caithness — Scotland's most northern mainland county. The hero botanical is purple heather tips, picked from the distillery's doorstep during their brief July-August bloom. The name evokes the hardship and beauty of Highland crofting life, and the gin captures that duality: robust and delicate, peppery and floral.
Tasting
Nine botanicals including purple heather, cubeb pepper, and cassia. The nose is full-bodied with fruity berries and juniper. On the palate at 40%, peppery and floral: light on the tip of the tongue, then filling with cubeb heat, heather florals balancing, dying to lemony sweetness. The finish is slightly sharp, smoothed by sherbet lemon.
The Bottom Line
Crofter's Tears earns a 7 — the purple heather from the distillery doorstep creates genuine terroir. The July-August harvest window means this botanical is as seasonal as any in gin. Best with Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic and a bramble garnish. At £47, premium Highland gin from Scotland's far north.
