Why is Isle of Harris Gin not in the Flavour Compass?
On the Isle of Harris brand page, alongside the whisky, there is also a gin: award-winning, with a striking botanical from the sea. Yet you won't find it in the M4W Taste Compass. Not a mistake, but a deliberate choice — and a beautiful story in itself.
In short
| Isle of Harris Gin | Botanicals with sugar kelp, locally harvested at Harris |
| Role in the brand | Funded the waiting time until the first whisky was ready |
| Taste Compass | For whisky only — gin is excluded |
| On the page | It can be found as a product, with a clear statement that it is not whisky. |
Why the Taste Compass only shows whisky
The M4W Taste Compass is built to compare whiskies with one another: based on smokiness, sweetness, spiciness, and fruitiness — flavour axes tuned to malt, cask, and maturation. A gin is made very differently, using botanicals instead of years of cask aging, and therefore does not fit on the same scale. That is why Isle of Harris Gin is not included in the Taste Compass: it simply does not belong among the whiskies by taste.
A place on the page after all — and for good reason.
That does not mean the gin is being hidden away. It simply appears among the featured products on the Isle of Harris page, because it is inextricably linked to the brand story: without this gin, there might never have been a whisky. While The Hearach had to mature for years, the gin was the source of income that kept the distillery afloat.
Sugar kelp: a botanical from our own coastal waters
What makes the gin special is sugar kelp — a type of sugar kelp that is harvested locally off the coast of Harris and used alongside the classic juniper berry. It gives the gin a subtle, maritime freshness found in few other gins, and earned Isle of Harris Gin a Gold Award at the World Gin Awards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Isle of Harris Gin not listed in the Taste Compass?
The Taste Compass was specifically built to compare whiskies based on taste. Gin is produced differently and does not fit on that same scale, so it has been deliberately kept out.
Can I still just buy the Isle of Harris Gin at Mood4Whisky then?
Certainly — the gin is simply listed as a product on the Isle of Harris page, just not among the taste comparisons of the Smaakkompas.
What is sugar kelp?
Sugar kelp is a type of sugar kelp that grows off the coast of Harris. Isle of Harris Distillery harvests it locally and uses it as a signature botanical alongside juniper.
Why did the distillery release gin first instead of whisky?
Whisky takes years to mature. Gin provided income during the period when not a single drop of whisky was allowed to be sold.
