The Blackford portfolio includes three products; Vesperis Pictish Gin; double award-winning Vesperis Pictish Vodka; and Gold medal winning Vesperis Heather Honey Vodka, which is a Scottish first.

 

The Vesperis Pictish Spirits range share 3 locally sourced botanicals, all of which have a connection to the Scottish landscape: seasonal apples, drawing on Scotland’s rich heritage in growing apple trees; heather blossom, handpicked from Bennachie; and heather honey, which the Picts used to brew heather honey mead at an ancient hillfort on the slopes of Bennachie, the highest point in Aberdeenshire. Honey has history here which predates even the Scots arrival, dating back to Pictish times. That ancient inspiration used in a modern context was important for the Simes when looking for unique botanicals and is sourced from their local bee keeper

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As craft distillers, the family is involved in every aspect of the distillation process from selecting ingredients to hand labelling and waxing every bottle. Each bottle has a vintage, a batch number, is uniquely numbered and signed, so no two bottles will ever be the same.