City of Aberdeen Distillery: Gin School Experience

The most memorable part of this Aberdeen experience is that you do not just taste gin, you make a full 70cl bottle of it. With Dan and Alan guiding you, you choose botanicals, test flavours, and leave with a recipe that reflects your own taste.

I like the generous drinks service, beginning with a double G&T and continuing with gin samples, mixers, Prosecco, and a berry cocktail. I also like the setting under the railway arches, where the rumble of trains adds a very Aberdeen touch to the session.

The main consideration is the price: at $190 per person, this is a serious splurge for two hours. It makes the most sense if you value the hands-on lesson, the drinks, and the bottle to take home, rather than simply wanting a quick tasting.

Key points at a glance

• Make a full 70cl bottle: You create your own recipe and take the finished Scottish gin home.
• Choose from more than 100 botanicals: Macedonian juniper forms the base, with fresh citrus, fruit, and spices available to shape the flavour.
• Learn with Dan and Alan: Both guides help you understand gin styles, balance ingredients, and avoid a disappointing final recipe.
• Taste before you decide: Samples of London Dry and fruit gins help you work out what you actually enjoy.
• A lively railway-arch setting: You drink local gin while trains pass overhead, an unusual backdrop for a distilling lesson.
• Good access planning: The distillery is on one level, has a wheelchair WC, and provides seats throughout the session.

Making your own gin beneath Aberdeen’s railway arches

At City of Aberdeen Distillery, the central idea is refreshingly simple: you are not watching someone else make gin. You are the person deciding what goes into the bottle.

The distillery sits in railway Arch #10, so finding the entrance matters. Enter the railway arch and look for the arch number above the doorway. Once inside, you can expect an informal, social setting rather than a polished museum tour. Trains rumbling overhead are part of the atmosphere, and they give the tasting a strong sense of place.

The session lasts two hours. That is long enough to learn the basics, taste several styles, choose your ingredients, distil your batch, and label the result without turning the afternoon into a full technical course. You should still arrive ready to concentrate. Gin making involves plenty of smelling, tasting, comparing, and making small decisions.

Dan and Alan lead the experience. They begin by getting a sense of what you already like in gin and other spirits, then use that information to steer your choices. You do not need to arrive as a gin enthusiast. The guidance is designed to help you understand the flavours as you go.

A double G&T sets the tone

Your welcome drink is a double gin and tonic. It is a generous opening pour, so keep that in mind if you are driving or planning another alcohol-based activity afterward.

The drinks continue during the session. You sample gins from the Aberdeen range, taste different styles neat, and try mixers chosen to suit them. Prosecco and a berry cocktail are also included, along with water and soft drinks for anyone who wants a break from alcohol.

This is important when judging the price. You are paying for more than a short demonstration and a single tasting glass. The drinks help turn the lesson into a social occasion, especially if you are visiting with a partner or marking a birthday. Still, the amount of alcohol can add up quickly, so pace yourself and use the non-alcoholic options when needed.

The tasting has a practical purpose. Gin can seem like a single category until you compare a dry, juniper-led style with a fruit gin. Tasting the range helps you notice citrus, spice, sweetness, and the heavier pine notes of juniper before you design your own recipe.

Learning the role of juniper and botanicals

Every gin recipe begins with juniper. Here, Macedonian juniper provides the traditional foundation, with its strong pine-like character and dry, aromatic edge.

From there, you can choose from more than 100 botanicals. The selection includes fresh citrus, fruit, and Asian spices, giving you a wide set of directions to explore. You might prefer a clean citrus profile, a warmer spiced character, or a fruit-led recipe. The important point is that you are not simply adding random flavours. Dan and Alan help you think about how the ingredients will work together.

This is where the experience offers real value for a first-time maker. A long list of botanicals can be exciting, but it can also lead to poor choices if you do not understand balance. Too many strong ingredients can bury the juniper. Too much citrus or fruit can push the result away from a traditional gin. The guides help you make decisions with a better chance of producing something you will actually want to drink.

You also learn enough about the process to try making gin at home. This is not presented as a full professional distilling qualification, but it gives you a working sense of the ingredients, flavour structure, and choices involved.

Building a recipe that suits your taste

The recipe-building stage is the heart of the activity. After tasting and discussing flavours, you decide which botanicals should go into your own batch.

I would approach this part with a clear idea of your preferred drinks, but do not lock yourself into a plan before tasting. You may think you want a heavily spiced gin, then discover that a bright citrus blend suits you better. The chance to sample different gins before choosing is one of the strongest features of the session.

Dan and Alan remain involved as you make these decisions. Their help matters most if you have little experience with gin. They can explain what a botanical is likely to add and point out combinations that should work well. You still have creative control, but you are not left alone with a table of unfamiliar ingredients.

This balance makes the activity work for couples and mixed groups. A gin expert can experiment with a more unusual recipe, while a beginner can follow a clear path toward a drinkable bottle. You can also compare choices with the people around you, which adds a fun competitive edge without turning the session into a formal contest.

The distilling stage and your 70cl bottle

Once your recipe is chosen, the ingredients are combined with premium organic alcohol and taken through the distilling process. The result is your own 70cl bottle of Scottish gin to take home.

The bottle is the practical reward, but it also gives the session a sense of purpose. You are not merely collecting tasting notes. You are working toward a finished product that you can serve later, share with friends, or keep as a reminder of Aberdeen.

You also name your gin. This small final step is more enjoyable than it might sound. A name gives the bottle a personal identity and turns it into a proper souvenir rather than just another shop purchase. You might choose a reference to Aberdeen, the railway arches, your chosen botanicals, or the person you are visiting with.

The precise technical detail of the distillation is not set out as a full industrial tour, so you should book this for the creative, guided experience rather than for a specialist engineering lesson. The emphasis is on flavour, participation, and making a successful bottle.

Aberdeen’s gin story and local character

The session includes the story of distilling in Aberdeen. You hear about the city’s long-lost distilleries and the earlier history of gin, while also seeing the modern operation where Aberdeen Gin is made today.

That local angle gives the experience more weight than a generic cocktail class. You are connecting the drink to the city, its old distilling trade, and its current small-batch producer. The railway setting reinforces that connection. The noise overhead is not carefully hidden or softened. It is part of the working urban character of the venue.

If you are interested in Aberdeen beyond its main sights, this is a useful way to spend an afternoon. It shows you a local business and gives you a product made in the city, not just a souvenir imported from somewhere else.

The history is presented as part of a practical lesson, not as a long academic talk. That suits visitors who want context without sitting through a formal lecture.

How the tasting compares with a normal gin tour

Many distillery visits focus on watching professionals work, then tasting the finished products. This experience changes the order. You taste first, use what you learn to design a recipe, and then take part in producing your own bottle.

That makes it more active and personal than a standard tasting. You have more decisions to make, and the final result depends on your choices. The tradeoff is that you will not spend two hours simply relaxing with a drink in hand. There are instructions to follow and flavours to consider.

The samples include both London Dry and fruit gins. That distinction is useful for beginners because it shows how broad the category can be. London Dry styles tend to highlight juniper and dry botanical notes, while fruit gins offer a softer, more fruit-focused direction. The session lets you decide where your own bottle should sit.

You should also avoid wearing strong perfume or aftershave. Smell is central to tasting gin, and a heavy fragrance will make it harder for you and everyone else to judge the botanicals.

Is $190 per person good value?

At $190 per person, this is not a budget activity. You should compare it with the cost of a normal distillery tasting, the value of the 70cl bottle, and the amount of alcohol included.

The price covers a double G&T on arrival, gin samples, alcoholic drinks during the session, a final cocktail, the making and bottling of your own gin, and small souvenirs such as drink mats, a distillery pen, and a postcard. You also receive complimentary Wi-Fi and can choose water or soft drinks.

The bottle is the key value point. If you would buy a quality Scottish gin anyway, having the chance to create your own recipe adds a personal element that a shop purchase cannot provide. The experience is especially suitable as a birthday gift or a special afternoon for a couple.

On the other hand, do not choose this solely because you want to leave with alcohol. If you are mainly interested in buying Aberdeen Gin, you may prefer to visit the selection after the class and spend less on a hands-on session. The experience earns its price through participation and guidance.

Who will enjoy this most?

I would recommend the Gin School to adults who enjoy tasting, making things, and learning through conversation. It works especially well for couples, birthday gifts, and small groups looking for something different from a standard sightseeing stop.

You do not need prior gin knowledge. The guidance from Dan and Alan is suited to beginners, and the tasting stage helps you find your preferences. If you already know a lot about gin, you may enjoy the freedom to build a more unusual recipe and compare your choices with someone else’s.

The activity is less suited to anyone who dislikes alcohol, strong botanical aromas, or social tasting sessions. Non-alcoholic drinks are available, but alcohol is central to the experience. Strong fragrances should also be avoided.

There are standing sections, though seats are available throughout. The venue is wheelchair accessible on one level, with a dropped curb nearby and a wheelchair WC. The gin-making bench is designed to accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters, but places for this setup are limited, so contact the distillery in advance about specific needs. Guide dogs are permitted, but other pets are not.

Practical details before you book

Bring a passport or ID card. English is the language used for the activity.

The meeting point is railway Arch #10. Look above the doorway for the arch number, and enter through the railway arch rather than searching for a conventional street-front entrance.

The experience lasts two hours, and starting times depend on availability. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours in advance, and you can reserve your place while paying later. Those policies are helpful if your Aberdeen plans are still changing.

Plan your day around the alcohol. The welcome double G&T arrives early, and further samples and cocktails follow. Eating beforehand and using the water or soft drinks is sensible, even though the activity is designed as a relaxed social event.

Should you book the City of Aberdeen Gin School?

Book it if you want a hands-on Aberdeen experience with a drinkable souvenir at the end. The best parts are the chance to create a complete 70cl bottle, the wide botanical choice, and the patient help from Dan and Alan. The local distilling story and railway-arch setting make it feel tied to the city.

Think twice if $190 feels high for a two-hour activity or if you only want a basic gin tasting. This is a premium experience, not a quick stop. For a birthday, couple’s outing, or special afternoon in Aberdeen, I think the personal bottle and guided recipe make the cost easier to justify.

FAQ

How long does the Gin School Experience last?

The experience lasts two hours.

How much does the experience cost?

The listed price is $190 per person.

What do I take home?

You take home one 70cl bottle of Scottish gin made to your own recipe.

How many botanicals can I choose from?

You can choose from more than 100 botanicals, including fresh citrus, fruit, and Asian spices.

Is a drink included on arrival?

Yes. The experience begins with a double gin and tonic.

Are more drinks included during the session?

Yes. You can sample gins from the Aberdeen range and receive alcoholic drinks throughout, including Prosecco and a berry cocktail. Water and soft drinks are also available.

Where does the experience meet?

Enter railway Arch #10. The arch number is shown above the doorway.

Is the distillery wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The distillery is on one level, has a dropped curb nearby, and provides a wheelchair WC. The gin-making bench can accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters, though places for this setup are limited.

What should I bring?

Bring a passport or ID card. Avoid wearing strong fragrances because they can interfere with the aromas of the gins and botanicals.