Dark Art Distillery

About Dark Art Distillery

Dark Art Distillery is a multi award-winning premium Gin Distillery. The 'Dark' comes from the nearby Galloway Forest Park, which in 2009 became the 1st internationally accredited dark sky park in Western Europe and the 'Art' comes Kirkcudbright itself, which is known as The Artists' Town. We are based in The Johnston building in the heart of Kirkcudbright (same building as The Dark Space Planetarium and The Wee Pottery). The building was formerly a primary school and had been derelict for over 10 years. In 2021 it opened again after an extensive and complete renovation with a number of the original features being retained.

Our core gin, Sky Garden Gin, takes its inspiration from the nearby Galloway Forest Park and its dark skies. It is the UK's largest forest park with over 300 square miles of forest, lochs and rugged terrain . As the clear evening arrives in the Galloway Forest Park, an inky-blue sky appears with sparkling & twinkling stars and ribbons of light - in essence a beautiful sky garden. Sky Garden Gin is exquisite, classical and smooth drinking - crafted for the purists - well balanced juniper, hint of citrus and with crisp and fresh notes. It has 18 different botanicals including 3 that give a nod to the night-time in that they either bloom or scent at night. These are grown locally for us at a garden nursery 1 mile from the Distillery. Other botanicals include calamint. orange peel, grapefruit peel, lavender, coriander seeds and gorse (which is foraged locally). We recommend a garnish of lime, Fever Tree Indian Tonic (or similar) and ice to taste.

We host daily gin tastings & tours. These gin tastings & tours last about an hour and can be booked online on our website. During the tour you will see our stunning bespoke still 'Peggy' named after the Founder's grandmother who hailed from Kirkcudbright, hear about the backstory of the Distillery and its art-works, the distillation process including details on our botanicals and then finish by tasting our exquisite Sky Garden Gin. Non-drinkers and under 18s can be accommodated (under 18s must be accompanied by an adult), designated drivers can take away a sample bottle of Sky Garden to enjoy at home.

The Distillery continues Kirkcudbright's theme of being The Artists' Town in that we have 2 very different pieces of art-work which we commissioned specifically for us. One is a mural by Zabou a leading French street artist based in London and the other is an illustration by Scottish artist, Carol de Angel, which depicts a modern day Kirkcudbright version of Hogarth's 1751 Gin Alley illustration

We have a shop on site and orders can also be placed via our website.

The Distillery is partnered with JUST ONE TREE whereby we donate and support them. JUST ONE TREE is a non-profit making charity that concentrates on restoring the entire eco-system by planting on land and the oceans. They plant in areas severely affected by deforestation to maximise the effect on reducing global warming. In the process they help to provide educational and sustainable incomes to local families.

When we send bottles to customers we use plastic free, recyclable and biodegradable packaging.Our full Distillery Green Plan and commitments can be viewed on site.