Welcome to Bute Yard, your one-stop shop for local food and drink in Rothesay.

From day one our distillery has been a major supporter of the Bute Yard project, working with Johnny Bute and his team to establish the go-to hospitality destination on the Isle of Bute and we were delighted to open the venue during Summer 2023. 

Farmers markets, craft fairs, ceilidh dances, weddings, you name it. Bute Yard is an all-purpose events space and now the spiritual home of Isle of Bute Distillery and Bute Brew Co.

We love nothing more than showing people around the place. In summer, enjoy the wide expanse of the courtyard beer garden. Freezing cold in winter? No chance. Grab a long table indoors to soak up the cosy ambience and warmth (kudos to underfloor heating) of Bute Yard.

Every bottle of Isle of Bute Gin is made in Rothesay using our traditional 200 litre Portuguese copper still named Audrey. Audrey has been with us since 2018 and while she doesn’t say much, she is very dear to us all. 

The botanicals used in each batch of gin are macerated in the still with grain spirit and water from Loch Ascog, located less than a mile down the road. The still is gas fired, which gives greater depth of flavour and added complexity when distilling. From start to finish the process of distilling takes almost exactly eight hours. The spirit is then allowed to rest before it is packaged into our signature bottles, a process completed entirely by hand by our dedicated team at the distillery. 

We create each gin around a signature botanical harvested from Bute and its surrounding waters, blended with classic herbs and spices. Above all else, we like making gin from interesting things. Juniper, angelica, coriander? Yes sure, but there is no better example of our ethos than our flagship Oyster Gin – the first of its kind in the world. We use Loch Fyne oyster shells and treat the shells like we do any other botanical: soaking them in the spirit and distilling them to create delicate, seaside aromas and savoury flavours.