Distilled Ambition From Perthshire’s Highlands

eritage and history are what brought 24-year-old entrepreneur Helen Stewart back to work at her Highland Perthshire home and those same elements are what instil such a crisp, palpable uniqueness to her 100% hand-foraged gin. Celebrating the countryside from which it is made, Badvo Gin is quite literally steeped in authenticity. Microdistilled in a converted outbuilding on her family’s Pitlochry farm, every intricate stage of its production is done completely by hand – from the foraging for ingredients to the distilling, bottling and labelling. After working at a local whisky distillery aged 18, Helen became fascinated by the historic process of distilling and after extensive research, came to realise that she had all the ingredients required – fresh juniper, spring water and other delectable hedgerow details – right there at home to craft a beautiful, bespoke gin. Successfully securing grant funding for the project, Helen began foraging for and making gin in between studying for and attending classes at the University of Glasgow. “I learnt a lot about time management during that time, juggling the farm and distillery and my joint degree. I had my distillery licences and dissertation due the same week,” Helen said. Named after the farm, Badvo is a London Dry style gin, officially launched after Helen’s graduation (her parents made her promise she’d complete her degree before embarking on her gin-making career!) The University was so impressed by the product, she was tasked with creating their signature gin, named 1451 after the year the historic seat of learning was founded. Currently working on new products, with ambitious plans to build another distillery in the pipeline and with continuing business ties with the University, Helen is entirely settled back in Perthshire, with the area offering everything she needs to support and grow her business as well as providing easy access to the A9 and the transport links which can see her in Glasgow within two hours. “I found myself gravitating back to this area and returned to it really looking with renewed eyes,” said Helen. “I realised how special this area’s history and heritage are. Of course it is beautiful and peaceful too. I think that mistakenly, younger people think that the only opportunities available for them here in Highland Perthshire are in hospitality but I don’t feel that’s the case. It is possible to have a career in a place like Pitlochry.” Helen’s family have been integral to the growth of her fledgling business. An old book handed to her by her father revealed that she comes from a long line of innovators who, over the past 400 years, have continually worked to rejuvenate the farm. Her mother now works for her full-time while Helen still works on the farm for her dad. H Badvo entrepreneur, Helen Stewart, on how community spirit propelled her into Scotland’s gin industry spotlight My distillery licence and degree dissertation were due the same week!

“I wanted to get back to that small batch, 100% foraged from the farm, gin. During the warmer months, my mum and I go out each morning and forage – we gather juniper, nettles, honeysuckle, apple blossom and other wild plants and put them straight into the still,” says Helen. “We’re then responsible for bottling and labelling the gin. There’s something physically satisfying about seeing something through from its complete beginning to the end product.”

Local businesses and the wider community she grew up within have provided immense support along the way, something Helen feels would have been trickier to find in a larger urban setting.

“My community has been amazing and so supportive of what I’m doing. It was a steep learning curve going out looking for grants. I found it extremely difficult to be taken seriously as a younger woman in the industry with some people attempting to charge me more or just refusing to work with me. Being able to rely on the steadfast support of my local community has been really valuable.”

Jackie Brierton Recognised By Saltire Society usinesswoman Jackie Brierton MBE has been honoured and inducted into the revered ‘Outstanding Women of Scotland’ community for her contribution to the growth of Perth and the wider region’s rural economy. Established in 2015 by the Saltire Society, the induction recognises and celebrates Scottish women who have made a significant contribution to Scotland’s culture and society. Jackie was one of ten women selected from across the arts, politics, activism and science to be recognised for their achievements as part of the Women of the World event held in Perth in September 2019. As Chief Executive of the Coupar Angus-based enterprise support group GrowBiz, Jackie oversees the provision of support to rural entrepreneurs at all stages of their business journey. Each year the Outstanding Women of Scotland campaign invites members of the public to nominate living contemporary examples of women who have impacted Scottish culture and society. Previous inductees include singer-songwriter and activist Annie Lennox and bestselling author JK Rowling. Providing a community-based enterprise support service across rural Perthshire, GrowBiz offers free learning sessions, networking opportunities and business mentoring to new and established rural entrepreneurs and aims to assist with starting, growing and developing business. Among the more than 1000 local firms receiving support from GrowBiz are those in creative services, care and wellbeing, adventure tourism and manufacturing. Jackie said: “It was obviously a great honour to get an award and fantastic to meet the other inductees. It’s particularly important these days that younger women have strong role models. The range of backgrounds of the inductees not just this year but in previous years, helps show young women what is really possible. It’s the old adage of ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. “I was keen to get across in my acceptance speech that a huge range of diverse enterprise ideas are emerging in rural areas and there are great opportunities out there for women. You don’t have to be a big business to innovate. There are thousands of women doing really creative things.” B