A young Glaswegian once given a "stern talking to" for trying to sell home-made gin to his schoolmates has bucked the trend during lockdown by launching his own drinks business.
Bruce Walker, 22, from Broomhill in Glasgow's west end, turned his passion for spirits into a company called Purist Gin after finding himself jobless when the first coronavirus lockdown hit.
Within months of him launching, the first batch of his new juniper spirit had won a bronze medal at the Scottish Gin Awards in a category with 150 entrants, including established names like Edinburgh Gin and Isle of Harris gin.
The Glasgow-based entrepreneur told the PA news agency his love for spirits began in his teenage years, when he would make so-called "bathtub gin" by infusing botanicals in a jar with a raw alcohol for his classmates to enjoy at parties.
He said: "I was doing that, making it for my friends, and one day at school I got caught with some of the gin and I was given a very stern warning and told 'do not do this again or you will get into a lot of trouble'. I was maybe around 16."
Bruce said he set up Purist Gin and started to make some headway before the first lockdown hit in March 2020 - adding that he'd only just recieved his licence eight weeks before the resrictions hit.
He said: "I was very dejected when the lockdown happened. I had set up a business, got my licence, and picked up a client - but then everything shut.
"But within six weeks I had bottles going out to people.
"I use a process called the single-shot method.
"The only thing that goes into the gin when it comes out is water, it makes for a much smoother, cleaner product.
"There's no additional ethanol and using almond powder gives it a really mellowed-out flavour.
"The process is more expensive, more labour intensive, but worth it."
Purist, which contains flavours of orange, cassia, juniper, coriander and citrus yuzu fruit, came third place in a blind taste-test competition last November in the London dry gin category of the Scottish Gin Awards.
Described as a "well rounded" gin, Purist has a strong base from the juniper that develops into the refreshing citrus of the Yuzu before finishing on a sweet orange note.
Bruce has since launched Purist Black 57, which is a Navy Strength version of this original gin that comes in at a whopping 57% abv, as well as new batches of his first gin, that feature artwork from young Scotland-based artists such as Franny Moseley and Angelo Carvalho.
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