A doctor and a former detective revive illicit pleasures on the banks of Loch Ness. Kevin Pilley hears their story.

Dr Lorien and Kevin Cameron-Ross run the Loch Ness Spirits micro-distillery at Dores, making small-batch premium gin as well as the once infamous absinthe.

“Kevin and I met at Aberdeen University and got married the day after our finals. Twenty years ago,” says Lorien. “We have five kids and six grandchildren to date. Kevin is the main distiller and is mainly self-taught, al­though studied with the Institute of Brewers & Distillers. He is in charge of the day-to-day practical running of the company.”

“I am also the reality checker. As Lorien’s ideas sometimes don’t make much sense,” says the Aberdeen-born ex-detective. “They have a tendency to go down rabbit holes!”

Lorien, who was born on the banks of the loch in Aldourie Castle, served in the Royal Army Medical Corps until 2006. This included a tour of Iraq with an infantry battalion. “I returned to my hometown of Inverness to join the NHS as a GP. I have worked in almost every GP setting. Urban, remote and rural, emergency department, military and civilian in England, Scotland and Canada. I am currently the clinical director for Out of Hours in NHS Highland.”

Absinthe, known as ‘the green torment’, once had a notorious reputation. But in the 19th century and early 20th. Absinthe is probably what made Van Gogh cut his ear off. When Oscar Wilde drank it in London’s Café Royal, he saw tulips starting to sprout from the floor around him.

Traditionally served with ice-cold water which, using a slotted absinthe spoon, dripped through a sugar cube to go milky like pastis and ouzo, absinthe (French for wormwood) was once de­monised as dangerous as revolutionary socialism, corrupt priests, China and bureaucracy. It was reputed to lead to unemployment, insanity and an addiction that only death could cure. It is the main ingredient in modern cocktails like Death in the Afternoon, Corpse Reviver, Earthquake, Rattlesnake and Dr Funk.

The notorious bohemian Belle Epoque drink was invented as a gout remedy by a Huguenot doctor, Pierre Ordinaire, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in the late 18th century. Prohibition led to the popularity of pastis in which wormwood was not used. Only anise.

The Netherlands banned absinthe in 1909, Switzerland in 1910, the US in 1912 and France in 1914. The Dutch re-legalised the drink in 2004, Belgium lifted its ban in 2005 and France in 2011. The drink has never been illegal in the UK. Loch Ness Spirits produce clear absinthe.

Dr Cameron-Ross says: “I was born on the banks of the loch in Aldourie Castle. Our distillery is in an old farm steading about 100 yards away from our house. It has been part of the estate for centuries and it is lovely to see it back in use again.

“Out still is called Tony, after Tony Reeman-Clark, an independent spirits consultant instrumental in helping us get the distillery at Loch Ness.

“We started making gin in 2016. I was drawn to absinthe’s murky history and that it was invented by a doctor. Macho rural distillers said I wouldn’t be able to grow wormwood plants in Scotland and also that I would not make good absinthe. As I was a woman!

“This was like a red rag to a bull. I went home to work on a recipe and grow my wormwood. I made absinthe blanche (colourless) rather than verte (green) – containing Scottish wormwood, Loch Ness juniper and mint.

Absinthe (French for wormwood) was once de­monised as dangerous as revolutionary socialism, corrupt priests, China and bureaucracy.

“When I floated the idea at home my father immediately said I would blind people and get struck off the GMC register. It took a couple of years of chipping away at the rest of the team before they were on board. There are so many myths around the drink that it was important to dispel this. After doing extensive research along the Franco-Swiss border, I worked in Switzerland under expert absinthe distiller Patrick Grand. His distillery in Fleurier is in a church, which was surreal.

“My family were my guinea pigs. Even those who didn’t like aniseed were impressed with the smooth and complex flavour. Also, everyone loved the theatre that comes with serving absinthe.

“Tales of wormwood having hallucinogenic properties are myths. There is less thujone in Artemesia absinthium in my absinthe than there is in the sage and tarragon in my kitchen. While I would never prescribe absinthe as a remedy, as a distiller I can certainly recommend mindful and social drinking. Sipped as an aperitif or digestif, it can be very pleasant indeed. Medicinal in a sense!

“In 2018 at Pontarlier we won gold at Absinthiades 2018 – one of the most prestigious absinthe competitions in the world, beating France, Switzerland and over 20 other nations. Not only were we the first UK company to win a medal, I was the first female distiller to win a medal in the 18-year history of the competition.

The Cameron-Rosses’ Legends gin celebrates Scottish history. Attached to every bottle is a history lesson.

“We now export to Holland. France and Germany. Absinthe is very niche but it’s on the rise. And safe!”

In the early days, it wasn’t the wormwood that was dangerous. It was the impure base alcohol. And copper sulphates.

If absinthe is a homage to Swiss history, the Cameron-Rosses’ Legends gin celebrates Scottish history. Attached to every bottle is a history lesson. Kevin explains: “Everyone knows about our famous Loch Ness inhabitant, so we don’t feel the need to tell that story.

“There are so many stories to tell around the loch. Many of them are not even known by the locals. There are so many gins available now and many of them are named after a location.

“Provenance is important to us and we want to pass some of that on to our customers, so they feel the connections we feel, be they historical, geographical, geological or botanical.

“There are tales of ghost armies, witches’ crofts, murders, illegal distilling, Jacobite treachery. Legend No 1 is how Loch Ness came about.

“Before Loch Ness existed, there was a fertile glen. People drew their water from a magical well which had healing powers. The one stipulation for using the well was that the sacred stone covering it must be replaced. If it wasn’t, bad luck would befall the people and the land. One day, a young woman was drawing water from the well when she heard her child cry.

“Allegedly, she ran back to comfort the child, forgetting to replace the well’s cover. As darkness fell, the water of the well overflowed and flooded the entire glen. As the people escaped to higher ground and saw the valley filling up, they said in Gaelic, “Loch-a-nis” (Now there is a loch).