High Spirits: The Scotsman Distilling Gin in the French Alps

Dominic Bliss meets Scotsman James Abbott, who creates his own boutique brand of spirits in the Alps. Even President Macron – and more to the point, his wife – is familiar with them…

Emmanuel Macron is no fan of gin. His wife Brigitte, on the other hand, very much is. We know this because, a few years ago, a boutique gin distiller from the Haute-Savoie personally gifted the president a bottle.

This was back in 2020, when Macron visited Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains, a mountain town close to Mont Blanc. One of the local artisans invited to meet him was Scotsman James Abbott, owner of the Distillerie Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, which is based in a cabin high above the town.

“Macron confessed he wouldn’t be drinking my gin, Abbott explains. “It would be his wife, he told me. It turns out she’s the gin lover… I actually practised my very bad French in preparation to speak to him. Within my first sentence, he stopped me and said, “We’ve only got five minutes, so you’d better speak to me in English.”

It turns out Macron was keen to understand the eco-friendly practices Abbott employs in his distillation methods. The Scotsman prides himself on using local ingredients as much as possible. He picks juniper berries, génépi and blackcurrant from the mountain pastures by hand. The others – orange, lemon, liquorice, angelica, coriander and extra juniper – are all sourced within five hours’ drive.

“I believe it makes a difference,” Abbott says when asked if customers worry about the provenance of the botanicals. “For the moment, though, it’s just my peace of mind; for my own ecology mindset.”

He is also very conscientious when it comes to packaging materials, with all bottles, corks and cardboard boxes made from recycled products – even the glue that sticks the labels to the bottles is made from milk. Originally from the Scottish Borders, Abbott, 50, moved to the Alps 10 years ago, with plans to work temporarily as a mountain guide. He loved the area so much that he stayed, eventually learning to distil. Nowadays he produces up to 11,000 bottles of spirits a year – the lion’s share of it gin, but also some vodka, génépi and, thanks to the Scottish connection, whisky.

“Every Scot has a dream of being involved in a distillery at some point in life,” he says. “If I’m blessed enough to be able to create whiskies that people like, that’s amazing.”

For the moment, though, it’s the gin that takes up most of his time. He now has two distilling rooms – one in a former donkey shed, the other next door in a wooden mountain chalet. There are nine stills in all. Abbot says his favourite way to drink gin is “with one cube of ice and a wee zest of orange or lime”. He adds: “I do use tonic on a hot summer’s day when I don’t want to get too drunk. You have to be careful because it does go down quickly.”

Although he’s been creating his spirit infusions for the past decade, this summer will see his business expanding thanks to the new gin school he’s opening on the premises from the start of June. For €95, gin enthusiasts will be able to attend a workshop and produce their very own gins.

Currently, almost all of Abbot’s spirits are sold in France, as well as in a few outlets across the border in Switzerland. The local bars and restaurants in Saint-Gervais, Chamonix and Megève are his most loyal customers. But a new contract with French drinks giant Pernod Ricard could see the distillery booming in the next few years. “This is a game changer,” he says. Should the drinks company distribute his products all across France and beyond, he must be ready to ramp up production commensurately.

He also plans to live in his large distilling chalet a former mountain restaurant – with his girlfriend and her two children. It’s a charming wooden structure in the Savoyard tradition: the stills occupy the lower level and there are living quarters above.

Abbott loves to experiment with his distillation. He has plans for a flavoured vodka and he believes there’s a market for a second génépi, too.

“As for the whisky, I can’t keep up with the demand,” he adds. “As soon as the still room is ready, I’ll start producing more. But there’s a delay for those because I won’t release a whisky younger than five years old.” If you need evidence of his Scottish authenticity, it can be found in his choice of clothing. On the day I meet him, he’s sporting a kilt and a sporran, which is quite the fashion statement in the French Alps. The pattern, he explains, is his family tartan, courtesy of his grandmother’s side – the Robertson clan.

There’s no doubt his native dress has endeared him to the locals. The mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex, is a particular fan of his whisky.

Abbott was wearing his kilt and sporran when, along with Peillex, he met Macron back in 2020. Wisely, given all the security, he opted to leave his sgian-dubh – the ceremonial knife that Scotsmen tuck into their socks – at home. Looking to the future, Abbott plans eventually to open a new premises in the centre of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. In fact, it turns out the mayor has reserved a parcel of land for this very purpose. Should distribution with Pernod Ricard result in extra sales, he wants to build a larger distillery and, hopefully, encourage local investment.

“That’s my biggest dream,” he says. The town itself supported me so much when I first arrived and this would be my way of giving back. We might create more employment and a steady flow of tourism all year round.”

Lead photo credit : James Abbot