The Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co.
At Patience Distillery, every ingredient tells a story. For us, the craft of distilling isn’t just about producing a premium spirit, it is about curating a collection of flavours that reflect integrity, provenance, and character. Each supplier we work with is part of that story, carefully chosen because their values align with ours and their produce adds something genuinely distinctive to our gin.
One of the partnerships we are most proud of is with The Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co., a small but pioneering business that embodies everything we admire in a supplier: respect for place, passion for process, and an uncompromising approach to quality. Their salt is more than just an ingredient. It is a reflection of Skye itself, infused with history, personality, and the rugged beauty of the Hebrides.
A salt born of land and sea
The Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co. was founded with a simple but ambitious idea: to revive a centuries-old tradition of salt making on the island using nothing more than sea water, sunshine, and wind. Skye has a long history of salt production, though the practice had all but vanished until the company’s founders, Nanette and Chris Watts, decided to bring it back in 2011. In 2023, a young French couple, Elisa and Antoine, took over the company, driven by their love of Skye, Scotland and good food. Both they, and their wider team, are committed to sustainability and keeping this heritage alive.
Inspired by the purity of their surroundings and the untapped potential of Skye’s waters, they set out to create a sustainable, high-quality sea salt that would celebrate local provenance while treading lightly on the environment. Their method is entirely natural. Sea water is channelled into shallow pans and left to evaporate under the Hebridean sun and wind, leaving behind crystals that are rich in flavour and minerals. No additives, no chemicals, no shortcuts.
The result is a salt that tastes of its place: clean, delicate, and complex. Unlike mass-produced salt, which can be harsh or metallic, Isle of Skye Sea Salt has a natural sweetness and depth that chefs and producers value for its ability to enhance without overwhelming. For us, it is a way of adding subtle mineral notes to Patience Spring Gin, rounding out the botanicals and lifting the flavours with a whisper of the sea.
Provenance you can taste
Provenance matters. It is at the heart of what we do at Patience, and it is woven into every grain of Skye sea salt. The company is the first sea salt producer in the UK to be powered almost entirely by renewable energy, and their solar evaporation process is recognised as one of the most sustainable methods in the world.
But provenance is not just about place. It is about people too. Founders, Nanette and Chris, and now Elisa, Antoine and team, have built a business that is deeply personal, rooted in their belief that great food and drink should come with a sense of where it is from and who is behind it. Their journey has been one of perseverance and vision, from the early days of experimenting with evaporation beds on Skye’s shores to the recognition they have since received in the form of Great Taste Awards and national press coverage.
That personality shines through in the product itself. Isle of Skye Sea Salt is not uniform or bland. Its crystals vary in size and texture, echoing the natural rhythms of the sea and weather that shaped them. There is a humility in that process, a willingness to let nature take the lead while guiding it with patience and care.
Why it matters for Patience Gin
When we were developing Patience Gin, we knew that every detail had to earn its place in the final spirit. The inclusion of Isle of Skye Sea Salt in our Spring Gin was about more than flavour. It was about finding a supplier whose ethos mirrored our own: a commitment to quality, respect for nature, and a belief in the importance of craft.
Salt has a remarkable ability to unlock and balance flavour. In Spring Gin, it heightens the botanicals, and adds a delicate mineral finish that lingers on the palate. It also does something less tangible. It connects the drinker to the landscape of Scotland, to the rugged coastline and briny air of Skye. Every sip carries a reminder that great gin is born from great ingredients, and great ingredients come from people who care.
More than an ingredient
Profiling our suppliers is about recognising that Patience Gin is not made in isolation. It is the sum of many collaborations, each one adding depth, integrity, and story. The Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co. brings more than salt to our gin. It brings authenticity, history, and the unmistakable character of Skye itself.
Elisa and Antoine have shown that it is possible to build a business that is both innovative and traditional, both sustainable and premium. Their salt has become a quiet icon of Scottish produce, celebrated by chefs, food lovers, and now, gin makers. We are proud to call them partners, and even prouder to share their work with everyone who pours a glass of Patience.
In every bottle of Patience Spring Gin there is a taste of Skye, a reminder that craftsmanship is at its best when it honours the people and the places that inspire it.