The Spirit of Lewis

When we first started this journey, we were chatting to our Glasgow brand ambassador, and best friend, Naomi about social media content for the business.

It can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure to constantly be posting, coming up with new ideas and trying to keep people interested in what you’re doing. Naomi said something that really stuck with us:

“Your tagline is ‘Discover the Spirit of Lewis’ so what does that actually mean?”

It’s not just your gin. It’s not just your rum.

It’s this place.

That really struck a chord with us. We started thinking about what the Spirit of Lewis actually means to us, and we knew there was an opportunity to create something really special.

We also knew we couldn’t capture the magnitude of this island on our own. And it wasn’t just the scenery and landscape we wanted to show. It was the people, the community, the culture, the history and all of those little things that make Lewis what it is.

It had to be really special.

When Rob and Josh from New Vandal Media got in touch with us at the beginning of the year about working together, we knew they had the creativity and talent to do the Spirit of Lewis justice.

We talked them through our idea and they came back to us with a pitch deck and a plan for how they would bring it to life. They travelled up to Lewis at the end of April and, very quickly, it became clear that they really got the place.

We worked with them to organise people and locations for filming, Rob pulled together a schedule, and Josh worked his magic with the camera and drone.

It was honestly incredible to spend those few days with them and watch them work.

They spent four days here being chased by the haar, getting up at the crack of dawn in the hope of catching a sunrise, looking for stags and patiently waiting to snag the perfect Highland cow shot.

And then, once they were back in London, the filming continued.

We sent them down some bottles and Josh turned his garage into a makeshift studio, creating all of the close-up shots of the botanicals, the bottles, ice and lemon, sand and all the little details that bring the film together.

There’s another very special part of the film that we have to mention, our friend Shona, and her incredible vocals.

We knew from the beginning that the music was going to be really important. We wanted something that felt like Lewis, rather than simply something that sounded nice alongside the visuals.

Shona chose An Ataireachd Àrd, a beautiful Gaelic song about Uig, the sea and the landscape. It felt so incredibly fitting for what we were trying to capture.

She travelled to Gorbals Sound Recording Studio in Glasgow and recorded her own version of the song, and honestly, her voice adds so much depth and emotion to the film.

Hearing those Gaelic words, singing about this place, alongside the footage of the landscape, the sea and the people who live here. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful voice to bring it to life.

When Rob and Josh sent us the final film, we were absolutely astounded.

The amount of time, effort, care and attention that Rob and Josh have put into this little film is incredible. They’ve taken something that started as an idea in a conversation with Naomi and turned it into something that we’re genuinely so proud of.

One of the things we worried about before they came was whether they would come to Lewis and really understand it. Whether they would see beyond the obvious beauty of the landscape and understand what makes this place so special to us.

We needn’t have worried.

Rob and Josh have been incredible to work with, and we couldn’t be happier with the wee film they’ve produced.

But this film isn’t just down to New Vandal.

It’s also a huge thank you to the people in our community who helped us bring it together. Mary and Iain at Island Spirit Whisky Shop in Stornoway, Alison and the team at Uig Community Shop, Dolu, Iain Mòr, Iain Beag, DI,  Titch and of course Shona for her incredible vocals.

And we’ve been incredibly lucky as a business to work with some amazing creatives along the way too. Mirko has created some brilliant content for us and taken some fabulous bottle shots. Three Pines created amazing social media content for us. Sofia took time out of her summer last year to capture some stunning images for us and Laura at Carlow Creative has taken some beautiful bottle shots that we can’t wait to share. 

All of these people have given their time, creativity, skills and support to a little business on the west coast of Lewis, and we’re incredibly grateful for it.

Because, really, that’s exactly why we love this island.

And it’s exactly what this film is about.

It’s the community that bands together. It’s people helping each other out. It’s the culture, the history, the landscape and the people who call this place home.

It’s everything that sits behind the bottles.

That’s the Spirit of Lewis.

Thank you to everyone who helped us bring it to life. ❤️