Cairn o' Mohr
Cairn o' Mohr (pronounced 'cairn o' more') is primarily Scotland's best-known fruit-wine producer rather than a dedicated cidery — founded in 1987 by Ron Gillies, the family-run Perthshire producer makes oak leaf wine, raspberry wine, strawberry wine, elderflower wine, and more. The cider is a smaller part of the range but worth knowing about: their Carse of Gowrie Cider is made from Perthshire-grown apples and has a properly traditional character.
Cairn o' Mohr is the answer to 'Scotland's other cidermaker' — a small-scale operation primarily known for fruit wines but producing a respectable single cider from Perthshire apples. The Carse of Gowrie Cider is harder to find than Thistly Cross but worth seeking out if you're in Perth and Kinross, particularly at the farm shop or local farmers markets.
The Cairn o' Mohr range
Carse of Gowrie Cider
Cairn o' Mohr's flagship cider, made from apples grown in the Carse of Gowrie — the fertile band of land between Perth and Dundee. Properly apple-forward, drier than most UK supermarket ciders, and closer to a traditional West Country cider in body than to a modern craft style.
Available in: 75cl bottles
Where to buy
Direct from Cairn o' Mohr farm shop at Errol (open most days; check current hours). Selected Scottish farmers markets and farm shops. Less widely distributed than Thistly Cross.
Food pairings
- Roast pork and apple sauce
- Aged Scottish cheddar
- Apple-based desserts (the natural pairing)
- Charcuterie with strong cheeses
Don't visit Cairn o' Mohr expecting a cidery — visit expecting a fruit-wine operation that happens to make a good cider. The farm shop and tasting room at Errol is genuinely worth the trip; the fruit wines are the headline (the oak leaf wine especially is a Scottish specialty you won't find elsewhere). The cider is the by-the-way bonus.
Frequently asked questions
+Is Cairn o' Mohr a cidery?
Primarily no — Cairn o' Mohr is Scotland's best-known fruit-wine producer, founded in 1987. They make oak leaf wine, raspberry wine, strawberry wine, elderflower wine, and similar fruit-based wines. The cider (Carse of Gowrie Cider) is a smaller part of their range but is genuinely good.
+How do you pronounce Cairn o' Mohr?
'Cairn o' more' — Scottish Gaelic for 'the great cairn', referring to a Pictish standing stone near the farm in Perthshire.
+Can you visit Cairn o' Mohr?
Yes — the farm at East Inchmichael, Errol, has a shop and tasting room open most days. Check current opening hours on their website. The shop is genuinely worth the trip if you're in Perth and Kinross — you can taste the full fruit wine range and pick up bottles you won't find in supermarkets.
+Where can I buy Cairn o' Mohr cider in shops?
Distribution is significantly narrower than Thistly Cross. Best bets: directly from the farm shop at Errol, selected Scottish farmers markets (Perth, Dundee, Inverness), and a small number of independent off-licences in central Scotland. Major supermarkets don't generally stock it.
Other Scottish cider producers
Thistly Cross Cider
Scotland's leading cidery, based at Wester Pencaitland in East Lothian. Founded in 2009 by Peter Stuart, Thistly Cross has grown to become one of the most-distributed Scottish craft cider brands — stocked across major UK supermarkets, with a substantial export presence. The Whisky Cask cider is particularly distinctive: aged in ex-Scotch barrels, it's an unusual hybrid that no other major UK producer makes at scale. The name is often written — and searched — as ‘Thistle Cross’, but it's Thistly, as in thistles.
Seidear (The Wee Scottish Cider Company)
Seidear — made by The Wee Scottish Cider Company at Kingcausie on Deeside, just south of Aberdeen — is billed as the first Scottish cider made by keeving and the champagne method. Founder Christian Stolte, German-born and originally in Aberdeen for the oil industry, began making cider from his own garden apples before turning the hobby into a cidery, producing around 3,500 bottles a year. The apples are old varieties gathered from historic walled gardens across the north-east — Haddo, Cluny, Craigievar, Falkland and private orchards — and the process takes at least a year from harvest to bottle: keeving, wild fermentation, secondary fermentation in champagne bottles, daily hand riddling, and disgorgement.
Naughton Cider Company
Naughton Cider Company is the most ambitious producer in Scottish cider — a family-run operation on the Naughton estate in north-east Fife, near Balmerino, founded by Peter Crawford, who spent over twenty years as a champagne specialist and importer before turning to cider. From 2018 he revived the estate's dormant orchards — including a walled orchard dating back centuries — and planted around 1,500 trees of classic cider varieties such as Dabinett, Kingston Black and Yarlington Mill. The cider is made with full champagne technique: fermentation in French oak casks that previously held champagne, secondary fermentation in the bottle, hand riddling, disgorgement, and long ageing on the lees.
Where to stay near Cairn o' Mohr
Hotels, B&Bs, and self-catering within easy reach of Cairn o' Mohr's farm shop.
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