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'Outlander' star Caitriona Balfe teases ‘Scottish gin’ brand after Sam Heughan announces US launch of whiskey

Balfe timed her gin 'tease' to coincide with the anniversary of the first episode premiere of 'Outlander' six years ago

The 'Outlander' love story spills into real life in strange ways. After news that Sam Heughan's 'Sassenach' whiskey would be available in the US come November 2020, his co-star Caitriona Balfe teased her gin brand 'Forget Me Not' on Twitter. In the short, dreamy video, Balfe pets her cat, Eddie, before sipping on an iced G&T, dressed in a polka dot crop top and white skirt. The video is captioned: “Drinking to Remember…#SupportTheArts #ForgetMeNot #ScottishGin”. 

The video also shows the bottle design of this "Scottish gin" -- a stout but elegant bottle with a black stopper and a black label with white lettering. This is the first time Balfe has revealed the actual product, which means the gin is nearly ready for its launch.

Balfe timed her gin 'tease' to coincide with the anniversary of the first episode premiere of 'Outlander' six years ago. In the very first episode, just before she travels through the "Craigh na Dun" stones to Jamie, Claire, her character, picks forget-me-not flowers. On-screen, Heughan and Balfe play lovers, Jamie and Claire, whose bond extends across time and space. So it's no surprise that their near-simultaneous entry into the drinks market is a classic pairing of whiskey and gin. 

Fans were overjoyed with the gin tease with one user posting: "We need to have a 'bottle off'! Sassenach Whisky vs Forget Me Not Gin And the winner is...... All of us" 

Another tweet exclaimed: "Wait are you coming out with your own gin?! Between you and @SamHeughan you guys are giving me more reasons to check out gin/whiskey distilleries!"

In August 2019, when Heughan announced his decision to create a Scottish whiskey (he is something of a connoisseur), he told fans that his whiskey would be called "Sassenach", a nod to the nickname his character Jamie gives to Claire. In his most recent tweet about the whiskey, Heughan revealed that "[As] Scotland awakes, bottles are being filled with gold and labeled with love. Putting the finishing touches on the next release. The Sassenach will be available in the US.. and the UK in November 2020 with additional regions to follow! Stay safe all. With love." 

Balfe had also teased her gin earlier, in March 2020, in a tweet which merely said: "It’s all about to be gin.”  with the hashtags #ForgetMeNot and #Staytuned. Balfe's gin seems to have a dual purpose of not just pleasing the palate but also supporting the arts to make up for the £400 million ($522 million) cuts to "arts spending" in the UK.

'Sassenach' whiskey has already won the double gold in 2020's San Francisco World Spirits Competition. We are expecting similar things from Balfe's "Scottish gin" during the 'Outlander' hiatus, which fans refer to as "Droughtlander". There is usually an uptick of fan interest in any 'Outlander' themed products or experiences during this time.  

While this is Balfe's first foray into 'Outlander' themed ventures, Heughan is a veteran. He is already starring with Graham McTavish (who played his uncle on the show) in Starz's upcoming Scotland-centric travel and culture show 'Men in Kilts', featuring the two men on a road trip across the country. The show was born out of Heughan and McTavish's idea for a podcast called 'Clan Lands' about Highland culture depicted on 'Outlander'. After the filming for the show was done, Heughan and McTavish also released a book about their adventures, called what else but 'Clanlands'.