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What it is

Wildfire Gin is a Scottish small-batch craft gin brand built around the theme of exploration. Each release is designed around a journey, landscape, or story — connecting the spirit to Scotland’s geography and culture. The brand trades under Dhu Brew Ltd and sells direct-to-consumer and through on-trade distribution. This is a deliberate departure from James Varga’s primary domain of fintech and regulated markets. It is a consumer brand built on product quality, provenance, and storytelling rather than platform technology or institutional relationships.

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My role

Co-founder and shareholder. James Varga contributes to brand positioning and strategic direction. Day-to-day operations are led by the wider team.

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The proposition

Wildfire Gin positions itself around the idea that each gin begins with a place, a journey, or a story. The botanicals, flavour profiles, and packaging are designed to spark conversation, not just sit on a shelf. The brand runs Wildfire Waypoints — pop-up tastings and outdoor meetups — and publishes The Logbook, an expedition-style content series.

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Products

Madge Wildfire is the flagship expression — a juniper-forward gin that anchors the range. Merchant’s Flame is a blood orange and long pepper gin with heat and citrus. Wildfire Ascent is a pine, citrus, and caraway gin released in 2026. Cromlix Gin is a collaboration with the Cromlix Hotel, blending the brand with a specific Scottish location.

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Recognition

Wildfire Gin has received nominations and finalist status at the Scottish Gin Awards across multiple releases.

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What it proves

Wildfire Gin demonstrates that the operating model and brand-building skills developed in technology transfer to consumer contexts. Building a consumer spirits brand requires the same fundamentals as building a technology product: clear positioning, distribution strategy, product-market fit, and storytelling that earns attention. The experience informs content in the Ecosystem building in Scotland knowledge area — particularly observations about building Scottish brands with international ambition — and provides a concrete example of building and positioning a non-technology product.