Business is booming for a Johnstone man after he set up his own distillery selling gin in a can.

Chemical engineering graduate Luke Cochrane, a former pupil at St Benedict’s High, in Linwood, got the idea after doing a six-month work placement with drinks giant Diageo two years ago.

He had also worked in the hospitality industry as a barman and a waiter and decided he would like to produce his own alcohol, rather than serve it to others.

Luke and fellow Edinburgh University engineering graduate Guy Wardrop came up with the idea of a gin-based spritzer which could be sold in cans.

They set up Precision Spirits in the capital, making their own distilled craft gin from a still they bought for a few hundred pounds.

The duo also devised their own recipe for tonic water and lemonade and, from that mixture, came up with the Peace Lovin’ Decoy spritzer, with around 9,000 cans sold so far.

Now they have launched a limited edition tipple called Tartan Juice to back Scotland at the Euro 2020 football tournament.

Luke, who is from the Quarrelton area of Johnstone, said: “Both Guy and I decided we wanted to work for ourselves when we graduated in 2019.

“We knew that we always had our degrees to fall back on.

“Next to oil, the alcohol industry is closest to what we studied at university.

“Gin is massive at the moment and we got the idea for a spritzer because a lot of people don’t like the taste of tonic water. That’s why we added the lemonade.

“We also knew we couldn’t compete with the 300 companies making bottled gin. Instead, we decided to do an alternative take on the classic gin and tonic, using our science background to improve the flavour.

“A lot of people have told us they don’t normally like gin but like our spritzer.”

Luke’s biggest fans are his teacher mother Julie, 58, and dad Iain, 59, who live in Johnstone and are happy to volunteer for tasting sessions when their son returns home with samples.

While he continues to build up his Precision Spirits business, Luke is working full-time as a storeman at Edinburgh Zoo.

He said: “The main aim is to increase the number of outlets selling our cans.

“Ideally, we would like to get into one of the big supermarkets but we are confident our gin-in-a-can drinks have a bright future.”

For more information, visit Precision Spirits.