Research & Development
It took so many runs (attempts) and tasting panels to make sure we were happy with the final London Dry Gins. First we started with the base, and just runs of different types of juniper. This concluded with the simple idea that you get what you pay for, which is why we only use one of the finest junipers in all of our gins. Then we moved on to the mixes of botanicals such as marigold & tarragon some of these and their quantities are still a secret of our master distiller, Mick till this day.
How it Works: The London Dry Gin Process
We decided to go down the traditional route using alembic copper stills using a one shot method to produce a London Dry Gin, keeping us closer to our roots and family history.
01.
The process starts by loading our still with 96% ethanol made from grain (from mostly British farms), we then add an exceptionally good quality juniper, this needs to be the very best quality or it can distort the taste (we found out though many juniper only tasting sessions at the start.)
02.
To this we add the rest of the botanicals and leave to soak. We then light up the stills, bit by bit the botanicals start to release their individual oils and aromas, driven by heat and time some sooner than others.
03.
Steam from the contents of the pot rise into the swans neck, it goes through a coil which is the condenser unit where a flow of recycled water cools the steam and turns it into a liquid which is the Gin. Throughout the process you can taste different botanicals at various points.
04.
The next stage is broken into three areas which are heads, heart and tails. We keep the heart. The gin at this stage is around 84% proof, the abv is brought down in abv with purified water from Dartmoor to get our finished product.