What did you do before establishing Black Cat Distillery? A background in brewing and owning a bar in the beautiful Lake District gave me and my partner, Phil, the experience and knowledge we needed in the industry to pursue my passion for the production of the ginny ambrosia! It’s not all glamorous being a distiller; not only am I Head of Production and Recipe Development but I’m also Head of Still Polishing. I can’t believe the amount of Brasso we go through! But this is the most perfect role for me. What else would a passionate gin lover do in life? Both Phil and I love distilling and the process of producing our lovely bottles of gin. Well, actually that is a little fib as Phil is 'Head of Labelling' which tests his commitment to the extreme... but I can’t blame him as he does it all by hand and each bottle has five labels!
What is the story behind the Black Cat Distillery brand name? In creating the name for Black Cat Distillery we were inspired by the charming 18th century tale of the creative and resourceful entrepreneur, Dudley Bradstreet. The 1736 Gin Act made it illegal for anyone to sell gin in quantities of less than two gallons or it had to be with food in a hostelry to reduce the excessive gin consumption of the time. He devised a scheme to discreetly sell gin on the streets of London. Taking full advantage of the loopholes in the Gin Act, (you had to be actually seen selling the gin) he sourced a wooden black cat sign and adapted it to become the pre-cursor to the first vending machine. Gin lovers would approach the black cat saying, "Puss Puss" and the response would be "Mew Mew" which indicated that gin was available for sale. The money would be inserted into the cat's mouth and the gin would be dispensed through a metal tube under the cats’ paw. We have created our own representation of the black cat dispensing machine as our logo.
How did you get from the initial idea to launching your distillery and gins? The first step was to learn the process of making gin. Enrolling on a distilling course certainly boggled my brains with the quantity and depth of technical information. Armed with the knowledge of how to produce gin from grain to glass, we set off to look for our beautiful copper pot still. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We didn't want to spend lots of money on complicated and unnecessary equipment and a lovely company in the South of England was there with exactly what we wanted. Our final step was to find suitable premises. We were delighted when we were asked to join the artisan community at Brougham Hall, a beautiful 14th century fortified hall on the outskirts of the Lake District. Fabulous! We’d procured our licences, set up our distillery, and now the really fun bit... gin recipe development! Can you tell us more about still and why you opted for your set up? First of all, our still had to fit into our distillery and we wanted one that would allow us to distil on a regular basis. We wanted to produce small batch, hand crafted gin, so we needed a still that would allow us the flexibility and capacity to successfully achieve this. We wanted to make each batch of gin unique to its own recipe. Having a 50 litre still means that every product that we produce for ourselves or others can have its own unique style and signature flavours. And as we have to look at it all day, the still had to be easy on the eye! It is a very beautiful copper pot still.
Can you tell us about your distillation process and botanicals? There is no magic formula or mystical process that we can claim. Well, actually, Phil does like to vigorously shake up our sacks of juniper berries whilst turning on the spot before he weighs them out ready for the still! On a more serious note we fuse traditional techniques and Southern Asiatic and European botanicals with hints of Africa to create modern and elegant gins. We tie together these cosmopolitan influences with water that runs through the Lakeland fells which contains the very soul of the lake District. The use of the finest ingredients in our contemporary distillery gives the Black Cat Gins their clean flavours which bubble and combine in our shiny copper pot still. Our gin is twice distilled in our thumper and then condensed to produce the sparkly flow of ginny ambrosia. What can visitors experience if they visit Black Cat Distillery? Visitors are always welcome to come in when we are open. They can meet us, have a look at our still, and have a taste of our lovely gins and see what all the fuss is about. Can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t pop in if you are in the area! We also run gin making workshops at our Gin School where you will create your own bespoke 70cl bottle of gin. We will introduce you to the distilling process, the history behind gin, and the story behind Black Cat Distillery. Of course you’ll have a Gin & Tonic in your hand to enjoy too! Designing your perfect gin is our next step where we introduce you to a wide variety of botanicals, helping you to create a beautifully balanced recipe with interesting flavour profiles. Next is the weighing out of the botanicals and then you get your hands on your individual copper pot still. As the still is producing your lovely gin, we will have another Gin & Tonic (or two!) and enjoy a Cumbrian Charcuterie and Cheese Board. Your gin will now be ready to bottle and ready for you to take home.
Desert Island Gins - Which 3 gins would you take with you and why?
Well, here I am on my desert island sitting on my deck chair and deliberating on which gin I will have next. But what 3 have I brought with me? My first is my entry drug into the world of craft distilling and that is Masons of Yorkshire Gin. My second is a delicious juniper-heavy gin made in Northumbria which is Hepple Gin. For my third choice I am staying in the North of England but on the opposite side of the country in Cumbria which is a gin based on the delicious local Cumberland Sauce and is the Cumberland Saucy Gin. What is your ambition for Black Cat Distillery in the years to come? The ambition for Black Cat Distillery is for our Black Cat Gin Range to be the go to gin for an increasing number of gin lovers. What’s next for you and Black Cat Distillery - any exciting plans? Exciting plans... well we are in the process of expanding our increasingly popular Gin Making Workshops, but Phil is particularly excited about our procurement of a new labelling machine in the New Year! You Might Also Like...
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