What did you do before establishing Goldings Distillery? I’ve spent the last 32 years as a a pharmacist working in the NHS. You don’t need to be a pharmacist to make gin, but my scientific background has certainly helped me. What made you decide to launch a distillery and how did you get started? I started enjoying drinking gin back in 2008 and a few years later I started dreaming of making my own gin. My aim was to launch a distillery that would eventually carry me forwards into retirement, after a long and fulfilling career in the NHS. In 2017 I went on a course on how to open a gin distillery, and then the business planning began. I got my first licences in 2019 allowing me to start recipe development. The pandemic meant I had to focus on the NHS day job, meaning I wasn’t ready to launch my Signature London Dry Gin until March 2022.
What is the meaning and story behind the Goldings Gin brand name? If ever a village deserved its own gin then it’s my home village of Stoke Golding. Hence the name 'Goldings'. There is no apostrophe though as my gins “belong” far wider than just our village. The tree logo was designed by a local artist and friend called Helen Shipton. They represent the French Poplars in a field near the bottom of my garden. I have spent many a Sunday afternoon looking at those trees, G&T in hand, dreaming of the future. Can you tell us more about your distillation process? I am literally a 'one-man band'. I make truly small batch gin, no more than 40 bottles at a time, London Dry. I say that my gin is “created by a pharmacist with a passion for gin”, and that passion is the biggest single part of the process. My London Dry Gins are very juniper forward. I’ve been told that in life I don’t do anything by halves. For example when I started doing triathlons they soon became long distance Ironmans! So when it comes to my gins they are full of flavour and I hope they are very distinct. I don’t expect everyone to like my gin, but I do hope that enough people love them as much as I do.
What are your favourite ways to drink your gins?
I have spent so long perfecting my recipe that I want the taste to shine. So I always aim for a light plain Tonic Water such as Fever Tree Refreshingly Light, a copa glass, lots of ice and the zest of either grapefruit or lime. Desert Island Gins: Which 3 gins would you take with you? I drink a lot of other distilleries' gins. Research is one of the hardest parts of owning my own distillery! My current top three are anything by Fairham Distillery, as well as their regular range they produce excellent limited editions. Secondly, St Georges Terroir Gin is a treat as it is earthy and savoury. Thirdly, 57o Skye Earth and Sea. What is your ambition for Goldings Gin in the years to come? After two years of the day job and distillery together, I am enjoying just having the distillery. Whilst I want to get a bit bigger, as I move into my post-NHS career, I want to keep my passion, energy and drive, by launching more London Dry Gins, expanding into being stocked in more pubs and restaurants, and talking to more people over a gin sample at more local markets. You Might Also Like...
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