What did you do before creating Welsh Witch Gin and your distillery? Before beginning my gin journey, I worked as an educator in the beauty and holistic sector. I always had a passion for events as a side line/hobby. In 2015/2016 we had a draught Prosecco bar and while our Prosecco was insanely popular, we'd seen the rise in customers asking for gin, and when I say gin, I mean ANY gin! At one wedding we were at they drank the bar dry of all gin and by the end they were asking for Non-Alcoholic Gin, just because it was “gin”. What made you decide to create your gin and distillery? From here, I decided to create a gin of our own for our bar as well as other spirits. I have a passion for quality drinks and felt confident in trying it myself. It was intended to be a “house gin” but quickly bloomed in its potential; we realised this witch had legs – it was going to go places. Then, lockdown hit. We realised we wouldn’t be able to run our bars and events, which meant that we had to change our business model. Turning each negative into a positive, in a very uncertain time (along with being off work from teaching) I decided to take a leap of faith and put 100% of my time into Welsh Witch. What's the inspiration behind Welsh Witch Gin? I am very proud of my roots in North Wales and passionate about representing my country that I love so much. Spirituality is also an important part of my life. From a young age I'd be making potions in the bath using garden foliage and collecting seashells and intriguing stones from the beach. I started playing around with “homemade” spirits for our own bar and decided to go for it! Can you tell us more about your distillery & distillation processs? All our Welsh Witch craft spirits are made using the London Dry Gin process. We use high quality ingredients, Welsh water and work with the lunar cycle. A percentage of our Welsh water is even left under a full moon in a glass jar to charge overnight. This is then distilled and left for a full moon cycle, sitting through each phase of the moon to absorb the profound energies. The full moon & new moon provide the most powerful energy. Our Beltane edition has an added twist. We collaborated with a local company, Om Shanti Alchemy, and we blended their reiki infused rose water into our gin to make it extra special. Each bottle is distilled, bottled, labelled, wax sealed and packed by hand in our Wild Moon micro distillery in Brymbo. What have been the biggest challenges and achievements so far? I am proud of Welsh Witch, proud of its delicious flavours, and the striking branding and also the fact we have won some awards within the first few months of launching. Initially, when we started we used a contract distillery to whom we are ever so grateful. However, when lockdown hit I was off work, self employed and not earning a penny, so I focussed all my time into WW. Within 11 months of launching we had our own micro distillery (aka The Coven) distilling our own products and crafting new ones too. During the time which is being deemed ‘The Gin Renaissance’, it is more important than ever to support micro-distilleries and independent brands to ensure diversity and innovation within the gin sector. How would you describe Welsh Witch Gin in 3 words?
Exciting, refreshing, versatile. What's your favourite way to drink Welsh Witch Signature Gin? Lots of ice, in a large glass, Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic, a citrus garnish, good company and good music. Which gins would you always have on your gin shelf (other than your own of course!)? I love the Defiance range of spirits, they are a distillery in Oldham. I love York Gin and I have to have all the Cariad & Angel Feathers gins as they are local to me but also beautiful. What's next for you and Welsh Witch Gin - any exciting plans? I have a few exciting projects on the go at the moment and I cannot wait to share them with everyone, but for now they are off limits! You Might Also Like...
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