What did you do before launching Wrekin Spirit Distillery and your gins? We are a farming family who have been farming in the area for over 50 years. The idea of a distillery was a good opportunity for diversification on the farm. What made you decide to create your distillery and gins? Isabel and Her sister visited a gin school in late 2017. The distillery was situated in a converted barn similar to a dilapidated shed that we had on our home farm. The inspiration of that distillery visit along with the desire to diversify the farm led to the idea of building our own distillery. Just over 2 years later the building work was finished, and the distillery was ready for launch.The Inspiration for the gin range is to use botanicals and fruit with as few food miles as possible. Can you tell us more about the distillery and your still? The distillery building was an old workshop connected to a dilapidated cart shed. The building took just over 2 years to renovate completely into the distillery and gin school that it is today. The still was installed by a Scottish company that fit the equipment tote space we had available. It’s a 400-litre copper still/column hybrid system that can produce in the region of 500 bottles per batch. The still is considerably bigger than we currently need it as such a young business. We are only distillery about every 4 weeks meaning we can facilitate growth in the future. What can visitors experience if they visit the distillery for a tour? Our distillery tours consist of:
What have been the biggest achievements and challenges so far? One of my biggest achievements would be an hour-long interview I did on BBC Radio Shropshire discussing the distillery. Competition is always a major challenge and trying to produce a quality gin in a way that sets you aside from your competitors. It’s a challenge that is always on your mind no matter what you’re doing. And especially in our first year, another challenge has been matching the production of our fruit liqueurs with the amount you could potentially sell over the next year and until the next season. The seasonal aspect of plums, cherries, rhubarb, and sloes mean you only have on average a few months to pick all the fruit you need to manufacture enough gin for the whole year. Once the season is over we can't pick more fruit! How would you describe Wrekin Spirit Gin in 3 Words?
Smooth, elegant and Sustainable. What's your favourite way to drink your gin? Personally, I stick to a standard premium Indian tonic water. No need to complicate things with a fancy tonic! Which gins would you always have on your gin shelf (other than your own of course!)? That’s a tough question, I would probably say the Cooper King Dry Gin. Not only a good tasting gin but also carbon negative, so really good in terms of the sustainability too, just what we try to incorporate here. What's next for you and Wrekin Spirit - any exciting plans? The future of Wrekin Spirit is to focus on building out our network in the local area trying to get into more retail outlets and just focus on becoming more well known in Shropshire. Only once we feel we have a solid foundation in Shropshire will we look further afield. You Might Also Like... Review: read our tasting notes and review of Wrekin Spirit Gin. Visit: book a Distillery Tour or Gin School experience. Buy: order direct from Wrekin Spirit. Comments are closed.
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