The distillation begins as they heat the water bath around the pot containing the base spirit and botanicals. Beth, the largest still (see below), is powered by steam. Jude and Wilma, her smaller production siblings (also see below), are both heated by electrical elements (with power coming from the solar cells on the distillery’s roof). Once the pot is boiling, vapours begin to rise and head up out of the top of the pot, through the botanical basket, steaming the oranges and releasing the flavours of the fruit. For the next seven hours the liquid will condense and re-condense as it passes from the pot, to the basket and then through seven separate plates on their column still.

Each of these plates remains closed, acting as a mini-distillation of its own, further refining and purifying the spirit. This ensures a gin as smooth and as pure. Eventually the high proof gin is dispensed from the still at a remarkable 94% ABV. Such is the purity of this spirit that it can be sipped (in a minute quantity) and you can taste the botanicals. It is not ‘rocket fuel’, which comes from inferior distillations, but a smooth gin which is also super strong. Once diluted we allow the gin to rest for a couple of weeks before bottling. You may notice your gin go a tiny bit cloudy if you store it for long periods in the fridge. Not to worry! This is caused by the botanical oils that often become cloudy in cold temperatures. We could of course chill filter our gin at this stage of production to ensure this doesn’t occur, but that would strip away a tiny bit of the flavour. Once the gin is tasted and approved, it’s time for bottling. And this happens a mere ten metres from where it has just been made, before being boxed up and out the distillery door.