LET THE FUN BE-GIN

Some of the best gins in the UK are produced by artisan makers here in the Ribble Valley, many of whom use ultimately sustainable methods to create their award-winning spirits

When the trend for artisan gins rocketed, who could have predicted that the Ribble Valley would become one of the UKs most prolific producers.

Micro-distilleries popped up all over the region and today, we have some world class, award-winning artisan producers here in Lancashire.

Since it launched its first hand-crafted gin, Ribble Valley Gin has gone from strength to strength, Cuckoo Gin produced at Brindle Distillery has just launched its fifth gin Supernova, Bashall Spirits, Batch and Lytham Gin – all are producing first rate gins.

A perfect example is Cuckoo Gin made at Holmes Farm’s Brindle Distillery. Nestling in the heart of the Lancashire countryside, all the raw materials that go into Cuckoo come directly from the farm or are sourced locally – even a natural spring on the farmland delivers water that is used in the distillation process and for cooling the still.

In 2017 the Singleton family who have farmed the land around Holmes Farm for many years, saw an opportunity to use their land and resources to diversify into distilling sustainably hand-crafted spirits. Sustainability is key at Brindle Distillery – the cows are fed the spent grains from the distilling process, the pigs love the delicious used garnishes while the bees that buzz around the wildflower meadows on the farm make the delicious honey used in Cuckoo Sunshine Gin.

“Being hands-on at every stage, we create truly artisan spirits made with dedication, care and passion,” says master distiller Mark Long, of Brindle Distillery, which has just launched Supernova.

“People are changing their drinking habits, they are inviting people to their homes for garden parties and we think Supernova is going to be the star of the summer!” adds Mark, who has also been instrumental in designing a UK-made bespoke bottle for Cuckoo.

The bottles are made in Leeds and have ‘Lancashire’ etched into the glass – making them totally unique to Cuckoo.

Another example is award-winning Ribble Valley Gin that was founded by Luke Moyes and Justine Harrison – a young couple, who spent two years researching the best way to develop a first class gin that breaks the mould in terms of taste and smoothness. Their first gin – Little Lane – was made in a still sourced from Kentucky and shipped to their base in Longridge. Using a vapour infusion method, the gin produced by the still is clean-tasting with flavours that can be clearly identified.

Today, Ribble Valley gin continues to produce their signature Little Lane as well as developing four others gins, Country Market a vegetable-based gin, Garden Party – featuring rose, honeysuckle, strawberries, marigold and hibiscus giving this gin a light fruity floral flavour, Winter’s Night a warming gin featuring cinnamon and cloves and their latest Kingsman gin, which has been dedicated to the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment in order to support the regimental charity that helps serving soldiers, veterans and their families.

Celebrating recently at the Gin Guide Awards were Fiona McNeill and Hamish Allan of Ribble Valley-based Bashall Spirits. With hundreds of entries from over 30 different countries, Bashall Spirits’ Damson and Elderberry Gin was announced as a winner in the Flavoured Category for 2021. Fiona and Hamish created this award-winning gin, based on a great aunt’s damson wine recipe which added a twist of rich elderberries.

Bashall Spirits’ entire flavour range – Orange & Quince inspired by a collection of handwritten marmalade or ‘marmalet’ recipes from the 1750s, Parkin Cake which captures the comforting aromas and flavours of treacle and ginger taken from a recipe from the Victorian era, and the Damson and Elderberry which harks back to a time when flavoured wines were commonly created from hedgerow ingredients – also received silver medals in the 2021 London Spirits Competition, joining the London Dry, which received silver the previous year.

Their London Dry is inspired by the moorland surrounding Bashall Eaves and features 11 botanicals including cranberry, elderflower and caraway, homage to the native woodland and hedgerow plants.

Burnley-based Batch Gin supplies Booths, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum and Mason and exports to the USA, Canada, China, Italy and Austria winning numerous awards.

As for many people, 2020 was a year when Batch became all too familiar with Zoom. The team hosted live Facebook cocktail demonstrations that included Q&A sessions with the team. In May 2020 Batch released Don’t Bottle It Up, a fruity and floral gin with a deeper message – raising awareness and money for local mental health charities.

Lytham Gin by Sandgrown Spirits is one of the UK’s leading and most awarded craft gin producers. All of the Lytham Gin range is unapologetically juniper-led, using the best possible ingredients, many of which are home grown or foraged. Lytham Original Dry Gin recently won the Traditional Gin category in the 2021 Gin Guide Awards to the delight of founder Sara Dewhurst, who spent years sampling different gins from around the world, talking to mixologists and distillers to discover the flavour profiles she wanted to create and share.

Whatever your taste in gin, there’s plenty of new and exciting flavours being developed in the heart of rural Lancashire.

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