Sipsmith
The three founders of Sipsmith had to struggle with English bureaucracy at the beginning of their venture and only received their distilling licence after submitting a petition.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| England | |
| -0.252107 51.490687 | |
| Active | |
| 2009 | |
| Fairfax Hall, Jared Brown, Sam Galsworthy | |
| https://sipsmith.com/ |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
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The Gin
Sipsmith was the first distillery in 200 years to produce Gin in London again. The result was the Sipsmith London Dry Gin. When developing the recipe for this Gin, Master Distiller Jared was inspired by the 18th century book "The Compleat Body of Distilling". The ten botanicals used come from all over the world and are Macedonian juniper berries, orange peel from Seville, Spanish lemon peel, Chinese cassia bark, cinnamon bark from Madagascar, Bulgarian coriander seeds, ground almonds and liquorice root from Spain, angelica root from Bulgaria and Italian orris root.
Besides the traditional London Dry Gin, Sipsmith has other Gins in its portfolio. The Sipsmith V.J.O.P. ('Very Juniper Over Proof') has a particularly high juniper content. To compensate for the intense aromas, it is bottled 'overproof', which means with a higher alcohol content of 57.7 per cent.
Carefully selected citrus botanicals are added to the Lemon Drizzle Gin, while the distillery refines the Sipspresso Coffee Gin with a blend of coffee beans from Brazil and Rwanda, which are distilled together with cinnamon and fresh vanilla. There are also many other creations, such as the Strawberry Smash Gin, distilled with strawberries from Wimbledon and a hint of English mint.
The Production
The base alcohol for Sipsmith Gin is pure English wheat spirit. The stills are filled each day with only enough alcohol and botanicals to produce just one batch of Gin in each still. This technique is also known as one-shot distillation. In this process, the botanicals are already added to the stills the evening before for maceration and are usually steeped for fourteen hours. An exception here is V.J.O.P., where the botanicals macerate for up to three days. The distillation process at Sipsmith begins around eight in the morning, when the stills are heated to 80 degrees.
The Stills
The still 'Prudence' is unique and was made by the family firm CARL in Germany, which was founded in 1869, making it one of the oldest coppersmiths in the world. After four years, it got company in the form of 'Patience', the second still from Sipsmith. Next came 'Constance', the distillery's largest still, which exclusively distils the classic London Dry Gin. Due to the increasing demand for Gin, 'Verity' was finally added to the existing stills. It is the same size as Constance and, after Prudence, the most versatile still at Sipsmith. Thanks to its vapour chamber, it is possible to make any Gin produced at the distillery.
The History
Two childhood friends, Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall, met Jared Brown, an outspoken lover of good spirits, at a Negroni party in 2007. Together they set themselves the challenge of creating a new London Dry Gin. In the process, they encountered an unexpected hurdle. According to a historic excise law from 1823, no licences were granted for stills smaller than 1,800 litres. The Sipsmith Still, however, only held 300 litres. Finally, they petitioned to change the law and were granted their distilling licence in 2008. The first Sipsmith Gin was distilled in 2009 on the still called 'Prudence'. Over time the distillery grew and Sipsmith moved from their original Hammersmith site to Chiswick in 2014.
The Visitor Centre
Sipsmith offers distillery tours and Gin tastings on site. In addition, you can book cocktail masterclasses, which take place either at the distillery itself or online.
Sipsmith Ltd
83 Cranbrook Road
London
W4 2LJ
Tel: +44 20 8747 0753
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