The first copper GIN distillery in London, after 200 years.
The first copper GIN distillery in London, after 200 years, bringing back the glorious tradition of GIN small batches production.
The story of SIPSMITH begins with two childhood friends, Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall, with a life-long affection for things well made and Martinis. Before long, they had been introduced to renowned drinks aficionado Jared Brown at a Negroni party and before the evening was out he was ready to join them on their mission to create the world’s best London Dry Gin.
The founders faced a rather unexpected obstacle at the start of their venture – and it arrived in the form of a historic, British law. An excise act still in effect from 1823 made it impossible for distillers to obtain a licence for a still under 1,800 litres, and their shiny new still was only 300 litres. Yet, with persistent passion, unwavering vision, their petition led to the law being changed in 2008. The gin-aissance was born and the spirit was once again crafted in genuinely small, characterful batches.
The vision of the three was to smith an uncompromising London Dry Gin, the way it used to be made, the way it should be made. Patience was key when mastering their craftsmanship, as well as a heathy dose of hard graft and a distinctive flair. On the 14th March 2009, the final recipe was made with our first still, Prudence. ‘Sipsmith’ the gin and the brand was born, inspired by the smithery you can savour with every sip.
Whilst London’s thirst for hand crafted gin was growing, they had set our sights on an even bigger dream – take Sipsmith Gin international. The first overseas outpost was Spain in 2012, where the gin tonica was all the rage. The news of the beautifully balanced gin began to spread within the world of mixologists and can now be spotted in over 50 countries behind their bars.
SIPSMITH continues to grow, moving in 2014 into a bigger space and buying more stills, while in 2015 the “sipping society” was created whose members taste innovative SIPSMITH’ ideas. Once a year, since 2016, the "Hot Gin Roof” event is taking place, which is a celebration of how gin was sipped centuries ago, but with a surprising, contemporary twist.
While the success and development for SIPSMITH is in continuity, in 2021 is certified as a «Β CORPORATION» and becomes an active member of a global movement setting out to benefit all communities, people and the planet.
THE PROCESS
“It is a labor of love, with so much passion, care and attention invested in every drop”
James Brown, Μaster Distiller
The team of dedicated Distillers watch over every drop of every batch and they passionately believe this is the only way to hand craft spirits of this quality.
Inspired by the two hundred years of London distilling history they have inherited; they balance modern technology with traditional recipes and techniques.
The botanicals are carefully sourced from all over the globe – choosing only the very best quality ingredients. The recipe was inspired by one found by the Master Distiller Jared in an eighteenth century book called “The Compleat Body of Distilling”. Each day, they load the stills with pure English wheat spirit and only enough botanicals to make one batch of gin in each still—a technique known as ‘one-shot’ distilling.
The carefully crafted recipe of botanicals is added to the stills the evening before to allow them to macerate overnight and imbue the ‘alcoholic wash’ with flavor. They typically macerate for around 14 hours.
The stills are switched on each morning around 8am and the process of distillation begins. The stills heat up to 80° allowing the alcohol, which boils at 78.3° to turn into vapor, but leaves the liquid water behind. As the vapor travels around the still it makes contact with the copper surfaces and condenses back into a liquid, each time becoming purer, soother and more sippable.
Once it has completed its journey and vapor turns back into a liquid for the final time, it runs off a pipe known as the ‘point of pleasure.’ The liquid comes in three distinct parts – the heads, the hearts and the tails. Only the very best is selected – the heart cut – which is then brought to bottling strength with the addition of pure water and is finally ready to be bottled in a wonderful bottle.
"The Dream bottle to buy" - The Times
"Cygnus inter Anates" is embossed on the bottom of the bottle, which in Latin means “a swam amongst ducks”. Besides, the swan, the royal bird of England, symbol of elegance, beaty and grace, is the emblem of SIPSMITH since the very first drop. A real cooper leaf differentiates its label, while it is hand finished with as wasx seal. Every batch has a story, that you can find on the website sipsmith.com/your-batch.
Classic juniper is balanced by zesty citrus. Sweet spices emerge in the finish. It’s a harmony of mouth filling flavor.
