Distillery 1 of 40

Big Hill Distillery – Mobberley, Cheshire

Producers of Spirit of George Gin

http://www.bighilldistillery.com

I had the most fantastic evening with David & Ben, who’s passion for gin goes into every single drop they produce of the deliciously smooth, juniper forward, slightly citrusy yet spicy Spirit of George Gin, their signature creation.

Their story is a great one. Two friends who one day announced to a small Cheshire village that they might make a gin. The village then spent a year pestering them at every opportunity, until one day they set their first bottle down on the bar of their local pub and voila the Spirit of George was born. 

Their brand and the gin they produce all pay homage to George Mallory, a British Mountaineer and Explorer who set off from his home village of Mobberley, in 1924 with only one goal, to climb Everest. 

As such, the spices that go into their gin come in the form of Chai (delicious, spicy tea packed with cloves, ginger, cardamom and peppercorns) from the foothills of Everest in Nepal. When David opened the jar to let me smell their special blend, I was immediately wrapped in a memory blanket and taken straight back to my mother’s kitchen, where many afternoons (especially rainy ones) are filled with steamy cups of sweet masala chai, and like every good Indian household, David and Ben’s perfect blend is a secret to which only they hold the key.

Their hospitality comes with the same heart and warmth as you would find in any family home, it may be a cosy two room distillery on the side of a pub, but the welcome you receive from David & Ben is like you’ve been friends for years. Greeted with a signature serve of Spirit of George (with a simple slice of orange and premium tonic), they then take us on a journey of how they started. From their first, little 1 litre copper still, right up to Ruth (named after George Mallory’s wife) who they have now. 

They have won multiple awards in San Francisco and the like, and as I type, their gin is currently being blind tasted at another industry competition. 

We move on to their newest bottle, a quintessentially English summer “Rose” gin. It smells sweet and floral, but it is not perfumey on the palate at all. Instead, it’s light and fruity with just a hint of rose and a delicate scent of vanilla. What they’ve created is a delightful summer gin that, in their own words, even two northern lads would enjoy drinking. It has done so well on the summer market and foodie festival scene that they literally only had one bottle left (which I of course quickly procured).

Ben has even been to Everest Basecamp, where he took a bottle of their signature gin to pay respect to George Mallory and tells the most fantastic story of meeting the grandson of Sir Edmund Hilary there. 

This little distillery however, is no longer at Basecamp. It is definitely well on its way up to the summit. They will tell you honestly, that they still have a long way to climb, but they will reach the summit and fly the flag for well-produced, uncompromising English Gins on the global stage. 

I did get to try three other special gins, one that they produce for someone else, one that is currently brewing and I’ve already put my name on a list for bottle number 4 and a third that they are currently still tinkering with, which I can tell you already has the makings of something truly special.

I initially thought Spirit of George was an elusive gin, but David & Ben have since corrected me. It has been available in The Botanist bar chain for about a year now, and can be found in many independent bottle shops. There are plans afoot to get further shelf space with more nationally recognised retailers, but until then it is available through Hammonds or LWC for trade and for retail through Master of Malt or Dexter Jones.

If you ever find yourself in or around South Manchester, it really is worth the detour to go and say hi to these guys, drop them a message first as they may be out and about doing their travelling salesmen thing, but if they are in, then you are in for an absolute treat. It was the most enjoyable 3.5 hrs I have spent in a long time.