Adnams distillery based in Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold has been brewing beers since 1872 and have recently expanded their repertoire to spirits, namely handcrafted vodka, whisky and now gin. Although the beer still plays a central part in their every creation ‘“ yes even in the gin’¦ In 2008, the chairman of Adnams brewery began exploring the idea of distilling. Following four years of hard work the distillery was up and running in early 2010.

This meant that the entire distilling production ‘“ from grain to glass ‘“ is now undertaken in-house, an impressive feat that is noteworthy not just for the level of care that is placed in each step, but also because Adnams are one of very few distilleries who have the ability to actually do this.

Fergus Fitzgerald doesn’t only have a name with great alliteration on the tongue, but is also Admans Masterbrewer. With East Anglian malted barley as the base for the gin, he begins the process of crafting the gin by creating a beer ‘wash’ which is fermented to around 6% ABV without the addition of hops. Once it is at this stage, the wash is then put in the very capable hands of Head Distiller John McCarthy, where it takes a journey through their beautiful stills, winding it’s way up and down columns and more spirit geekery happens until a pure, clean spirit is created.