Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/931490
70 / the tasting panel / january/february 2018 70 / the tasting panel / january-february 2018 A TIRELESS PURSUIT OF A DREAM To fully understand why their accom- plishments were so radical, however, we have to step back in time. In 2005, child- hood friends Hall and Galsworthy were both working in the drinks industry, albeit for different companies, and had seen a nascent craft-distilling movement gather pace in the U.S. They felt this was the future—but not in the U.K., where legislation dating back to the middle of the 18th century controlled the size of stills that could be used, effectively blocking the production of artisanal- scale small-batch spirits. They consulted experts, who all agreed their quixotic dream was impossible. The tax authorities would not approve a distillery on the scale they proposed and, anyway, big brands dominated the market. Faced with such well-founded scepticism, Hall and Galsworthy made the obvious choice: They immediately quit their jobs, downscaled their homes to raise cash, and set about changing the law. Now stop, go back, and read that last sentence again—it's a remarkable measure of their tenacity, passion, and commitment. The vast majority of budding entrepreneurs faced with the same enormous barriers would have halted before taking their dream any further, but Hall and Galsworthy refused to give up. After nearly two years of persistent lobbying, they persuaded the government to lift the restrictions on the size of stills that could be operated in the U.K. and, on that fateful December day in 2008, received their precious license. That license was, of course, unprece- dented in more than 250 years, so there was no standard form. Accordingly, their original authority to distill—now in pride of place in their visitor bar— had to be written out by hand (the nervous tax officer actually got the date wrong on the paperwork). Distilling began immediately in a custom-designed German CARL still, representing a six-figure investment by the team. They also recruited Brown, an author, mixologist, and distiller, to take charge of production for the fledgling venture, which had taken the name Sipsmith. In English, a "smith" denotes a crafts- man, and it was silversmith Charles Hall, Fairfax's father, who made the link between the "sip"—suggesting shar- ing, quality assurance, and trial—and their craft as distillers. So the Sipsmith moniker was solidified, and the product immediately captured the imagination of key bars and mixologists in the capital. "LONDON GIN" RETURNS HOME London had once been a major distill- ing centre. Back in the 18th century, a wave of gin consumed the city's poorer classes in something approaching an epidemic of hard drinking and illegal distilling. Within a century, though, gin had become almost respectable, and iconic brands such as Gordon's, Booth's, Tanqueray, Beefeater, and Gilbey's were distilled in the city. Yet one by one they moved out until only Beefeater and a small private label producer remained making London Dry in London. The term itself came to indicate a style rather than a geo- graphical indicator; most "London" gin was actually made in Scotland on an industrial scale. But the Sipsmith team still had the same local aspirations, and along with the all-important legal clearance, they now had a premises, a still, a recipe, and the beginnings of a brand. They began making their Sipsmith London Dry Gin using the traditional "one- shot" method of distilling, meaning they only mix their end distillate with water to cut it to bottling strength. The two-shot method used in many larger distilleries, by contrast, sees a more intensely-flavoured distillate being stretched with more base spirit, then COVER STORY Sipsmith currently offers three expressions of gin: its original London Dry Gin, the 114-proof V.J.O.P.—which stands for Very Juniper Over Proof—and a sloe gin.