In October we took a group of clients to the award-winning Warner Edwards Gin Distillery in the village of Harrington. There are only three businesses in the village, all within walking distance of each other – the gin distillery, The Tollemarch Arms (“The Tolly”) – a perfect country pub and Church Farm Lodge – a bed & breakfast. It’s the ideal place to spend a weekend, good food, award-winning gin and a bed for the night, all set in beautiful country surroundings, although we were only there for a couple of hours!
Warner Edwards Distillery is on Falls Farm, which is still a working cattle farm. We were greeted with a G&T on arrival, choosing from any of their six gins. We were introduced to Curiosity and Satisfaction, the copper stills that all of the gins are crafted in. During the process of distilling, there are crucial “tasting points”, which some clients were brave enough to try, I say brave considering at one point the gin was at 98% proof.
We were then given an entertaining talk through the history of Falls Farm, how two friends had an idea that grew into the thriving business we see today, the history of gin and it’s revival over the past few years. Then came the very tedious task of tasting each and every flavour gin whilst being told the story of how each one came about. It’s tough but someone had to do it.
One fact that struck me is that from the end of October, Curiosity will be running 24 hours a day to produce enough gin for the festive period. Considering each batch produces 700 bottles that are all filled, sealed and labelled by hand, this is no mean feat!
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and have added it to our to-do list to visit the three businesses as a weekend break!
Production
