It all started by accident
Apples
Our journey into making fine spirits nearly went in a very different direction.
It all started at a family getaway, at a stunning doctors house in Shropshire turned into an Air BnB.
In the grounds, an apple orchard full of interesting apple trees were blessing the ground with their bounty.
During the weekend, while imbibing several shandies, an idea formed. Instead of allowing these and other apples to fall and rot, we should make cider! At this point a couple of family members shouted up about the location of apple and pear trees and an idea was born!
I can make CIDER!
For the record, Bryn cannot make cider... or certainly not when he tried... well it was strong, there was lots of it and it tasted bloody awful...
Rewind a touch... after the Shropshire trip and a quick splurge at the local brew shop, Bryn got to scrumping apples and pears from family members, friends and even the local canal. 140 litres of various cider's and perries went into the brew tubs. What came out was rough, STRONG but rough. The problem is apples only grow once a year, and Bryn get's bored really easily, there's no way waiting a year to have another go would work out... It wasn't long before he started looking around for something else to do.
BEER! We like Beer...
We have all the gear, not that much of an idea... what next... Beer! We shall make Beer! Back to the homebrew shops...
Bryn made a few different beers from kits, with quite a bit of success! Resulting in some delicious beers... then boredom strikes again. Making beer from a kit is a little like making cake from cake mix... sure... you get a nice tasting treat... but.. it's not very creative... Back to the brewshop we go...
Gin!
In the corner of the local brewshop, next to the beer kits, stands a thing that looks a little like a kettle... a 4 litre still. That's what we shall do! Make Gin!
When Bryn mentioned it to his Father, the reaction of "you can't make Gin" was the kicker that was needed... "watch me"
One small Still bought, lets have a go at this!
We have to be honest at this point and say that attempt number 1 was similar outcome to the "cider episode" but that juniperish tasting spirit was enough to get the creative juices flowing
When we say Bryn became obsessed... that's an understatement of sorts, youtube, forums, textbooks, you name it, Bryn scoured the internet and books to find information on making the best spirits possible.
R&D
There isn't much drinking that goes on in the Hawkins household... but there is a fair bit of R&D and Quality control!
Around 2 years of rigourous R&D led to Bryn's Gin. This was the Gin that Bryn was happy to allow others to have a taste and the product that started the transition from enthusastic Amateur into a business.
Samples are shared, the resulting enthusiasm of one early taste tester "That's Reyt Good" remains on our branding to this day, a Sheffieldism for "the highest quality" meant we could only do one thing, get all the relevant licenses and get busy making it for real!
Getting out and about
We got the go ahead to do our thing in March 2020, three days before lockdown, so we had to wait a little while before we could do the best thing about this job, getting out and meeting customers to share our products. It's without doubt the best feeling when someone we have never met has the "oooh moment" as we call it. There is a certain look of appreciation on a face that makes all the effort we put into our craft worthwhile... It's soul food!
To this day we get to as many events as possible to meet with new customers and share the love.
The Craft
We never stop learning and are always willing to try something different. Whether that's an unusual technique, strange ingredient, or a different approach to spirits, we are always trying new things. One promise we always make is that our products will ALWAYS be made from natural ingredients. You will never find us adding any artificial flavours to any of Hawkins Distillery drinks.