‘This gin is not made by an old doctor, it’s actually made by an Englishman. Some say he had too much time on his hands, others that it was the result of a mid-life crisis, some, rather cruelly, that it was a way to cover his Gin problem. The truth is, it was after a Gin fuelled discussion, resulting in a ‘how hard can it be’ conversation….. ‘harder than it looks’………which is why this is recipe 25.’
All of this is true. In 2016 some friends from England were visiting, and we were discussing (over a couple of G&T’s) the rise in popularity of gin, and how gin bars and gin experiences were opening all over London. After another G&T we decided that if they were all doing it, how hard could it be?
where it all began
Where it all began. The first entry into the little black book of recipes.
I started experimenting with lots of different botanicals and recipes, and then began to test them on some willing friends (and others not quite so willing). After about a dozen or so recipes, I decided that it would be a good idea to try and make a complementary Tonic as well. The sheer number of different Tonics available meant that choosing the best one for any particular gin would be almost impossible, by making my own, I could try and make something that would complement my gin. I also decided I wanted to make something a bit more fruity, and a bit sweeter – a G&T that people who didn’t usually drink G&T would like, but whilst still retaining the characteristics of a G&T.
ingredients
Some of the ingredients.
The big test for the tonic came when we had some friends visiting from Ireland. She didn’t usually drink G&T (everything else of course, she is Irish!) and rather reluctantly agreed to try my homemade G&T. A couple of large glasses later she was hooked, and I decided that i should develop that recipe.
I carried on making small amounts of the Gin and Tonic Syrup, and then decided that i should test it on a larger audience. So in May 2019 we had the first big test at the Fanø Vesterland festival. The creator of the festival, Jesper Møller Pedersen, kindly offered to sell my gin at the festival gin bar. There was no advertising or publicity of any kind (aside from a few well lubricated friends telling others to try it while they were queueing for another). We started with 10 bottles. By the end of the 2 day festival, almost 50 bottles had been consumed.
After the success at the festival, it was time to try and increase production and to sell it properly…..and that’s where we are today. It is available only on Fanø at the moment, but we will see how the story unfolds.
cutting labels
Everything is done by hand. From cutting out the labels,
lego jig
to sticking on the labels, with the aid of my custom LEGO jig.