Sipsmith is a

microdistillery A microdistillery is a small, often boutique-style distillery established to produce beverage grade spirit alcohol in relatively small quantities, usually done in single batches (as opposed to larger distillers' continuous distilling process). W ...

located in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It is the first copper-pot

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

to open within Greater London' in nearly two centuries. It has been owned by

Suntory Global Spirits Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages. It is the th ...

, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

, since December 2016. The Sipsmith Gin distillery is one of 24 gin distilleries located in London.

History

Sipsmith was established in London in 2009, the first copper-pot based distillery to start up in London in 189 years and at the time, was one of only four gin distilleries located in London. Sipsmith was launched by Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall, respectively former Fuller's and

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

employees and Jared Brown, who is also Sipsmith's Master Distiller. A drinks and spirits historian and publisher, he has developed spirits in Sweden, Norway, Vietnam, and in the US over the past 12 years. The Sipsmith still was designed and produced by the German still manufacturers Christian Carl. Named "Prudence", this copper pot still has a capacity of . Prudence is the subject of their iconic swan neck copper still labelling, created alongside their visual identity and brand by

Perry Haydn Taylor Perry Haydn Taylor (born 1966) is an English creative director, designer and entrepreneur, who lives in Somerset and works in London. He is the founder of big fish a branding design and marketing consultancy. Career Haydn Taylor founded Big Fis ...

's agency, big fish, before Sipsmith was started. On 16 December 2016 it was announced that Beam Suntory had taken a controlling stake in Sipsmith for an estimated £50 million, but that Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall and Jared Brown would be staying on to lead the distillery. In May 2017, Sipsmith partnered with the secret London culinary boutique Gingerline to create an "immersive gin dinner". In March 2019, Sipsmith launched its first TV advertising campaign. Julian Barratt voiced Mr. Swan in the stop-motion advert.

Activities

The Sipsmith distillery is situated on a residential street in West London on the site of a former microbrewery, later the offices of beer hunter

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. Sipsmith's first two spirits are a Barley

Vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

and a London Dry Gin. These are produced in small batches of fewer than 300 bottles, from an English Barley mash that is created off-site. Each batch is made in a traditional manner with three cuts: the Head or foreshot is discarded; the Heart or core of the distillation run is retained; and the Tail or feints is discarded. The Heart of the distillation is diluted to its final bottling strength with Lydwell Spring water, one of the sources of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

Products

*Sipsmith London Dry Gin (41.6% ABV): A classic London dry style gin, it uses 10 botanicals in its maceration:

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

berries,

Coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

Seed,

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

Root,

Liquorice Liquorice ( Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

Root,

Orris Root Orris root (''Rhizoma iridis''; etymology possibly an alteration of ''iris (plant), iris'') is the root of ''Iris germanica'' and ''Iris pallida''. It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. It is commonly used as a fixative (perfumery), fi ...

, Ground

Almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

Cassia Bark ''Cinnamomum cassia'', called Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon, is an evergreen tree originating in southern China and widely cultivated there and elsewhere in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is one of several species of ''Cinnamomum' ...

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

, Orange Peel and

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

Peel. *Sipsmith Sipping Vodka (40% ABV): An unfiltered and unsweetened wheat vodka, the spirit derives its flavour from its essential grain base. *Sipsmith Sloe Gin (29% ABV): released in October 2010 *Sipsmith London Cup (29% ABV): a type of fruit cup with Lemon Verbena,

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

petals,

Borage Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts ar ...

and Earl grey released in August 2011 *Sipsmith Damson Vodka (28% ABV): released in 2010 *Sipsmith VJOP (57.7% ABV): 'Very Junipery Over Proof' *Sipsmith Lemon Drizzle with fresh vapour infused

peels and Lemon Verbena *Sipsmith zesty Orange distilled with Bergamot and infused with fresh Orange peel *Sipsmith Orange and Cacao is infused with Orange peel and Cocoa bean *Sipsmith Chili and Lime gin with fresh Lime and 7 Chili varieties *Sipsmith Strawberry smash distillet with mint and Strawberrys In 2015, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Singapore Sling, Sipsmith partnered with Raffles Hotels & Resorts to create a brand-made gin, the Raffles 1915 Gin.

Awards

The distillery won the 2010 Observer Food Monthly Award for Best Newcomer.

References

External links

Sipsmith - Independent SpiritsBeam Suntory
{{Gin distilleries in the United Kingdom Suntory brands Gins Distilleries in England Microdistilleries Drink companies based in London Food and drink companies established in 2009 Manufacturing companies based in London 2009 establishments in England British companies established in 2009