New Silent Pool Gin.
Silent Pool was started back in 2014 by two Surrey Hill locals, Ian McCulloch and James Shelbourne. They met in their local pub (where else?) and discussed the idea of setting up small, local distillery. Taking their inspiration from Scottish whisky distilleries, the two friends started out with a grand vision of making a truly sustainable distillery next to a fresh water source, producing handcrafted, artisan spirits using locally sourced ingredients. But first they needed the perfect location.
Most distilleries end up in grim locations or boring industrial estates. Ian and James wanted somewhere filled with history, a good story and plenty of provenance. After scouting many locations in the south of England, one day Ian happened upon Sherbourne Farm (a former cow barn and petting zoo) on the banks of the magical Silent Pool in the Surrey Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Excited by the find, Ian and James contacted the landowner, The Duke of Northumberland, and got the go ahead to restore the dilapidated farm buildings into the Silent Pool Distillery.
“Whilst all of our products taste distinctively different from one another, each are united by a shared purpose and vision. Rather than being reliant on one unique ingredient to shine through, all our recipes work like a symphony of flavours. Each and every ingredient serves a purpose and complements the last without dominating the palate.
The balancing of these complex flavours always involves a long and arduous process. Our distillers have experimented with hundreds of different flavour combinations over the years before landing on the perfect recipe. Taste our products side by side and you’ll find they share the same DNA; handcrafted, multi-layered and bursting with complex flavours that evolve as you experience them.”