In conjunction with
WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
What do you do when you’re fed up with bad G&Ts?
Make your own, of course…
Soapbox Spirits
Pothecary British Blended Gin
2015
www.pothecarygin.co.uk
SPIRIT
OF
EXCELLENCE
L
ukasz Dwornik and Martin Jennings were both veterans of the
hospitality industry who despaired at the quality of gin and tonic on
the market. So they launched their own – a blend of foraged botanicals
and English grain spirits. Given that they’ve already won Double Gold
at the San Francisco World Spirit Competition, you have to think they’ve
discovered the right recipe.
What’s your story?
Martin has spent the last 30 years working in the drinks business,
most recently as a wine development specialist. Lukasz spent the last
10 years working as a senior hospitality manager, most recently at
Christchurch Harbour Hotel.
The inspiration for Pothecary Gin came from a disappointing late
night G&T after work. “In a state of tiredness and, you could say, with a
bit of an arrogant swagger, we decided that we could do better – that
we could make a more interesting and, importantly, a more distinctive
gin than the one that had simply disappeared with the addition of a
large splash of tonic.”
What local ingredients do you use?
25
Firstly, the gin is made in Wick village, Bournemouth. We use juniper,
Tilia flowers, black mulberries, lemon and lavender – all of which are
either wild-foraged or certified organic. Currently, it takes around three
days from start to bottling, as we distil all the botanicals separately and
then blend afterwards.
What makes you better than the
established brands?
Well, we've won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirit
Competition 2016, and Silver in the International Wine & Spirit
Competition 2016. Our gin has been featured in The Times, The Daily
Telegraph, and on Radio 4, and was enjoyed in a tasting by Mollie
King from The Saturdays, and Adam and Luke from The Struts!
What’s the best way to enjoy it?
Pothecary has an enviable smoothness, making it perfect as a sipping
gin just with a block of ice, It also lasts very well in tonic as it has a
strong aromatic character, with full flavour, thus not getting lost in the
tonic. Luke Matthews at Chewton Glen (see his recipe for a Martini
Vesper on the left), Colin Nash from The Three Tuns Bransgore, and
Ian Gibbs formlery at The Kings Arms in Christchurch have used it as a
cure for both salmon and trout with great success.
A 35 litre copper pot is
u s e d t o d i s t il j u n i p e r,
w h il e a 3 .5 l i t r e c o p p e r
pot is used for the
other botanicals
Chewton Glen Martini Vesper
Ingredients
60ml Pothecary Gin
20ml Belvedere Vodka
10ml Lillet Blanc
Method
Shake all the ingredients with ice and rosemary, double strain into a
chilled Martini glass and serve with an orange twist.
www.menu-dorset.co.uk