Some times ago, I went to the Beefeater distillery in London. It opened in 2014 and offers information about the history of gin (where you are free to move at your own pace and where you learn how gin was consumed throughout history, fame and fall and renaissance) before a quick guided tour through the distillery.
You are not entering it actually, but you can see through while reading those beautiful infographics below. What I liked was the possibility to smell the different botanicals, it made gin more a reality. Find more on their website HERE What do you know about this famous Plymouth Gin ?
I read a great article about it on GINFOUNDRY
This is where i learned that this gin dates back from “1863, when James Burrough bought a Chelsea distillery for the then grand some of £400 and started to produce his own distinctive style of gin. At first, the distillery continued with the production of liqueurs as previously started by its previous owners, further establishing its reputation and extending its customer base.
The 1876 company stock lists show an increasing portfolio of gins with brand names such as Ye Old Chelsea and James Burrough London Dry, as well as Old Tom styles and a few others. By spending time experimenting, inventing and using new processes he discovered that blending a particular recipe of botanicals produced a bold, full-flavoured gin, which he named Beefeater Gin.
After the almost instant success of the gin, it was soon made the James Burrough Company’s flagship product. The original Beefeater recipe book dated 1895, specifies that nine botanicals are essential (juniper, angelica root, angelica seeds, coriander seeds, liquorice, almonds, orris root, Seville oranges and lemon peel) to create the full-bodied and robust flavour so distinct in this gin. The flavour he produced still defines the London Dry style to this day and although the production moved home in 1958 (to Kennington, London), the method of steeping and distilling devised by James Burrough in the 1860′s along with the secret recipe he created remains virtually unchanged.
Unique to Beefeater’s production is the steeping of the peel of lemons and Seville oranges, whole juniper berries and other natural botanicals for a full 24 hours prior to distillation. This long process allows for a full extraction of flavour from the botanicals, capturing a wide range of volatile oils, all of which are essential to produce the characteristically bold and balanced flavour. The distillation itself takes around eight hours to complete, overseen by master distiller Desmond Payne – with the spirit then taken to Scotland where it is blended and bottled at 40% ABV.”
Source : HERE
