Garden Swift Gin
Winner of the hugely prestigious The Whisky Exchange Spirit of the Year 2017.
Organic blood orange, flowers, spice, berries, pine, drying resins and sweetness fill the mouth. Rich and unbelievably complex, it transcends expectations of a gin.
500ml | 47% ABV | Batches of 200 bottles
Effortless complexity & balance
How do you create a gin of truly exceptional character? For our distiller, Barney Wilczak, this was the primary question. The idea of creating a classically styled gin held no attraction, the market is already well stocked with these and those that add a slight 'twist' to the formula. With years of experience in teasing the aroma from myriad fruits, flowers and spices, our distillery holds the recognition of the diversity that nature can provide. Building on this knowledge a plan was made, the creation of a gin of seamless complexity.
To a distiller who has previously focused on a complete isolation of the perfection of each fruit, a recipe came as a vast palate of colour and shade. To showcase our botanicals on a clean platform we chose a spirit made from British wheat, soft and neutral.
A vast store of seeds, spices, flowers, herbs, roots and fruits, were grown, traded and collected. Hundreds of individual distillations and blends were made. Tests isolated which plants perfumes were liberated in the best manner, either soaked within the liquid of our still or placed in the path of the rising vapour. The majority of ingredients were discounted leaving a selection of 34, from resonant earth notes through sweet, sour, spice and high floral. We hold the recipe as a secret but individual examples include fresh Sicilian blood orange zest cut on site (never dried, the floral nature is completely lost, and without a trace of bitter pith), and flowers from the British native small leaved lime tree, Tillia cordata (an aroma of interlaced flowers and honey).
The sheer quantity of botanicals in the completed recipe fills our still, appropriate as the still house is a converted lean to greenhouse. These are either macerated directly for 40 hours or suspended above for a gentle liberation of aroma through the rising steam. This only allows a limited number of bottles per batch, nothing added but local water. We never chill filter our spirits, flavour is more important then appearance, and the clouds of essential oils that appear on cooling or dilution are a signifier of the depth of flavour within. To create such a wonderful product is a costly pursuit without compromise. Reflecting this our gin and Eaux de Vie are hand bottled and finished with traditionally printed letterpress labels. Our packaging design is only trusted to family (getitsorted.org), and hand fed letterpress printing to Andrew Morrison (twowoodpress.co.uk), the Father of Barney's partner.
Luxurious and incredibly complex, this is a drink to be savoured neat as much as in cocktails. Formerly named after the common name for Arctia majus, it seemed a fitting tribute to name it after that beautiful day flying moth of the same name. In 2018 we celebrated the outstanding impact it had made with our friends worldwide, by evolving the name to Garden Swift, combining the original name and the stunning golden swift moth. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.
★★★★★
“Mind blown open…”
Jan Konetzki. Sommelier, Director of wine at Ten Trinity Square Private Club, Four Seasons Hotel and La Dame de Pic London, 2* Michelin.