The
distillery where Broker’s Gin is made is located near Birmingham,
England and is over 200 years old. There had previously been a
brewery on the site, but this was converted to a distillery at a time
when gin-making became more profitable than beer-making.
The
distillery uses only traditional pot stills. Continuous distillation
using column stills is more efficient and is used by the major
brands, but pot stills are better for extracting maximum flavour from
the botanicals in a traditional hand-crafted fashion.
The
distillery has a mini-still, which is used for making small batches
of gin from different recipes. The recipe for Broker’s Gin is 200
years old and was chosen after taste-testing against several newer
recipes. Often the old ones are the best ones.
The
copper pot still used for producing Broker’s Gin is named
“Constance” and was manufactured by John Dore & Co, long
recognised as the finest still-maker in the world.
The
base spirit for Broker’s Gin is quadruple-distilled pure grain
spirit made from English wheat. The flavour is provided by ten
natural botanicals, the primary one of which is juniper berries –
as in all gins. The botanicals are steeped – soaked – in the base
spirit in the still for 24 hours. This is the first part of the
flavour-infusion process. The still is then fired up for the final,
fifth distillation, which completes the process.
Dried
botanicals are sourced from all over the world and shipped to the
distillery in sacks.
The
botanicals used in Broker’s Gin and their sources are:
Juniper
berries – Macedonia, Coriander seed – Bulgaria, Orris root –
Italy, Nutmeg
– India, Cassia bark – Indonesia, Cinnamon – Seychelles,
Liquorice – Italy, Orange peel – Spain, Lemon peel – Spain,
Angelica root – Poland
The
botanicals are added to the still in carefully measured quantities
according to the recipe. Some botanicals, eg juniper, require a
number of sackloads.
Where
quantities smaller than a sackload are required, a small shovel is
used.
There
is an underground spring beneath the distillery, which provides a
source of soft, pure water.
Avaible
in 40% Abv- 80 Proof and 47% Abv- 94 Proof
For
more information visit producer website;