Westhouse Farm, Westhouses, Alfreton DE55 5AG, UK
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
A new Derbyshire distillery located on a farm and made in an old grain barn has vowed to grow the business sustainably, using solar panels, a forest and plastic free packaging.
Business partners Tony Brindle and Seb Michaud co-founded Dog and Spoon Distillery on Westhouse Farm in Alfreton two years ago.
But as the pair were just about to launch their passion project while still juggling full-time jobs, the Covid-19 crisis hit and their plans to launch their first gin were shelved.
Despite the set back of the pandemic, the business which prides itself on its commitment to sustainability has been up and running for the last 12 months now, located on a picturesque farm and their hand-crafted gin made inside a former grain barn.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
While the company is still relatively small scale, retailing just one smooth, London Dry Gin with juniper and citrus notes called Science Project 6a, Tony and Seb will release their launch product’s stronger sister – which will be labelled ‘miner strength’ at least 57% alcohol by volume.
Their second gin, which is a nod to Derbyshire’s mining and coal heritage, is expected to be released next week and available to purchase via their website, with the business partners keen to experiment with different spirits including limoncello in the future.
Tony said: “Both myself and Seb have other jobs so we don’t want to put too much stress on either of us or the business and we want to organically grow it.”
The business partners who are passionate gin lovers themselves made it clear creating a sustainable distillery was always a high priority.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Currently, part of the energy used to power the farm’s still to create the alcohol is sourced from solar panels located on the barn’s roof.
Tony and Seb also installed a computer-controlled still to ensure their water measurements to create the gin are precise, along with biomass boilers and a closed water recycling system.
“We built the company on the ethos that we will always try and do the best thing wherever we can and to that effect we’ve implemented a few things to try and lower our foot print”, Tony continued.
The co-founders even planted 600 trees and shrubs on their farm, with the help of The Woodland Trust, to aid the area’s biodiversity and encourage native insects and animals back into the environment.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Conscious about the high quantity of plastic used to package most online-ordered alcohol, Dog and Spoon Distillery teamed up with Clay Cross-based cardboard manufacturer Deckle and Chop and The Corrugated Case Company to create their plastic free packaging which is also recyclable.
Tony and Seb are both keen to make the distillery their full-time jobs and have plans to offer contract distilling services to commercial clients.
Passionate about staying loyal to their Derbyshire roots, the business owners are urging local artists to get in touch to design artwork for their bottles.
Tony added: “Generally, in the industry if your bottle looks good it means you spent a lot of money getting a custom design and that is a terrible impact in terms of your global foot print.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
“If we can take a bog standard bottle and get local artists to decorate it, we see that as being quite a nice and niche entry point.”
Multi-award winning, Carbon Neutral Gin
Premium, small batches, hand-crafted gin distilled in rural Derbyshire
Carbon Neutral Gin
What type of Gin do we make?
We make all types of Gin, and our Science Project collection is a Carbon Neutral London Dry Gin. Expect juniper and citrus with a delightful mid-palette formed from our hand selected botanicals, ending with a smooth finish and just a little warmth.
Amongst other botanicals we’ve infused various Citrus elements, Verbena, Cassia and Cardamom into a unique recipe that we think is equally perfect sipped neat or in a Classic Gin and Tonic (with a slice of orange or lemon).
What is a Carbon Neutral Gin?
We’ve analysis every part of that makes up a bottle of our Gin, we’ve located and used the most eco-friendly, sustainable products where possible. From the glue in the packaging to the stoppers on the bottle and the bottle itself.
We then looked at the life cycle of these items and calculated it’s carbon footprint, once we’ve totalled all the individual part we had the Kg CO2 for a bottle (the carbon footprint). As we had done a lot of work and investment into selecting the right bits for our Gin, our carbon footprint is low, only 2.92Kg CO2 per bottle, that’s equivalent to 3.1 wash cycles at 60C.
All these calculations were done by ourselves and an external third party called Climate Partner
Our offset project helps rid the world oceans of plastic.
How we make Gin
Using a state of the art precision Still (powered by solar and green energy) we suspend our botanicals in the tank during the distillation process.
With a mixture of ethanol and water, the still is slowly heated up to allow the majority of the ethanol to convert to vapour (it has a lower boiling point than water, at 78.2C). This vapour passes through the botanicals and takes tiny particulars of them up a tall column before we cool it back into a liquid (with our custom closed water system). This is the distillate and we collate this to start making the Gin, for our London Dry, we only collect up to 70% ABV. Diluting this with pure (reverse osmosis) water makes our Gin.
Sustainability
We’ve experimented with many sustainable approaches for powering our Still, unfortunately husky powered hamster wheels didn’t work as expected, so we used the sun instead and draw on solar power.
We’re passionate about doing the right thing and here are just some of our green initiatives.
Sustainable Energy
When the sun doesn’t shine, we fall-back on a 100% sustainably sourced energy provider.
Minimising Water Waste
Innovate custom built closed water system for recycling water used to cool our Still and the distillation process.
Future Forest
We’ve planted a forest with over 600 trees and plants.
CARBON NEUTRAL
London Dry Gin 40%
A classic juniper led London Dry Gin, smooth with citrus notes and heaps of character.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Hand-selected botanicals including Fresh Lemon, Verbena, Cardamom, Bay Leaves and Cassia are lovingly distilled to create a gin equally at home being sipped neat or combined with a premium tonic water to make a refreshing G&T.
Awarded 2 stars in the 2022 Great Taste Awards.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
CARBON NEUTRAL
London Dry Gin 40%
A classic juniper led London Dry Gin, smooth with citrus notes and heaps of character.
Hand-selected botanicals including Fresh Lemon, Verbena, Cardamom, Bay Leaves and Cassia are lovingly distilled to create a gin equally at home being sipped neat or combined with a premium tonic water to make a refreshing G&T.
Awarded 2 stars in the 2022 Great Taste Awards.
Sustainability is not just a buzzword to us, when we started the company it was embedded this into it’s foundation. Key infrastructure elements like, green energy, recycling water, planting trees and botanicals help us towards our carbon neutral goal for our Gin. Carbon Neutral
Bergamot Gin
Regular price £33.00 GBP
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
A classic Distilled Gin, with it’s juniper led flavour and enhanced with the unique addition of Bergamot, presents a smooth, citrusy and full of character profile.
This particular gin is meticulously crafted from a selection of hand-picked botanicals. These botanicals include the distinct Bergamot, the aromatic Verbena, the spicy Cardamom, the fragrant Bay Leaves, and the sweet, warm Cassia. Each of these ingredients is lovingly distilled to create a versatile spirit that’s perfect for a variety of uses. Whether you prefer sipping it neat to truly appreciate its complex flavours or mixing it with a premium tonic water for a refreshing and classic gin and tonic, this gin is sure to impress.
For the optimal tasting experience, it is recommended to serve it cold and garnish it with a slice of Lemon and a sprig of Rosemary. This combination creates a gin and tonic that is so delightful, it keeps you coming back for more. Our gins are hand-distilled in small batches to ensure the highest quality. They are then bottled and labelled in our eco-friendly, converted grain store distillery located in the picturesque county of Derbyshire.
Miner’s Strength London Dry Gin
Regular price £42.00 GBP
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Our Miner’s Strength is the navy strength version of our London Dry Gin, preserving the rich juniper and citrus notes but adding a powerful punch at 60% ABV. We call it Miners Strength, playing testament to the proud mining legacy of Derbyshire.
Hand-selected botanicals including Fresh Lemon, Verbena, Cardamom, Bay Leaves and Cassia are lovingly distilled to create a gin equally at home being in cocktails or combined with a premium tonic water to make a smashing G&T.
Our gins are hand distilled in small batches, bottled and labelled in our eco-friendly converted grain store distillery in Derbyshire.
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
Dog and Spoon Gin Fun Charming Spirits
