Illicit Spirits, Unit 3, Bridge Court, 12 Cook Street, Glasgow G5 8JN
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
LO-FI URBAN DISTILLING
Illicit is an urban craft distillery with a hands-on fascination for boldly exploring and reinterpreting classic ideas, and a mission to make memorable, unique, contemporary drinks.
Based in a re-purposed railway arch under train tracks that serve Glasgow’s famous Central Station, we embrace the city’s industrial heritage and DIY-ethos.
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
Inspired by tradition, we continually look to the past — but always with a critical eye, without reverence or nostalgia. Taking the best from history and finding a way to interpret it that’s interesting or unexpected.
All our spirits are made by hand in small batches, with a direct-fired copper pot still, and aged on-site.
THE G&T LONDON DRY GIN / CLASSIC
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery / Classic
Ingredients:
50ml Illicit London Dry
Premium tonic of your choice
Strip of orange peel
Method:
It’s a classic for a reason, so don’t mess around: take a large glass (tumbler or goblet, your call), fill it almost to the brim with ice, pour over the gin and top it up with your preferred tonic. Garnish with the orange peel. That’s it.
THE G&TEA LONDON DRY GIN /CONTEMPORARY
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery / CONTEMPORARY
Ingredients:
25ml Illicit London Dry
25ml peach liqueur
10ml lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
Earl Grey tea
Orange twist
Method:
Fill a highball glass with ice, then build the drink in the glass, starting with the alcohol and topping up with the Earl Grey last. Tastes like peach iced tea. Just don’t drink it like peach iced tea.
THE G&G NEW TOM GIN / CLASSIC
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
Ingredients:
50ml Illicit New Tom
Ginger beer
Lemon wedge
Mint leaves
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
Method:
Our take on the ‘Gin Buck’ — a staple cocktail of the 1920’s — with the fiery ginger beer balancing out the sweetness of the New Tom. See: The Gn’T, only this time, squeeze the lemon before you drop it in, and stick a couple of mint leaves on top. Easy.
THE BLACK STUFF BLACKLIST GIN / CONTEMPORARY
Ingredients:
35ml Illicit BlackList
25ml raspberry liqueur
10ml simple syrup
35ml espresso (chilled)
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
Method:
Shake all the ingredients over ice, and strain into a champagne coupe. All the class of a martini with all the body and richness of the biggest, baddest raspberry-ripple imperial stout.
Quaffable.
THE NEW TROPICAL NEW TOM GIN / CONTEMPORARY
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery / Cocktail
Ingredients:
35ml New Tom Gin
25ml Pink grapefruit tepache
10ml sugar syrup
2 drops saline
Coconut oil
Method:
We like messing about with different ferments at the distillery for research purposes, and tepache is one of our favourites.
An ancient drink indigenous to Mexico, all it requires of you is to chop a pineapple into chunks (rind and all, to ensure you include all the natural yeasts growing on its surface), mash it up and stick it in a clean glass jar with some water and sugar for a couple of days before straining off the resulting liquid.
In this variation, we also include a couple of thick slivers of pink grapefruit. The deep funk and sourness of tepache is the perfect foil for the subtle sweetness of our New Tom. Stir everything down over ice, strain and serve straight up. Garnish ironically with one of those little umbrellas, and a spritz of coconut oil for added texture.
ILLICIT GIN: 5TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery
On the 5th anniversary of the first distillation of Illicit Gin, we decided to celebrate with a one-off limited batch paying homage to our railway arch home. Our classic recipe has been stripped to back to five core botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica, orange peel, and orris root.
Arches distillers producing ILLICIT gin
Darran Edmond, owner and distiller at ILLICIT Spirits
What does your business do?
We are an urban craft distillery, producing small-batch spirits using traditional methods.
Where are you based?
We’re based in a railway arch in Tradeston, underneath the tracks heading south out of Glasgow Central. When we found the space, we thought it fitted perfectly with the name and the brand, taking inspiration from the heritage of illicit distilling by being hidden away close to the city centre.
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery/ Glasgow
How did you get started?
I had been working for various other small distilleries as a distiller, and also had the chance to be involved in recipe and product development. This showed me that the barrier to entry is actually quite low, and that with a fairly small space and small capacity equipment you could still produce on a commercial scale.
What is your background?
I started off studying chemistry, but sort of fell out of love with the subject after graduation. After trying a few other things I ended up taking a seasonal job as a tour guide in a whisky distillery, and I could see straight away that this was not only an exciting industry to work in, but also one where I could put my chemistry knowledge to use on something I had a real passion for. This eventually led to me returning to study and gaining an MSc. in brewing and distilling from Heriot Watt.
Illicit Great Gin of urban craft distillery/ Darran Edmond
What is your top tip?
I think when it comes to business people often get caught up in the planning stage, and never feel ready to take the leap and actually start making things happen. You won’t know how your product or service is going to be received until it is out there in the world. It’s important to be adaptable and take opportunities when they arise, even if this means moving in an unforeseen direction.
How long has your business been running?
Although planning started in the summer of 2017, we sold our first bottle in April 2018. So we’ve been trading for about 14 months.
Has anyone helped you get started and how?
With distilling, because of the licences and HMRC permits involved, it’s not really the kind of business you can grow organically from your kitchen table. You have to go all-in, and get set up straight away with a premises and suitable equipment. Transmit Start-Ups were on hand from the beginning to help me secure the loan necessary to acquire the above, and guide me through the business planning stage to give me the best possible start.
What was your first deal?
The Good Spirits Company in Glasgow were our first big stockist. They’ve been great supporters of what we do ever since, and often include our products in their tasting events. Also, although it wasn’t quite my first deal, I remember feeling quite proud to get our gin stocked in the little local pub in my hometown of Port Seton, where I’ve been drinking since I was 18.
What was your biggest mistake/or what would you do differently?
I couldn’t really pick one out in particular, although I’ve made a few, as any start-up does. But as I said above, they’ve all been learning experiences and have taught me more than staring at a business plan would, which is why I think it’s so important to be proactive.
Where do you plan your business to be in five years time?
Although we are focussed on gin at the moment, as someone with a distilling background I’d always intended for the company to move into other spirit categories. We already have rum ageing in casks, but I’d love to start importing mezcal for instance, or go back to my roots and start producing whisky.
Table of Contents
