3 The Rdgs, Station Town, Wingate TS28 5PE, UK
Pitwheel Fine Signature Craft Gin
Welcome to
Pitwheel Distillery
A family-run small batch distillery based in the North East of England established in 2019
The name behind the brand…
When setting the business up we wanted something that we could identify with something recognizable we could think yeah that’s us, our home, the areas heritage and it wasn’t long before the emblem of a pit wheel stood out.
Driving through the local area we fell upon many mining references open ground once the pit shafts and colliery building, now just memories for the older villagers to relay their stories. Each of the mining villages around us has its own identity symbolized by their wheel with a bit of history attached.
The Pit wheel imagery we use replicates the Wingate monument standing proud with its own story and individuality the very story we want for our product.
We as a couple were married during the miners strike of the 1980’s can remember the hardship the way people came together in the face of adversity even though we were not part of the industry ourselves we were part of the community had friends’ relatives and neighbours all connecting us.
The history of each platformed pit wheel, reminds us of community spirit good times filled with good people so we wanted the pit wheel to keep turning and our Gin to continue the conversation keeping history alive …..
Black Gold
Written By Steven Atkinson, 2020
Pit-men emerged from the bowels of the Earth
Parched from the dust of their labours
Tongues as arid as the seams down below
Unquenched and devoid of all flavours
These men, through the swing of a pick,
Build villages where there had been none
And forged a community of hard working souls
Who, through to this day, still live on
The grafted and toiled for the masses
But the price for as many was high
Men and boys lost to the darkness below
When the pit heaved a fiery sigh
The seams of these pits run like veins
Under lands born of their dust
Such foundations may tarnish in time
But shall never be eaten by rust
The pit wheel is a symbol eternal
And we pay tribute to the parched tongues of old
Who could never savour such flavours
As they strove to bring home the ‘black gold’!
Our Team
So, who are we?
We are an ordinary family called Rickard, living in the historical East Durham mining coalfield, based in Station Town, Wingate, County Durham.
In August 2019, due to being faced with redundancy, we were looking at options for alternative work and during a family night in we ended up chatting about how we could make one of Derrick’s many hobbies into a viable business.
Many-a-time we had been through this phase, right back to the 90’s when he was producing specially blended spice powders for Indian curry recipes, but this time it was different!
Derrick had been experimenting with gin flavours for a couple of years – ever since it had become increasingly popular on the drinks scene, people just couldn’t get enough of it – including us!
And that’s when the light-bulb moment happened and PitWheel Distillery was born.
Derrick
Director and Distiller
The head of our family is Derrick – an ordinary bloke with a vision for a business!
Our master distiller has over 30 years in the printing world which, for the most part, has been a long and enjoyable career and has given the ability and security to raise a family whilst still enjoying many varied hobbies along the way, some of which have led us to being where we are now.
Although he has no experience in running a business, he is at the forefront and is solely responsible for the production of the gins, experimenting and developing new flavours and ensuring that they are at a high quality standard to pass forward to our loyal PitWheel customers.
Our Distillery
Our distillery is part of our home, nothing too big and nothing over-complicated.
When deciding on how we were going to start up we knew it had to be cost effective and having done many years of home-brewing in the garage, it was a certainty that this was where is was going to continue.
As always, an idea quickly turns into a reality within the Rickard household and within moments of discussing our prospective business opportunity, there were plans in place as to how the garage could be converted into a fully functional working space with the capacity and facilities to make distilling gin the most efficient process it could be.
Derrick, always being hands on, had it sorted within no time – our double garage had been halved with the front end being a secured distillery and the rest is now history.
‘Fred-Rick’
As with many gin distillers the still becomes a family member and is bestowed a title that sums up the importance of its involvement in the process.
During our trials and search for the appropriate name, we had a sad loss within the family which devastated us.
In quiet moments in the midst of grief, and having a history of coal-mining having worked down the pits from a young age, I decided to name my still Fred-Rick, in honour and remembrance of my dad.
Out of sight, but never from our minds.
OUR RANGE
Tried and tested, blended and refined – set your taste buds free with PitWheel Distillery!!
Our PitWheel Gin range are vapour infused for a distinctive smooth experiences and subtly flavoured with carefully selected, natural botanicals, fruits, herbs and spices that will tantalise and tease your taste buds.
Check out our product range below
Pitwheel Sloe Gin
£34.00 Price
Pitwheel Classic Dry Gin
£38.00 Price
Our Signature Dry Gin provides a crisp smooth gin with a traditional juniper base. We have used 10 specially selected botanicals including hibiscus, lemon peel and grain of paradise which have been vapour infused giving a zesty finish and a memorable taste experience. Simply enjoy!!
Pitwheel Original Spiced Gin
£38.00 Price
Our Original Spiced Gin has been developed to give a twist on a traditional dry gin recipe. Carefully selected botanicals including pink peppercorn and green cardamon have been vapour infused to produce a subtly spiced flavour: a welcome alternative for gin lovers.
Pitwheel Raspberry & Vanilla Gin
£38.00 Price
Our Raspberry & Vanilla Gin has been produced using our Classic Dry recipe coupled with specially selected botanicals, vapour infused with succulent raspberries to give a taste explosion: tart yet sweet with a floral aroma reminiscent of roses, finished with the smooth, subtle taste of vanilla extract from the black bean vanilla pod.
Pitwheel Oak Aged Orange & Ginger Gin
£38.00 Price
Our PitWheel Oak Aged Orange & Ginger Gin has been created using our usual vapour infusion method. It has then been oak-aged providing added depth and a rustic twist to the citrus tones:the vibrant zest from the oranges gives a fruity forward before slowly balancing withour traditional juniper base and finishing with the warming, spiciness of the ginger.
PitWheel Blackcurrant & Liquorice Gin
£38.00 Price
Born from the classic blackcurrant and liquorice boiled sweet, a family favourite, this flavoursome gin has worked its way into our permanent range of spirits.As soon as the bottle is opened, you get a hit of fruity rich blackcurrant and this follows through on the palate with a lingering liquorice finish to balance with that slight bitterness from the root.
If you’re unsure, it’s definitely worth a try!
Create your own ginfusion
Have you got a special occasion coming up and want to add that extra special touch?
Do you have a love for gin on a scale whereby you want to create something personal?
Then why not speak to us to create your own flavour small batch gin!
With your personally selected botanicals, herbs, fruits and spices, we will to work together to create something which will compliment your taste palate – whether it be citrus, spicy, herbal or aromatic you decide on what goes into it and what you want the end result to be – after all, its yours!
LETS GET STARTED
PitWheel Distillery Ginfusion – create your own gin, allows you to select from the below list of botanicals in order to create your own personalised 70cl bottle of gin.
We will include our own base for the gin using juniper berries, coriander, orris root and angelica:
You will then select your own botanicals (to a maximum of 6), which have been broken down into defined categories.
It will then take 10-14 days for us to create your own recipe which will be kept on file to create in future.
SPICY/ HEAT
- Ginger
- Grains of Paradise
- Cubeb Pepper
- Cassia
- Liquorice
- Pink Peppercorns
- Caraway
- Star Anise
- Vanilla Bean
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cardamom
- Cumin
- Saffron
FRUITY/CITRUS
- Cherry
- Sloe
- Redcurrant
- Grape
- Apple
- Cucumber
- Peach
- Apricot
- Pear
- Mango
- Grapefruit
- Melon
- Raspberry
- Gooseberry
- Rhubarb
- Blackberry
- Blueberry
- Strawberry
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
HERBAL/ EARTHY
- Thyme
- Basil
- Sage
- Mint
- Rosemary
- Dandelion Root
- Fennel Seeds (spice)
- Parsley
FLORAL/AROMATIC
- Hibiscus
- Marigold
- Rose Petals
- Lavender
- Jasmine
- Chamomile
- Lemon Grass
- Honeysuckle
- Elderflower
Please note – if you are unsure of which botanicals will compliment one another, Derrick, our master distiller will be on hand to offer any guidance to ensure your selection works.
Also, if something is not on the list then please ask and we will see what we can do as the likelihood is we will be able to source it!
PitWheel Distillery Ltd, Wingate,
Pitwheel gin
Private tasting events
If you require something a little different, then why not try our PitWheel Gin Tasting sessions.
We will create individual bespoke gin tasting boxes – inclusive of*:
Our 4 craft PitWheel Gins:
5cl PitWheel Classic Dry Gin
5cl PitWheel Original Spiced Gin
5cl PitWheel Raspberry & Vanilla Gin
5cl PitWheel Oak-Aged Orange & Ginger Gin
our choice of accompanying Merchants Heart tonic waters:
Merchants Heart Light tonic
Merchants Heart Hibiscus tonic
Merchants Heart Pink Peppercorn tonic
Merchants Heart Ginger Ale
*All with accompanying garnishes and an invitation for the event.
Our PitWheel Team will host the event for you, at a venue of your choosing or on a virtual live stream – where we will give an insight into who we are, the PitWheel brand, our products, the tasting notes and how best to present and garnish gins.
We will also chat to you, answering any questions and having a laugh along the way…
Why not try us for an enjoyable, interactive session that will get the tastebuds flowing!!
**PLEASE NOTE THAT TASTING SESSIONS ARE SUBJECT TO A MINIMUM NUMBER OF ATTENDEES
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