Hayman’s Gin Distillery Tour

Frontage of Hayman's Gin

It’s become something of a tradition that when my friend comes to visit me in London we visit a gin distillery for a tour and tasting. This time, we booked to visit Hayman’s Gin Distillery in south London (nearest station Balham).

We arrived in good time and enjoyed a complimentary G&T while we waited for the session to begin. I hadn’t had Hayman’s gin before but I have to say it was really lovely – I would definitely drink it again.

Inside the distillery

Hayman’s is a long-standing distillery in London, founded in 1863 by James Burrough, who pioneered the London Dry style of gin. His descendants Christopher, James and Miranda still run the business today. The current distillery in Balham is relatively new, and the space allows the family to host events celebrating the history and manufacture of gin.

The table set out for us

Our tour began with a short talk about the history of Hayman’s gin, before we headed downstairs to learn more about the botanicals present in the traditional recipe. We got to have a go at mixing our own blends using a pestle and mortar – it was impressive how different all our efforts smelled, showing the importance of creating the perfect blend to finalise the desired taste.

After that we had a look at the copper stills – Marjorie, Karin and Miranda, named after the women in the Hayman family – and learned more about the gin-making process. After that it was time for the gin tasting. We sampled three varieties of gin, traditional, exotic citrus and sloe, and enjoyed experiencing the differences between each one.

Gin ready for tasting

Finally, we made our way out of the distillery in order to find lunch, having had a great experience.

FACTS

Address: 8a Weir Road, London, SW12 0GT

Website: haymansgin.com

Opening Hours: See website for tour & tasting times; the shop is open Mon-Fri and some Saturdays

Prices: £25 for the gin tour & tasting

Sipsmith Distillery Tour

The other week I finally got around to doing the tour of the Sipsmith Distillery that I booked back in June. The tours sell out so far in advance that I had to do this in order to get a place. I was supposed to be going with a few friends, but because of work and illness only one actually came with me on the night.

Inside the distillery
Inside the distillery

The distillery is in the middle of a residential street in Shepherd’s Bush and it is tiny – no wonder the tours sell out quickly, as there is very little space inside. It’s cosy and appealing though, and despite the clutter has a number of interesting things going on. I suppose ‘tour’ is a bit of a misnomer, since there’s nowhere else to go once you’re inside the building. ‘Talk’ and ‘tasting’ would be better terms, and our host was hugely entertaining – I thought he should have a career on the stage.

Bottles lined up on the shelves
Bottles lined up on the shelves

During our talk we heard about the history of gin and the hoops the group had to jump through in order to establish Sipsmith’s. I found it interesting to learn about the name of the brand – ‘smith’ comes from the concept of making something by hand, the artisan practice of crafting with care. ‘Sip’ is obviously what you do to the finished product! This is great quality alcohol – something to be savoured and enjoyed.

The tasting crowd
The tasting crowd

In pride of place stands Prudence, the first copper still in London for nearly 200 years. She helps to make the different spirits Sipsmith are known for, four of which we got to taste this evening: barley vodka, London dry gin, damson vodka, and sloe gin.

Prudence, the copper still
Prudence, the copper still

Sipsmith, with its beautiful bottles decorated with ornate swans, is best known for its gin, and we were greeted with a gin and tonic on arrival. We got to taste some of the gin straight, without a mixer, and though this isn’t the way I would choose to consume it, it was clear that the gin is high quality, crisp and refreshing.

Enjoying a G&T
Enjoying a G&T

A surprise was the barley vodka. Normally, straight vodka has me making faces, and it’s usually reserved for those nights when getting drunk as quickly and efficiently as possible is the aim (and I experience fewer and fewer of those nights as I get older). However, this vodka was surprisingly drinkable, and I could detect the different flavours with no nasty aftertaste.

The damson gin was very pleasant, rather sweet, and I think it would taste lovely with tonic or lemonade. However, by far my favourite drink of the evening was the sloe gin. I’ve had sloe gin before – I’ve a bottle of the Gordon’s variety at home – but this Sipsmith version is the nicest I’ve ever tasted. It was flavoursome, not too sweet, and would be perfect with ice for a Christmassy drink.