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Sacred Spirits (previously known as Sacred Microdistillery) is a microdistillery in Highgate, London. It distills its spirits under a vacuum in glassware, and thus at a lower temperature than traditional pot stills, which operate at atmospheric pressure. The microdistillery operates out of the back room of a residential house, with a vacuum plant in a wendy house in the distiller's back garden. It is an authorised Customs and Excise distillery.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | microdistillery & Distillation |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney |
| Headquarters | London |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Gin Vodka Exotic Distillates |
| Website | sacredgin.com |
History
editSacred Spirits was established in London in 2009 and is the only vacuum distillery in London.[1] Sipsmith Distillery in Hammersmith started at a similar time, but they use an atmospheric pressure copper pot technique. Sacred Spirits (originally named Sacred Microdistillery) was launched by Ian Hart[2] and Hilary Whitney initially as a pure Gin distillery, but now produce flavoured vodkas using the same process.
Ian Hart, who had previously worked as a Wall Street banker, was laid off in 2008.[3] After his layoff, he began to conduct tests on the production of gin starting in September 2008.[3][4] After conducting 23 gin-making experiments, he made the initial batch of Sacred Gin on May 22, 2009, and founded Sacred Spirits.[3] The recipe, which had 12 botanicals including juniper, cardamom, nutmeg, and Boswellia sacra, had a "fresh, creamy and aromatic quality" according to Tina Brown in her book Gin: An Illustrated History.[4] Sacred Gin received a Double Gold Medal during the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.[3] Eric Grossman wrote in his book Craft Spirits that "Sacred has turned gin on its head by favoring vacuum distillation instead of traditional pot distillation".[3] The distillery is in Highgate, North London in Ian Hart's house.[4][5] His wife, Hilary Whitney, operates the company with him.[3] People from 17 countries purchased 34,000 bottles of gin from the company in 2014.[6] Sacred Spirits also has created vodka, whisky, vermouth, and negroni products.[4]
Sacred Microdistillery is based on a residential street in North London.[7] It distributes its products to over 50 bars and restaurants in North and Central London,[8] This includes Duke's Bar in St James's, where Ian Fleming invented the Vesper cocktail.[9] It is also stocked by Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire,[1] and Gerry's of Old Compton Street.
Hart started on a small scale, and personally delivered stock to local bars and restaurants on London's tubes and buses[10] before acquiring an on-trade distributor, Coe Vintners.[8]
Products
editSacred Microdistillery's first two spirits are Sacred Vodka and Sacred Gin, both of which are produced in small batches of a few hundred bottles a time, from English Grain Spirit. Each batch is made with two or three fractions: the initial one is collected under glass coils cooled with iced water (about 0 °C), the middle is collected under a cold finger cooled to -89 °C with dry ice (solid CO2), and the final fraction is collected under liquid nitrogen under a cold finger at -196 °C.[11] The separately distilled botanicals therefore produce 2-3 fractions each, which are blended as the final part of the process.[12]
Sacred Gin is 40% ABV. It uses 12 botanicals including: Juniper, Angelica Root, Fresh Orange Peel, Fresh Lemon Peel and Fresh Lime Peel, Cardamom.[13] and Frankincense.
Sacred Vodka is 40% ABV. It is a wholly redistilled flavoured vodka using 7 botanicals including: Cubeb, Angelica Root, Nutmeg, and Frankincense.
Reception
editIn his book, Craft Spirits, Eric Grossman praised Sacred Gin for being "a beautifully balanced spirit".[3] Writing in his book The Book of Gin about Sacred Gin, Richard Barnett said, "there's a remarkable clarity and intensity of flavor here, balanced with a fragrant creaminess" and "this is a gin which can be nosed and sipped like a good wine".[14]
References
edit- ^ a b Gerrard, Neil (5 February 2010). "The Still Life" (PDF). Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ "Life after the City: Ian Hart". eFinancialNews. 11 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Grossman, Eric (2016). Craft Spirits: Know the Makers, Infuse Your Own, Create New Cocktails. New York: Penguin Random House. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-1-4654-4384-7. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d Brown, Tina (2018). Gin: An Illustrated History. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-8006-4. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ Knoll, Aaron (2015). Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival. London: Jacqui Small. The Quarto Group. ISBN 978-1-910254-43-1. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ Stephenson, Tristan (2016). The Curious Bartender's Gin Palace. London: Ryland Peters & Small. ISBN 978-1-84975-701-0. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Urban foodie visits Sacred Microdistillery". Urban foodie. 6 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ a b "List of bars and restaurants serving Sacred Spirits". Sacred Spirits Company. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ "Small is Beautiful: Sacred Gin" (PDF). Imbibe. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Culshaw, Jenny (30 July 2009). "New gin distilleries for London". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ "Making mother's ruin 2.0". Wired. November 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Purves, Nick (9 January 2010). "Sacred Gin". The London Word. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Culshaw, Jenny. "BBC's Jenny Culshaw visits Sacred Gin Microdistillery for Working Lunch" (YouTube video). Working Lunch. BBC. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Barnett, Richard (2011). The Book of Gin: A Spirited History from Alchemists' Stills and Colonial Outposts to Gin Palaces, Bathtub Gin, and Artisanal Cocktails. New York: Grove Atlantic. ISBN 978-0-8021-9409-1. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
