Gin - It's mother's milk to them that knows!

What do a farmer, a brewer, 2 publicans and 2 former sailing instructors have in common? Well they all gave up their former lives to make gin - and they are not alone. New gin distilleries are opening in Devon and Cornwall faster than you can say “ice and a slice” and surprisingly they all taste quite different and they are very, very good.

I only had time to try 4 at the recent gin tasting at Oddfellows in Exeter but believe me if you want to drink local then you will be spoilt for choice. There are 20 behind the bar and more on the way. While Trevethan, Salcombe, Southwestern , Dartmoor and Barbican Botanist were teasing us all with samples, at least three unidentified people in the crowd had their own secret – they are also about to launch South West gins. Some are even raising all their investment from crowd funding because after all who wouldn’t want to invest in gin!

Never since Eliza Doolittle told Professor Higgins that “gin was mother’s milk” to her aunt has gin enjoyed such a revival.

It is being made in sail lofts, old harbour buildings and in the case of Exmoor’s Wicked Wolf, in a converted chapel in a hidden Lorna Doone valley.

Why? Have we suddenly discovered the restorative properties of a great G&T?

No! We have Fairfax and Sam of Sipsmiths to thank. When they opened their distillery in Hammersmith in 2009 it was the first traditional copper distillery since 1820. Oh and they were from Cornwall originally….

They also took on HMRC in a 2 year battle to get the law changed so that making small quantities of craft gin under 1800 litres was no longer classed as “moonshine” and therefore outlawed.

In Hogarth’s London we were so carried away with gin that the 1751 Gin Act was designed to cure our addiction and put the small scale producers out of business. The commercial large scale makers prospered but it was a remarkable 250 years before craft gins were allowed back into the market. And how, in 2015 49 new distilleries opened.

So all of this is great news for the South West where it seems we know a thing or two about gin. I’ve got my favourites but the most important thing is that I can go into Oddfellows and order something different from their gin selection and I won’t even have to stray across the Devon border let alone into Europe, to have the most fantastic choice