Greenall’s master distiller on gin and summer cocktails

Words by

Flora Drummond-Smith

22nd June 2017

Greenall’s master distiller Joanne Moore discusses the history of the brand, creating a new gin and her favourite summer cocktail

As the popularity of gin continues to rise and small artisan distillers aplenty open around the country it is difficult to know which juniper-based liquid is better. Sometimes however, old is best and Greenall’s gin that has been produced for over 250 years has certainly stood the test of time.

“The distillery was established back in 1761 by Thomas Dakin. Later owned by the Greenall’s family G&J Distillers is the oldest distillers in the UK,” says Joanne Moore Greenall’s master distiller.

Distilled in the traditional way in copper stills — namely Edward and Gilbert (who were two of the Greenall’s family members) — Greenall’s gin is made from a blend of eight carefully selected natural botanicals.

“Italian juniper gives the gin its rich camphor notes, hand-peeled lemon from Spain give mature citrus notes and cassia bark from Asia give it a warm subtle spice,” explains Moore.

Joanne Moore Greenall’s master distiller

With new gins and distilleries cropping up all the time, older labels like Greenall’s need to keep evolving in order to stay in the running. It is for this reason that the Greenall’s bottle has been redesigned and that Joanne Moore has created the limited Edition Greenall’s Extra Reserve.

Tempered over time, the process of creating a new gin cannot be rushed. “Greenall’s is our original brand, I often refer to it when in tasting as the foundation. It gives me the grounding to create further gin recipes,” says Moore. Building on the citrus element of the original recipe, Greenall’s Extra Reserve is distilled with further citrus botanicals such as sweet orange and grapefruit.

“It makes a great G&T with an orange garnish, or use it to make a negroni cocktail,” says Moore. “But my favourite cocktail is our Basil Smash, it’s very refreshing on a summer’s day.”

For those that wish to recreate the cocktail at home, here is the recipe.