Hendrick’s Gin

Hendrick’s Gin is produced by William Grant & Sons at the Girvan distillery in Scotland. It was launched in 1999. In addition to the traditional juniper infusion, Hendrick’s uses Bulgarian rose and cucumber to add flavour, making it the best gin for gin lovers. The iconic brand is bottled in a dark brown, apothecary-style bottle.

Hendrick’s uses a blend of spirits produced from a Carter-Head Still which was constructed in 1948. There are only a few of these in the world. This top gin producer is also produced in a small pot still built in 1860 by Bennet, Sons & Shears. These two stills have been restored to working order after being bought at an auction in the 1960s by the former William Grant Life President, Charles Gordon. Due to the difference in construction and methods of distillation, the two stills produce strikingly different styles of gin.

Generally, the pot still is referred to as the Bennett still. It is quite small, which allows most of the botanical flavour characteristics to pass into the gin alcohol. The still is filled with a neutral spirit and some water and the botanical recipe is added. This is left to steep for 24 hours, which begins the process of extracting the flavour from the botanicals. The still is then heated by an external steam jacket to boil the liquid. As the pot begins to boil, vapour moves up the short column of the still to the condenser, where they condense and are collected. First runnings can be as high as 92% alcohol, with a gradual decrease in the strength as the distillation progresses. Once all of the alcohol is collected, the final spirit (Hendriks alcohol) will be approximately 75% alcohol v/v. This spirit is heavy, oily, and smells strongly of juniper.