I’ve been following the adventures of Sooke’s Sheringham Gin almost since Day One. So I’m beyond thrilled to hear their Seaside Gin won ‘Best Contemporary Gin in the World’ at the World Gin Awards.
I’m especially delighted for Sheringham, in that they embody so much of what it takes to succeed as a small, remote distiller.
The Sheringham story
Here’s part of what I wrote for Quench magazine, a couple of years back:
“…In a way there’s very much a connection with the notion of locally grown food. And much like craft brewers have proved before them, there exists a serious appetite for making well made spirits, using local and sustainable ingredients, as well as for their consumption….
“It took a while for Jason McIsaac’s dream to come to fruition. The co-owner of BC’s westernmost distillery was a successful professional chef before he and his wife, Alayne, launched Sheringham Distillery at Shirley, near Jordan River, 68 kms. northwest of Victoria.”
“Even by BC standards, Shirley (pop. c. 430) is an impossibly beautiful and remote spot on the shores of the open Pacific, looking across Juan de Fuca Strait, near equally scenic French Beach. ‘Shirley’ used to be ‘Sheringham’ until, in 1893, the name was abruptly shortened—so it would fit on the area’s first postage stamp.’ (They’ve since moved into Sooke.)
About the Seaweed
“Together they’ve shaped one of Vancouver Island’s most distinct distilleries, working sustainably using all BC grain, and incorporating local ingredients when they can.
One day when out walking on French Beach they were intoxicated by the scent of the wild Nootka roses in bloom and the freshness of the sea air off the water.
“We thought, ‘how can we get this into the bottle’?” and went to work to figure it out.
Today, Sheringham Seaside gin is the only one in the country known to contain seaweed.
(Note: No longer true, as there are seaweed gins made by Newfoundland Distillery Company and by St. Laurent in Rimouski, and likely others …)
“We experimented with bull kelp at first but it didn’t have as bright and clear flavours as the winged kelp. Wild rose petals also came into the recipe.
From a chef’s perspective, says Jason, “The seaweed brings some umami. It also balances out the botanicals and adds a lovely salty brininess to palate.”
And did I mention the bottle? It is exquisite.
Congratulations, Jason and Alayne. So well deserved!
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There’s actually a ‘6 degrees of separation’ element to this. The World Gin Awards are held at London’s Honourable Artillery Company. That’s right across from where I lived at one time. My uncle, Richard Pawsey, was a long serving member of the HAC. He was a delightful character and charming man. I referred to him in an ancient post (about Gin, of course), scroll way down, here.
You may read the full Quench story here.
Wild and scenic Sheringham Point, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia
More on Sheringham at www.sheringhamdistillery.com
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