If we were to make spirits uniquely Hawkshead, how would we do it? We’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with a variety of different combinations of beer, casks and base spirits, and are really happy with the final result. So to England from Australia via America Saunders journeyed, heading to London not just because it is the land of gin, but because he’s felt the magnetic pull of the city ever since he pulled a five-year stint in the early Noughties. Plus, he adds, “it’s the best city in the world, right?” Doghouse Distillery is an independent, grain distillery based in Battersea, London, and was established in 2016 by Braden and Katherine Saunders. Doghouse is London's only full turnkey vodka distillery. It comprises a 2,000L brewery, 1,500L copper pot still and 21 metre copper vodka fractionating column. The company and its culture are heavily inspired by music, particularly live music, and the brands reflect this love giving them an unconventional and identifiable edge that sets them apart from the rest.

In the early days of Citadelle, Gabriel recalls a group of students proposing to do a business case on the brand. Naturally, Gabriel accepted, hoping their acumen would provide some insight. Their analysis? “There is no way this can work,” Gabriel says, laughing at his own expense. “This kept happening. I remember our importer in America looking at me like I must have gone mad. A French gin?! This decision was made purely out of passion and it was almost disastrous to our business. I have made many mistakes and I hope I am going to make less,” he says. “It looked like Citadelle wouldn’t work because it was out of time and it was financially painful. But, in the end, the two wrongs became a right. Now there is a new gin every week, right!?” The barrels have added a distinctive and unique flavour to the gin, whisky, rum and vodka respectively. Of course, not being a Londoner himself, Saunders had absolutely no idea about the association between Battersea and dogs, so Doghouse Distillery was little more than a coincidence. “I love booze, I have drunk a lot of it, served a lot of it over a bar,” he explains. “That passion for booze comes hand in hand with spending a fair amount of time in the doghouse…” Yes, we were over the moon with winning it as we never win anything! Expect to see a new and exciting Renegade bottle after the Summer. What else is on the horizon for the year ahead in 2019?Production begins in the field. Saunders buys in wheat from an English maltster, which he mills, mashes and brews into a high sugar wort. Then he adds yeast and ferments into around a 10% wheat beer. This is then pot distilled up to a 30% low wine before being put through Doghouse Distillery’s rectification column where it transfers into a high purity vodka.

In this speedy 60 second interview, we caught up with him to find out just how fast things are moving for the team and how his unique, anti-hero style brand is captivating the attention of many, especially ourselves! Gin Foundry: You have a full year under your belt now. Congrats! What’s it been like living in the eye of the storm? It is the only “grain to glass” gin produced in London and one of a handful in the whole of the UK. They are not fans of following the traditional route in distilling (or life), and Renegade is contemporary on all levels. Overall: A complex, intriguing and well-integrated gin that does a particularly good job of balancing floral and spicy notes. A handful of the botanicals (no doubt the hardier, more standard ones) are left to macerate overnight in the base vodka, then in the morning the rest of the ingredients are added in and the still is switched on. The distillation run is a long, slow eight hours, producing somewhere between 2,500 and 3,500 bottles (once cut down to bottling strength of 42%) at a time. Renegade Gin to taste…

The whole shebang!

Made with 14 botanicals including a good amount of juniper and lots of leafy green herbs, Renegade has an incredible aroma, herbaceous and piney on the palate and has a smooth and lingering finish. The Doghouse team are not fans of following the traditional route in distilling (or life), and Renegade Gin is contemporary on all levels. 'Renegade (n) - a person who behaves in a rebelliously unconventional manner'. This process starts by milling and mashing 100% English wheat then fermenting the wash for three days to make a 10% wheat beer. This wheat beer is then distilled once to create a “low wine” which is run through the rectification column, the heads and tails are discarded and what is left are the hearts – 96% silky smooth amazing vodka (which is what many gin distilleries buy in from a bulk supplier)!

The LIVE virtual tastings are carried out in the last week of the month. Please keep an eye on our socials for confirmed dates! Award-winning Lake District-based brewer, Hawkshead, has launched a range of locally made spirits aged in barrels which previously held Hawkshead Windermere Pale Ale, Hawkshead Red, Mosaic Pale Ale and Prime Porter.At 32 litres and standing at 73cm tall, the ‘Jawbox Giant’s Edition’ bottle is an oversized version of the brand’s Export Strength gin with an ABV of 47%.

The infusion process lasts three to four days, during which the botanicals are added in successive steps while the degree of alcohol diminishes. “We lower the ABV with pure water, the same water that we use to bring down the ABV for Cognac, in which all the mineral elements have been eliminated through the reverse osmosis process. At the end, once the 19 botanicals have been infused, the ABV is about 30-35%. We set 20% of the infused spirit aside before sending it to the distillery and we infuse three extra botanicals, yuzu, cornflower and genepi from the Alps,” Gabriel says. “We then take the infused spirit to the distillery and we distil. Since the spirit has already been distilled at least three times, we only have to do one distillation. We do not keep the heads, we keep the heart and a large part of the seconds as well”. The new cans are both innovative and fun, solving the problem and reflecting the quirky personality of our brand. Just don’t tell our marketing team I said that!” It is the only "grain to glass" gin produced in London and one of a handful in the whole of the UK. We are not fans of following the traditional route in distilling (or life), and Renegade is contemporary on all levels.That grainy base is there, albeit in a very clean, almost tropical form. There’s a huge, green leafiness to the gin overall, with hints of sage and something ever so slightly mentholic tugging at the nostrils. As we’ve mentioned in other articles featuring grain to glass made gins and berated them for it, we’ll just say it here for the record - this is made to EU 96% ABV standard, not the “almost there” 94/95% ABV you see in some small operations, and the Doghouse Distillery stills have monster sized columns to be able to handle the workload. So how to use Citadelle Gin? Gabriel has a few thoughts: “I love a G&T and with Citadelle it’s incredible, but my little sin is actually a Gin Reserve with just a glassful of dry Curaçao,” he says. “Not the blue stuff, we make an original curacao made with real orange. I also love a gin martini with a great vermouth like Dolin and of course I love a French 75”. My advice would be to explore and experiment. It’s what Alexandre Gabriel would do. When we first saw the designs for our new cans, we were horrified,” Square Root co-founder Robyn Simms said. “Our marketing team got a right telling off! But then we came to realise this terrible design faux pas presented an inadvertent solution to the problem of the natural sediment in our drinks.