Local chef and gastropub owner, Will Phillips has set about creating his own gin brand in a bid to support the clouded leopard, which is on the verge of extinction.
Phillips, who is based in Bath, has created Clouded Leopard Gin which will donate 15% of gross profits to the Born Free Foundation who protect the clouded leopard, with at least £1 from each bottle sold going to fund the foundation.
As a qualified chef and having worked in the hospitality sector for 20 years, the quality of the product and botanicals used is just as important as the message the gin hopes to deliver.
Mr Philips said: “Having worked in the food sector for many years, I am well versed in what ingredients marry well together as well as being an avid gin lover.
“I started experimenting with different botanicals at home last summer when we experienced a heatwave – a summer similar to those of India and Southern Asia.
“The Provence of the core ingredients used was key and I started playing with fruits such as mangos and black pepper sourced from Southern Asia, the home of the Clouded Leopard.”
Craft distilled in Bristol, the finished product delivers a London dry Juniper on the start, bright lemon zest citrus notes through the middle and tropical mango and fragrant black pepper finish.
With an abv of 40%, it is produced from British wheat spirit using single-shot distillation on 30ltr copper pot stills.
The botanicals used are juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, cassia bark, mango, black pepper and lemon zest. They are then macerated for 24hours before distillation and the dilution is with reverse osmosis in purified water.
Phillips continued: “The Clouded Leopard is a fantastic and elusive animal rarely seen in the wild, and in grave danger of extinction.
“He is beautiful with huge paws and a chunky long tail that makes him a great climber of trees.
“I really want to help save this fantastic animal in its natural habitat and riding the crest of the gin wave seems like an ideal place to start.”
