We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of the newest – and smallest – still in the Sipsmith family. Meet Cygnet, who will be doing some very interesting things for us in the coming months…
As we grow, going full tilt to produce London Dry Gin the way it used to be, the way we believe it should be, so has our family of stills. Lovely Prudence, who’s been with us since we first set up shop in 2009, has since been joined by sister stills Patience and big sister Constance. And now, they’re welcoming Cygnet to the fold, whose swan neck and small stature make her name most appropriate. Ordered six months ago, she arrived a couple weeks ago, was dutifully unwrapped and, after a few calls to Germany, her plumbing is finally working and she’s ready for action.
Like our three other stills, Cygnet was made especially for us by the Carl family. Hailing from Germany, they’ve been in the business of manufacturing beautiful, artisan stills since 1869. Needless to say, they were our only choice when it came to expanding the Sipsmith family.
Cygnet weighs in at a 50-litre capacity, and she’s as close to a miniature replica of Prudence as possible…with a few small additions. For one, she’s fitted with a ball helmet, which compresses her capacity to as little as 10 litres, allowing us to make exciting and experimental small batches (more on that in a minute). She’s also outfitted with an interior shelf in the pot, which lets us vapour-infuse all manner of botanicals (and other ingredients). And little Cygnet is also electrical, which promises more heat control on a smaller scale.
So why the new member of the family, you might ask? While we won’t reveal the secret just yet, we’ve got a special new series of distillations up our sleeves that promise to be experimental, inventive and, of course, utterly delicious. Until now, Sipsmith Ollie and Jared Brown – our courageous Head and Master Distillers – have been crafting their flavour experiments on a rotary evaporator (or rotavap) and then translating them for the copper stills.
But nothing compares to a true copper pot still. The highly conductive metal, which has different chemical interactions with the ingredients at play and reaches a higher temperature than the rotovap, is ideal for distilling, and creates unrivaled final spirits terms of roundness and sipability.
Our lovely stills are working at maximum capacity at the moment, and taking time out on Prudence means some of our thirsty customers are left waiting for their London Dry Gin, so this is where Cygnet comes into her own.
We’ve already begun to put little Cygnet through her paces and are poised for the next round of experiments. Mince pie gin? Other seasonal flavours? We won’t say any more just yet, but keep an eye open: we’ve got some very exciting gin news to unveil shortly. Until then, do give Cygnet a warm welcome next time you see her in the distillery!
Like our three other stills, Cygnet was made especially for us by the Carl family.
Do give Cygnet a warm welcome next time you see her in the distillery!
