Best known for Pickering’s Gin, Edinburgh’s Summerhall Distillery is expanding its range of spirits with the launch of a new blended scotch whisky: The Broody Hen.
Summerhall Distillery has combined casks of whisky from Highland distilleries to create this new blended whisky bottling, with the resulting liquid offering a sweet and smooth flavour profile with a palate of vanilla, caramel and manuka honey.
The whisky is blended and bottled on site at the distillery, with casks selected by co-founders Matt Gammell and Marcus Pickering, who have a combined 18 years experience in the spirits industry.
The launch of The Broody Hen marks the start of a period of significant growth for Summerhall Distillery, following a strong bounce-back from the pandemic, with plans to release a range of liquids under The Broody Hen label including a 10-year-old single malt at the end of 2022.
Bottling capacity is expected to double by early 2023 as the firm moves the majority of whisky operations to a bigger warehouse facility, creating up to 3 new jobs in its already 14 strong team.
“The Broody Hen is a culmination of almost five years of careful development by myself, Matt and our distillery team and marks the start of our proposed expansion into scotch whisky.” Marcus Pickering, co-founder of Summerhall Distillery
“Our motto is: if you can’t find what you want, make it yourself. This ethos formed the basis of our business back in 2013 and, to this day, informs every element of what we do.
From engineering our own bain-marie heating system for our copper stills, to inventing a custom bottle labeller designed specifically for our bottles, everything we do has innovation at its heart and The Broody Hen is no exception.
This first foray into whisky has been something we’ve wanted to do since we first started out, but it’s taken eight years of building up the right contacts and careful planning to get to where we are now.
“The resulting spirit is one we are very proud of and look forward to sharing with our customers. It is very soft, with a gentle flavour and sweet honeyed undertones.”
Co-Founded in 2013 by Matthew Gammell and Marcus Pickering, Summerhall Distillery became Edinburgh’s first exclusive Gin distillery in 150 years.
In less than a decade, the brand has expanded into a multi-spirit production facility, with the ability to produce vodka, gin, rum and scotch whisky.
Its heavily decorated Pickering’s Gin, which is based on an original 1947 Bombay recipe passed down from a family friend, is already stocked across 17 international markets.
With pre-orders already received across six international markets, including The Bahamas, South Korea, North America, Japan, Singapore and Europe, The Broody Hen is already seeing similar success in export markets – hoping to expand to 12 markets in the coming 12 months.
The Edinburgh based distillery, which offers daily tours, occupies the site of the small animal hospital of The Old Royal Dick Vet School. The 1000sq ft space was developed by hand by Matthew and Marcus, after they spotted it while working on the nearby renovation of Summerhall in 2012, marking the start of their venture into distilling.
The Broody Hen Blended Scotch Whisky can be purchased directly from the Summerhall Distillery website and independent bottle shops for RRP £28-£32.
TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Delicate, light honey and butterscotch aroma with fresh floral citrus
PALATE: A burst of delectable caramel, vanilla and manuka honey
FINISH: A kick of spice, like french toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon
Here are also some pictures I took during the launch event in Edinburgh….
0 Comments