Gin is all you need!

Years ago gin was the go-to drink for mums and grannies but now the younger generation have rocketed sales.

In the last two years 6.4 million bottles were sold in the UK and the numbers just keep on climbing — they have risen by 267% over the last decade.

The original gin and tonic is now the most popular drink of choice and distilleries are popping up all over the place.

Clanfield is home to a smaller distillery but this little place is certainly growing by the second.

Corner 53 Gin Business makes their own gin and gin recipes. It is run by family and friends but surprisingly it is all produced in their own garden shed.

Tom Rudman, 23, the founder of Corner 53 Gin, converted his dad’s shed into a distillery where they produce the gin, bottle it up, and design and create the bottles.

‘My love for gin began when I was a bartender in Liphook,’ Tom said, and he worked there with friend Jamie Williamson, also part of Corner 53. They could not contain their desire for gin and were always thinking of wild and crazy recipes.

Richard Cope, one of Tom’s old school friends who designs the unique labels for the bottles and says there is ‘nothing else like it’. They are intricate and unique and ‘definitely catch your eye on the shelves’ he added.

This was when when Tom said that he would have his own distillery — ‘it did not take his parents much convincing,’ Jamie added.

Tom ordered gin stills — what the gin is produced in — from Portugal and extended his dad’s shed in January 2017. By February the stills were installed and his exciting gin journey began. By November they had sold their first bottle which was a triumphant moment for them.

Of course there are gins like Warner Edwards Rhubarb, Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray but he did not want to follow trends and decided to set his own.

He came up with crazy recipes trying to think of something completely different to the mainstream sellers which has also included a bone marrow gin — some might say he is pushing it with that one. The bone marrow gin truly would have contained the cra\y ingredient but they thought this would be a little too much for customers.

Corner 53’s gins include Cherokee, Umami, Pomelo and Lemon Meringue Pie Gin — how different can you get really?

Their business has blossomed and after two years they are now selling their products to places in London and to wholesalers like Fuller’s and you can also drink it at Four London Road, Horndean.

Cherokee Gin is very popular and is made from sarsaparilla, water, alcohol, juniper berries and around 50 oranges into a still. The temperature has to reach between 70 and 80 degrees before the magic starts and stays in for around 12 hours to produce the best flavour.

It takes 10 to 14 hours for the product to produce 22L which is about 65 bottles and each bottle sells for £35.

However, when it comes to Lemon Meringue Pie, it has to stay in for 24 hours so that all of the pastry, lemons and meringue can create the perfect flavour — yes they do really put all of the ingredients in that it says on the bottle.

The only way to succeed is to make mistakes along the way and these guys certainly have ‘so much more to come’.

Not only has their business grown rapidly but they have also received 5 stars from The Environmental Health Office and are more than proud of the business they’ve created.

They have plenty more to come and by the end of the year there will be new gins and some other unique creations. They sell their gin at local markets so keep an eye out for them.