A Distillery Tour And Cocktail Fun With Bulldog Gin

It’s not every day you get invited to go on a tour of the distillery where a spirit is made. I thought they were all really far away having visited a whiskey distillery all the way up near Inverness a few years ago. The whole thing was a bit lost on me as I am not a whiskey fan in the slightest. So imagine my delight when Bulldog gin asked me if I fancied a nosey around their distillery in Warrington, yes! One in the North West! And not just any distillery. This place distils 60% of the gin drank in the UK and 20% of the gin drank around the world.

G&J Greenall’s is also the oldest continuous distiller and responsible for distilling many popular brands including Bulldog, Bombay Sapphire and Bloom to name but a few. Their vast knowledge and ethical methods means a brand can guarantee their product is in safe and efficient hands.

Safety always comes first and we all had to wear a lovely hairnet and hi-vis vest before entering the distillery itself.

The stills themselves are a thing of beauty as you can see above. This is where all the botanicals to make the product are added and the smell of the stacked bags containing all these botanicals is intoxifying. It’s funny how different members of the group could smell different botanicals more strongly than others. For me the almond was the strongest smell yet others felt the juniper was more prominent.

This is where the liquid is distilled following the addition of the botanicals. Doesn’t this look like an old fashioned candle holder? So beautiful! Following our tour of the distilling process we had a brief tour of the product being bottled, packed and stored in the huge warehouse ready to be driven around the country to a bar or supermarket near you. It was such an amazing experience to see the product go from a bunch of fruit and seeds to a bottle packed in it’s box.

After our tour we were treated to an assault of the senses getting to smell and taste all the individual botanicals that go into Bulldog gin to make it unique. The G&J Greenall’s team told us the bottle for Bulldog caused some issues due to it’s dimensions with the studded collar and the requirement for the lettering to line up perfectly with the label (have a look at an unopened bottle, you will see what I mean!) but this goes to show the attention to detail there has been in getting this product just right.

All gin has to contain juniper and many contain juniper, coriander (high citrus notes sourced from Morocco for Bulldog), orris root, cassia (for warmth), almond (to balance with a fattiness), liquorice (a lot sweeter in powder form) and lemon (for a citrus edge). Bulldog contains all these botanicals as well as some very individual flavours to make it unique. Dragon eye is added to give a fruity sweetness along with white poppy seeds to add a peppery earthiness. Lotus leaves add a fresh and slightly herbal note whilst lavender provides a floral twist. Blended together they work so well and the gin itself is light and slightly sweet with a creamy yet peppery undertone. It is safe to say it has gone up to one of my favourites and I love how drinkable it is in it’s natural state, no tonic needed here!

We were given a book about the history of the distillery on the way our which the lovely Dave (aka Drinks Enthusiast) had created cocktails for so I insisted on an autograph. Here he is doing as asked 😉 .

Whilst I have said Bulldog is beautiful on its own we simply had to try it in other forms so headed back to Manchester hitting Apotheca for a simple gin and tonic as well as a few brambles.

Next up was Epernay for a fizzy gin punch and yet more brambles before we will our tummies with specially designed burgers at Almost Famous to soak up some of that delightful gin. The sensible side of me said this was enough, the naughty side of me thought Bulldog would be amazing in one of my favourite Almost Famous cocktails and boy, I wasn’t wrong. Bitch Juice works so well with Bulldog! Fortunately for me Almost Famous is a 5 minute walk from my front door, let the demands for Bulldog Bitches commence…

Huge thanks to Cutlass Comms and Bulldog for inviting me to this complimentary press event. The images of the distillery are courtesy of the Cutlass team.