Hendrick's Gin

Hendrick’s Gin is distilled using 11 different ingredients (botanicals). These eleven botanicals consist of juniper, coriander, angelica, lemon peel, orange peel, chamomile, cubeberry, elderflower, meadow seed, caraway seed and iris root. A still is needed to allow the distillation process to take place. Unlike regular gins, Hendrick’s Gin is made using two types of stills, a ‘Carter-Head’ still and a copper ‘pot’ still. The copper still is where the first phase of the distillation process takes place. The 11 botanicals are immersed for 24 hours in a combination of water, from the Penwhapple reservoir, about ten kilometres from the Hendrick’s Gin distillery, and pure alcohol. The temperature of this liquid mixture is then slowly increased, causing a vapour to be released which passes through a condenser. From this condenser comes the now infused alcohol and is then stored in a so-called ‘spirit safe’. This is the first and heavier distillate.
Now comes the second distillation process at the Carter-Head. In contrast to the copper kettle where the botanicals are boiled in hot water, the botanicals are steamed in the Carter-Head. The botanicals are placed in a copper basket at the top of the kettle, through which the steam will pass. In this way, the oils and flavours from these botanicals are released. This creates the second and lighter distillate.
When these two distillates are combined, rose petals and cucumber are added as the final ingredient as an essence. Now the distillation process is complete and the product of Hendrick’s Gin has been created.