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East Coast Distillery
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Our Story

Our adventures begin at the waters of coastal Essex. A secret haven enriched by the harmonies of endeavour and nature that only the seaside can gift. Our spirits are full with the fortune of the east coast.

The story so far

It began where all good ideas do – over a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit at the end of a hard day in the office. Whilst we all love our day jobs which span across the public sector, we started to think what else we could do. It had to give us an opportunity to meet interesting people, a chance to be creative and do something that was giving back to the local area, and most importantly, involve something we could all get excited about. After a very fleeting mention of becoming goat farmers, we had our eureka moment – gin! The next day we started our research and immersed ourselves in every opportunity to learn about distilling and the magical botanicals that make each gin unique. We had lots to learn so we looked for people we could learn from – from master distillers producing beautiful gins already, to experienced foragers and farmers. Both the Mann and the Burrows-North households had extensive gin cupboards, so we set about a series of tasting evenings. With each bottle carefully wrapped in newspaper we tasted every single bottle in our cupboards, developing our taste buds and building a picture of what we loved and hoped for in our gin.

That was 2018 and two years later we are delighted to launch our signature gin – Tide’s Fortune.

This is only the beginning. We are super excited to see where our fortune takes us next. Over the coming year we will be adding a small number of limited edition gins and other spirits to our range. Keep in touch to find out more.

  • May 2018

     

    Bright Idea!

    After a long day at work and fuelled by tea and chocolate biscuits we had an idea.

  • August 2018

     

    Let’s get started

    We attend an event run by The Gin Foundry about how to open a distillery. We realise this is going to be tough – but so very worth it.

  • November 2018

     

    Tasting

    We immerse ourselves in all things gin – obviously not literally. We visit and talk to distillers; we taste and taste some more; and we come up with a plan!

  • Summer 2019

     

    Testing

    We finesse our recipe armed with knowledge about local botanicals courtesy of the talented John Wright. Then we spend some time on a ‘borrowed’ still in Yorkshire putting our new knowledge into practice. We have our recipe.

  • Autumn 2019

     

    Home sweet home

    We find our home in Landermere after a long hunt for the perfect spot. Now the hard work begins transforming the former cow shed and more lately gym into a distillery! Storm Dennis highlights we need a new roof!

  • October 2019

     

    The bottle

    We agree the design for our bottle – inspired by the local area.

  • February 2020

     

    The most important member of the family arrives.

    Monty our Still arrives  – finally! It was quite an adventure as the first one went missing somewhere between Italy and Essex. We get to work assembling him.

  • June 2020

     

    Let the good times be gin

    We distil our first batch of Tide’s Fortune.

  • The future

     

    Hope to see you soon.

    Looking to the future – we will be opening our doors for tours and events, when it is safe to do so. Until then #InspireNow #VisitSoon.

PreviousNext

What do we do

Our Gin is distilled in small batches using our still – Monty – the beating heart of the distillery. Monty is a modular still and arrived for us to build to our own design – much like a giant Meccano set! A series of copper bubble plates create cycles of reflux in the column. From here the vapour travels up and passes through the botanicals held in wire baskets where they are able to impart their natural oils. Finally the vapour condenses and collects to give a long and lingering, yet smooth mouthful with each sip.

Along with our big boy, Monty, we use two storage tanks – Withnail and Marwood (can you tell what our favourite film is?!) – these allow us to distill in small batches and to develop new recipes. We take our time and do everything by hand, from foraging and picking our local botanicals to filling, labelling and hand stamping each bottle so you can see which one of us got the final job of sealing the bottle with the beautiful neck label.

If you would like to work with us to develop a gin for you – maybe to mark a wedding day or a landmark event for you or your business – then please do get in touch.

Get in Touch

What goes into our gin

We knew from the very start that we wanted to use some local botanicals, infusing our gin with the fortune of the east coast. But where to begin.

We are lucky that the hedgerows and shoreline around our distillery are rich with wonderful inspiration. For our signature gin – Tide’s Fortune – we knew we wanted to use the amazing Sea Buckthorn which grows wild on the sandy beaches nearby and is also farmed just a stones throw from the distillery. With this as our starting point we created our recipe. Here are some of the botanicals that we use:

  • Common Juniper

    The one essential ingredient of all gin. Without them, a spirit just isn’t gin. It is the juniper berries that give you the slightly green and lightly pine nose and flavour.

  • Sea Buckthorn

    This grows along much of the east coast, but beware if you try to pick it. Its barbed wire like branches protect the wonderfully orange juicy berries. The ancient Greeks used the pulp to apply to sunburn but we use it to provide the next wave of flavour – a citrusy sweet undertone.

  • Sea Purslane

    Again this carpets much of the coastline especially the muddy coastal inlets around north Essex. Its plump silver leaves carpet the area around the distillery. Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th century botanist highlighted the interesting properties of sea purslane as having the ability to cool the outrageous Lust of the Body, Venerious Dreams and the like. Whilst we can’t confirm this it does add a lovely minerally layer to the gin, and compliments the heat of some of the more traditional botanicals that you would expect to find in a London Dry Gin.

Instagram

Distilling today and Monty has been fired up for t Distilling today and Monty has been fired up for the first time this year. He’s bubbling away nicely and keeping us cosy in the chilly weather. ❄️

To help you stay in and safe, it’s free delivery at the moment on all orders. 📦

Stay safe! 

Team ECD. Xx

#freedelivery #gin #eastcoastdistillery #essex #tidesfortune #staysafe
Well it's not the start to the year any of us want Well it's not the start to the year any of us wanted. 😢

In light of the recent developments and until we are out of lockdown, to help people keep safe, the distillery will be closed for Click & Collect. You can still order for delivery as normal on our website and we are offering FREE POSTAGE on all orders - no code needed. 📦

https://eastcoastdistillery.co.uk/shop/tidesfortune/

Hopefully we can still turn January into Ginuary in some small way. 🍸

Fingers crossed it won't be long before we can welcome you back down to Landermere safely. 🤞

Until then we'll keep an eye out for you and have the gin ready. 👀

Thank you for your support, stay safe. 👏
As with so many people, the ECD team can't see in As with so many people, the ECD team can't see in the New Year together. Here we are in our respective households, trying to make the best of it we can.

Ben & Lucy have gone for a Sloe Royale and Nicole and Si have opted for French 75s. 🍸

This is the year no one saw coming and it's been really tough at times, but we just wanted to say a big thanks to each and every one of you for your support. 

However you are seeing in the new year we hope you are safe and well.

Here's hoping 2021 is better for everyone.🤞

2020 - do one!! 👋

Happy New Year. xxx 🎉 

#newyear #doone2020 #2021 #happynewyear #gin #cocktails #essex #tidesfortune #bettertimesahead #fingerscrossed #staysafe
She has a name!! At last. Thank you for all your s She has a name!! At last. Thank you for all your suggestions.

We toyed with The Beast, Madam and Mariah (she is a bit of a diva) but in the end have settled on a name suggested by one of you.

 A graceful name that we hope she will grow into!

Introducing May. 🐶

Inspired by the Mayflower whose rigging appears on our bottle.

Thank you Mr Paul Walsh for the suggestion!
 
#Ihaveaname #distillerydog #tidesfortune #mayflower #gin #essex #may
It's been a rollercoaster year, but the one thing It's been a rollercoaster year, but the one thing that has been consistent through the ups, downs, snow, fog and sunshine is the amazing post office staff. 💌

So we just wanted to say a massive thank you for helping us get all our delicious bottles of Tide’s Fortune out to everyone. 

Thank you!! 👏

#post #royalmail #posties #thanksamillion #heros #notallheroswearcapes #gin #Christmasgifts #tidesfortune #eastcoastdistillery
If you're looking for some cocktail ideas to see y If you're looking for some cocktail ideas to see you through over Christmas, we thought we’d suggest a few that paired with Tide’s Fortune will create some simple yet lush Christmas tipples. If still have to do a Christmas 'Big Shop' then check these out for a few extra ingredients you may need to pick up.
 
Our plan is Mulled Gin on Christmas Eve in our PJs; the super easy Cranberry Gin Cocktail as we watch the Queen’s Speech; and finally, a hair of the dog - a Red Snapper on Boxing Day after a bracing walk.

 👇Check our website for full ingredients list and instructions on how to make. 👇

https://eastcoastdistillery.co.uk/inspiration/

They are purposefully super simple as you don’t want to be spending all day in the kitchen!

Send us a photo to let us know how you get on.
 
#chinchin #gin #christmascocktails
#tidesfortune #eastcoastdistillery #christmas #cocktails
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Keep in touch

Where to find us

Landermere Farm Buildings 3A
Landermere,
Thorpe-le-soken,
Essex
CO16 0NH

Open: Friday & Saturday 10am – 3pm

If you want to chat, give us a call: 01255 258833

hello@eastcoastdistillery.co.uk

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