Latest news with #DyfiDistillery
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Telegraph
Gins with a sense of place
Danny Cameron is out picking gorse on the day we speak. 'It has a very long flowering season but now, in its first flush, is when gorse is at its best for us. You get a lot of flavour from it.' The yellow blooms that blaze across the slopes of the Dyfi Valley in Wales are one of around 20 locally foraged botanicals Cameron uses in his small-batch distilled Pollination Dovey Native Botanical Gin, which has just become Britain's very first gin to be awarded UK Geographical Indication (GI) status. The next one he picks will most likely be hawthorn flowers – 'our use of hawthorn is quite small but it can give a lovely delicacy in a broad blend,' he says – or, possibly, nettle tips. Through July and August, he will gather around 52,000 stems of bog myrtle, Myrica gale, a beautifully perfumed, damp-loving shrub traditionally used to repel midges. Hand-picking 52,000 stems sounds arduous but apparently 'that's actually the easy bit. After that, we de-stem by hand so we end up with around half a million leaves. We don't want the stalks in the still because it gives a bit too much woodiness. It's not unpleasant, it just doesn't work in that particular blend. With Pollination we're looking for delicacy and subtlety. We preserve the botanicals after picking, then do a blend from across the year, otherwise we'd only have three-quarters of the [artist's] palette.' The tiny Dyfi (pronounced Dovey) Distillery lies in a Unesco-designated biosphere reserve in the southernmost part of Snowdonia. Of its four gins, only Pollination has been granted the UK GI, meaning it has characteristics attributed to a specific geographic origin. The process of attaining this status sounds almost as laborious as the bog myrtle leaf-picking. Cameron, a wine importer in his previous life, says it took five years from start to finish and, as well as the inevitable mountain of paperwork, involved a tasting to ascertain that Pollination has distinctive organoleptic qualities that aren't replicated in gins from elsewhere. Pollination Dovey Native Botanical Gin (45%), Dyfi Distillery, £37.95 for 50cl Thanks to the popularity of London Dry gin, it's a common misconception that gin classifications have long been tied to place. But London Dry describes only a style that can be made anywhere provided the right regulations are adhered to, including sweetness levels and that the botanicals can only be introduced during the distillation process. While Pollination is the only gin in the UK to win GI status, there are others made using foraged or local ingredients with the intention of representing the fragrances and perfumes found in nature around the distillery in which they're made. For instance, Hepple Gin is made in Northumberland using Douglas fir from the surrounding woods, and lovage and blackcurrant leaves from the distillery's gardens. Cambridge Dry Gin was inspired by a Cambridge meadow and its botanicals include basil, rosemary, lemon verbena and rose. Even King Charles has got in on the act, with a (rather good) gin inspired by the lemon verbena, thyme and rosemary that grow at Highgrove. Highgrove Organic Garden Botanical Gin (40%), Highgrove Gardens, £44.95 for 70cl While sales of the novelty gins have fallen, artisan gins are still going strong. 'We haven't really been affected [by the slide in gin sales],' says Cameron. Probably because Pollination Dovey Native Botanical Gin (45%, Dyfi Distillery, £37.95 for 50cl) is for aficionados: made in tiny quantities, it's available only from the distillery door or website (as well as being served in a number of top restaurants, such as the Black Swan at Oldstead). It's a beauty: textured and aromatic like a wild landscape with fat bees buzzing and a gentle breeze blowing. Three more bottles to try
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Welsh gin first in UK to get protected status
A gin made in Wales is the first in the UK to be given protected status. Dovey Native Botanical Gin, produced by Dyfi Distillery at Corris, Gwynedd was granted geographical indication status (UKGI). Pembrokeshire Native Oysters and Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters, as well Welsh Heather Honey, have also received protected status. UKGI was set up to ensure certain UK foods and drinks could secure legal protection against imitation after the UK's withdrawal from the EU which runs its own scheme. Pete and Danny Cameron produce Dovey Native Botanical Gin in the Dyfi Valley where theirs is currently the only distillery. "The valley was designated by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve several years ago and has a diversity of native flowers, fruits and wild herbs which is truly special... and we wanted to capture our surroundings in a bottle," said master distiller Pete. Dr Andy Woolmer of Tethys Oysters Ltd and Jake Davies of Atlantic Edge Shellfish Ltd are the partnership behind Pembrokeshire Native Oysters and Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters. Dr Andy Woolmer said they were delighted with the news. "It's a recognition of both the unique flavour of our oysters and the sustainable way in which we farm them," he said. "PGI helps protect that identity, and we hope it encourages more chefs and food lovers to discover what makes Pembrokeshire oysters so special." Single malt Welsh whisky given protected status Protected status boosts Welsh whisky 'credibility' Could Welsh leeks become the new Cornish pasty? Gruffydd Rees of Gwenyn Gruffydd Ltd, behind Welsh Heather Honey, in Carmarthenshire said he was delighted that Wales was the first UK nation to have a honey receive PGI status. Huw Irranca-Davies, Wales' Deputy First Minister, who also has responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, said the recognition "strengthens Wales' growing family of protected foods" "From the mountains to the coast, Wales produces some of the UK's most iconic foods, cultivated with care and tradition. "Each GI product tells the story of our landscape, our producers' expertise and our proud culinary heritage," he said.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Dovey Native Botanical Gin first in UK to get protected status
A gin made in Wales is the first in the UK to be given protected status. Dovey Native Botanical Gin, produced by Dyfi Distillery at Corris, Gwynedd was granted geographical indication status (UKGI). Pembrokeshire Native Oysters and Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters, as well Welsh Heather Honey, have also received protected status. UKGI was set up to ensure certain UK foods and drinks could secure legal protection against imitation after the UK's withdrawal from the EU which runs its own scheme. Pete and Danny Cameron produce Dovey Native Botanical Gin in the Dyfi Valley where theirs is currently the only distillery. "The valley was designated by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve several years ago and has a diversity of native flowers, fruits and wild herbs which is truly special... and we wanted to capture our surroundings in a bottle," said master distiller Andy Woolmer of Tethys Oysters Ltd and Jake Davies of Atlantic Edge Shellfish Ltd are the partnership behind Pembrokeshire Native Oysters and Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters. Dr Andy Woolmer said they were delighted with the news."It's a recognition of both the unique flavour of our oysters and the sustainable way in which we farm them," he said."PGI helps protect that identity, and we hope it encourages more chefs and food lovers to discover what makes Pembrokeshire oysters so special." Gruffydd Rees of Gwenyn Gruffydd Ltd, behind Welsh Heather Honey, in Carmarthenshire said he was delighted that Wales was the first UK nation to have a honey receive PGI status. Huw Irranca-Davies, Wales' Deputy First Minister, who also has responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, said the recognition "strengthens Wales' growing family of protected foods""From the mountains to the coast, Wales produces some of the UK's most iconic foods, cultivated with care and tradition. "Each GI product tells the story of our landscape, our producers' expertise and our proud culinary heritage," he said.
