The only major brand of gin still made in the capital is planning a “Home of Gin” centre to attract tourists and Londoners to its base in Kennington.
Beefeater Gin has been made in London since 1860 and now Londoners will be able to see exactly how. Beefeater owner Pernod Ricard is building the centre at its distillery as part of the £40 million it invests each year in its gin and whisky brands. The investment will boost the area around the Kennington Road. Gin has come a long way since William Hogarth’s 1751 Gin Lane drawing which depicted the deprived and poor addicted to the drink. The spirit has experienced a resurgence to become fashionable again, boosted by the popularity of cocktails.
Desmond Payne, master distiller for Beefeater Gin who has been a gin expert for more than 45 years, will oversee the project. He said: “We have decided to push open the doors for the very first time and share some of those secrets with visitors to London, and locals, who are interested in seeing just how much expertise goes into making one of London’s most successful and famous brands.”
Pernod has received planning permission for the two-level centre, which will open later this year. It will use the centre to tell the story of the history of gin and will include an interactive demonstration of the process which still uses founder James Burrough’s original recipe of nine natural botanicals at the distillery’s “cathedral-like still house”.
