Type Private Headquarters Highgate, London | Founded 2009 Area served Worldwide | |
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Industry Microdistillery & Distillation Founder Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney | ||
Sacred Microdistillery is a microdistillery located in Highgate, London. It is unusual in that it distills its spirits by use of vacuum distillation, and thus distills at a lower temperature than traditional pot stills, which operate at atmospheric pressure. The microdistillery operates out of the back room of a residential house, with a vacuum plant situated in a wendy-house in the distiller's back garden.
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History
Sacred Microdistillery was established in London in 2009; it is the only vacuum distillery in London. Sacred Microdistillery was launched by Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney, initially as a pure gin distillery, but this has now branched out into vodkas, such as Sacred London Dry Vodka, produced using the same process. Also now produced are three vermouths using English wine and an English alternative to Campari - Rosehip Cup. The distillery started on a small scale, and personally delivered stock to local bars and restaurants on London's tubes and buses.
Sacred Microdistillery is based on a residential street in North London. It distributes its products to many bars, restaurants and independent spirits merchants in London and worldwide. This includes Duke's Bar in St James's, London, where Ian Fleming invented the Vesper cocktail, and Gerry's of Old Compton Street.
Sacred Gin came first in its category in the 2009 Ginmasters competition, which is a blind tasting competition organised by The Spirits Business magazine. Subsequently, Sacred London Dry Vodka and Sacred Organic Vodka both won gold in the 2010 Global Vodka Masters competition, organised by the same publication. In 2010, Sacred Gin placed in the top three alongside Hendrick's and Tanqueray 10 gins in another blind tasting organised by Imbibe magazine. In 2013, Sacred Gin and Sacred Organic Gin each won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Currently, Sacred produces 16 products, including gins, vodkas, vermouths, aperitifs and bottled cocktails.
Products
Sacred Microdistillery's spirits are produced in small batches of a few hundred bottles a time, distilled from English Grain Spirit. Each botanical is macerated in alcohol for 4–6 weeks and then distilled individually. These distillates are blended as the final part of the production process.
Sacred currently produces the following products, available in the UK and overseas:
London Dry Gin
Botanical Gin
As each of Sacred's botanicals is distilled individually and then blended, it is possible to produce gins of a different blend ratio. This allowed Ian Hart to produce a range of 6 'botanical gins', in which one botanical is increased in the blend.