The Willy Wonka of Gin Is Reimagining the Liquor With a Knack for the Unconventional
From a strong-flavored tipple to cover up the taste of medicinal tonic to a delicious drink on its own.
Among the many wonders of Scotland lies a fragrant emporium of gin, a now flourishing industry boasting more than 80 distilleries countrywide. Among them, storytellers bring depth beyond the spirit with tales of history and the land. Verdant Spirits out of Dundee recalls the city’s port era by infusing herbs imported during its trading heydays, whereas The Botanist celebrates the Island of Islay’s remote setting through locally foraged wild ingredients like creeping thistle, heather, and bog myrtle.
Then there’s Pickering’s Gin, whose Willy Wonka knack for imagination spawned a growing line of gins that span the historical, traditional, evocative, and unconventional.
Located in the heart of Edinburgh, Pickering’s distillery sprung when an aged piece of notepaper—dated July 17, 1947—landed on the desk of Marcus Pickering in 2013. The author, a seemingly keen distiller named Ghopal (a university friend of Pickering’s late father), scribed a nine-botanical recipe comprising warm spices, citrus peels, and juniper. Addressed Mount Mary, Bombay (now Mumbai), it suggested the recipe dated back to the final days of colonial India, when soldiers of the British Empire used robust and hearty gins to dilute the taste of medicinal tonic water (made from unpalatable quinine bark) to stave off malaria. Ah, the birth of G&Ts.
“Many fledgling gin brands dream of having provenance like ours and even hire marketing agencies to invent it for them,” says Pickering of the discovery that sparked the company’s inception. “We’re really fortunate to have a real piece of gin history hanging in a frame in our distillery, and we use it as a blueprint for all of our gins.”
At the time of this discovery, Marcus and business partner Matt Gammell were contractors renovating the decommissioned Veterinary School at Edinburgh University into a multipurpose arts center now known as Summerhall. With resources in hand and a penchant for innovation, they converted the building’s small animal kennels into a makeshift distillery to tinker with the recipe, where the inaugural Original 1947 Gin came to life.
“Anyone who has been on one of our distillery tours is regaled with stories about the trials and tribulations of the early days of Pickering’s when we were just setting out,” he says. “Everyone told us that we would need millions to start a gin distillery, but we didn’t have millions. So being builders by trade before distillers, we just rolled up our sleeves and got on with it.”
To this day, the duo lives by the mantra, “If you can’t find what you want, make it yourself.” This has steered them to an ever-expanding circuitry of inventions that streamline the distillery and create a sense of wonderment for drinkers. Take the wacky gin-pouring contraptions that include a converted gramophone named “The Marvelously Mixed Musical Martini Maker” that expertly mixes martinis; a miniature Japanese fire engine turned mobile gin bar that serves the liquid elixir straight through “Thirst Extinguisher” hoses; and a cask that disguises a speakeasy bar in the heart of the distillery.
For the holidays, Gin Baubles (ornaments) are filled with festive flavors, such as Christmas Clementine, Figgy Pudding, Spiced Pear & Cinnamon, and Brussels Sprout (further evidence of the humor found at Pickering’s). “The Brussels Sprout is the Marmite of Christmas,” says Pickering of the peculiar choice. “Matt went to a farm in rural Perthshire and took home 10,000 sprouts left over from last year’s Christmas crop and then set about making a gin that was a good product as well as a marketing gimmick. The end result is a surprisingly sweet and nutty gin.”
To ensure a continuous flow within a very saturated market, Pickering’s Gin now offers 22 varieties with a parade of development and novelties: whether it be revolving limited styles, distillery exclusives, or curious new flavors to keep imbibers on the edge of their bar stools. Special editions are found on the Royal Yacht Britannia and Cunard Cruises, and in May 2020 Pickering’s will unveil a gin for British Airways crafted to be enjoyed specifically at altitude.
The baubles and bottles can be found in independent liquor stores in more than 20 U.S. states, with distribution expanding in 2020. And if visiting Edinburgh, book a tour. It’s fun, lively, and will teach you more about Pickering’s playful upbringings and creations, like Mabel, the retired makeshift label machine.
“People will say things are impossible,” Pickering says. “But I think that our story proves that with a bit of lateral thinking, hard graft, and perhaps a lot of naivety at times, you can forge a space for yourself in the market.”
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