The Cambridge Distillery

The Cambridge Distillery was created by couple William and Lucy Lowe, to make gins that capture the taste of the English seasons using botanicals grown in and around Cambridge. William was inspired by Lucy to make gin, as she loved it so much. The couple were entirely self-funded, so instead of investing in an expensive copper still they initially built their own vacuum distillation equipment. It all started as what some say was the world’s smallest distillery in the couple’s living room. Of course, it’s now grown a fair amount since then, and they now have a gin laboratory. As they would collect botanicals on their dog walks, the couple realised that, at certain times of the year, they had effectively distilled the essence of the season. And so, their seasonal gin became a thing! It is allegedly the world's first gin tailoring distillery, which was first realised when Will’s father requested a “raspingly dry gin” for his birthday. “Professor Lowe’s Raspingly Dry Gin” was born along with the idea that, instead of creating just one style of gin, the couple could custom make gins to suit individual tastes - a service they still provide. Cambridge Distillery has also been awarded three consecutive times as the most innovative distillery in the world, which isn’t hugely surprising when you consider their releases such as Truffle Gin or Anty Gin (both of these contain exactly what you would expect from their respective names).