Welcome to our June Blog!
Currently sat here in a humid 28 Degrees in York waiting for the forecasted thunderstorms. I can see from our observation camera at the Distillery that it is heavy rain at Achnaha, this will be a relief as it's been so dry there for the past month.
What a month it has been, If I had to sum it up in a few words I'd say Diggers, Excavations, and Regulations. I touched on the subject of our Fire Pond in my last blog post, I'm happy to say this has now been dug, along with the completion of the distillery drainage works. The Pond was another hoop we had to jump through to allow us to hold 45,000 litres of water on-site at all times in case of a fire. Initially, this was specified as tanks, which I was adamant I didn't want as they were going to be a blot on our beautiful location and landscape; and from the word go I have been clear that Igneous Gin will work with our environment and try to only ever coexist in it, not pollute it with plastic eye sores.
The plan is to turn the pond into a nature-rich habitat for insects and small creatures. In turn, benefiting the plants and botanicals in the local area, all whilst serving a purpose for our building restrictions.
I spent the first ten days of June working relentlessly at the Distillery finishing the internal plaster boarding, painting, and plumbing with the help of my incredibly patient and hands-on in-laws. All in the name of getting the Building ready for final inspection in the first week of July. I'm happy to say after this week's trip it should be over the line and ready to power up the still to start Distilling our first runs in mid-July in anticipation of the final piece of the puzzle… our premises licence. Once we have this we will be making the big announcement that we will be commercially available. It still feels a little crazy that we are this close after all this time and the amount of work that's gone into getting Igneous Gin off the ground.
Katie has been casting like a trooper in the studio to get the bottle stock built up so that we have enough bottles for our launch to market. They really are looking beautiful now, each one has its own little signature birthmark, a darker area on its surface caused by part of the slip-casting process. It is adding to the handmade and individual nature of each bottle which I think makes them extra special.
There are exciting times and potential announcements on the horizon and we are both full of nerves at what may lie ahead at this point. Katie took the huge step of handing her notice in at her place of work this month, making it official that in a few weeks, she will be full time in the studio. Things have most definitely started to pick up pace now and I find myself dealing with all the different concerns and anxieties of launching a new business all over again, but more than anything hoping that our work and relentless drive to bring Igneous Gin to market and tell our story wins out.
Looking into July, I'm hoping things will be less "Building Works" and more "Gin, Bottles, and Packaging". But now I must go and load the van with a Tetris-style attempt at getting all the final fixtures and fittings in, Enjoy all that July has to offer and we will hopefully see you reading the next Blog!
Miles and Katie x