Meet Mike, the Distiller Behind Rockfield Spirits
The Journey to Distilling Gin
Meet Mike our distiller. Mikes passion for crafting the perfect spirit has been the driving force since the beginning of Rockfield Spirits. Mike has spent countless hours perfecting the craft and, experimenting with the different botanicals, spices and ingredients to produce our range.
Now we thought it would be the perfect time to introduce Mike to you all and allow you to find out more about the man behind our signature spirits.
What made you start to distil gin?
My boss and colleague from EMS, Paul Scourfield (the founder of the company) was telling me about his recent visit to a distillery and how inspired he was about the science behind making gin. We were both thought we could do this…make our own product and by the end of the conversation we had signed ourselves up on a distilling course ….and that was it… Rockfield Spirits was formed.
Signature Spirits and Unique Recipes
How would you describe Rockfield’s signature dry gin in one sentence?
‘It’s juniper forward, with citrusy notes.’
How do you like to drink your gin?
‘I enjoy a dry gin served with tonic, ice and a slice of lime.’
Distillation Techniques and Equipment
What differentiates your spirits from others on the market?
Our recipe and the care and attention to detail throughout the production process. We also spent a lot of time developing the recipe to ensure we had the right balance of botanicals.
Are there any special techniques or unique equipment you use during distillation that sets you apart?
Doris, our copper still, ensures the taste is of high quality. We also distil at a slower pace which gives it our unique taste.
Challenges and Successes
What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a distiller and how have you overcome them?
The recipe development was the hardest challenge, ensuring we had the right taste. This involved lots of testing, testing and testing!
To ensure we had the right taste we held a number of tasting evenings, with a selection of people, and took on all their opinions to reach the high quality tasting gins that we have now.
How do you maintain consistency in the quality and taste of your spirits from batch to batch?
By care and attention and ensuring that we are consistent with every batch we make.
Future Projects and Experimental Spirits
Are there any new spirits or experimental projects you’re currently working on that you are excited about?
I always enjoy experimenting with new gin flavours, which we use at our gin tasting classes. The next gin flavour to be released is elderflower in September.
But I am very excited about the release of our next new spirit to Rockfield Distillery, ‘Rockfield Spiced Rum.’
After that I will be working on flavoured vodkas, which I am very excited about!
Funny Anecdotes from Mike’s Journey
Are there any funny anecdotes from the journey as a distiller that you’d like to share?
To ensure we had the perfect dry gin we ran a tasting evening where everyone tried 6 different dry gin recipes: 5 of the gins were different combinations of our recipe, with one being a well know brand. We did not inform our guests about the hidden well-known brand.
Whilst trialling the gins, one of our friends said that they only liked dry gin made by .…..(they named the well named brand), so Rockfield Gin would have to be exceptional to beat it.
When trying the different recipes, they disregarded their usual brand, and said that’s not the flavour for me!
This did make me (and Paul chuckle!)
