Our Gin of the December box : 6 O’ Clock Gin

Hello Michael, can you start by telling us a little bit about the history of your company and why you developed a gin?

Bramley & Gage, the producers of 6 O’ Clock Gin, started as a family fruit farm 30 years ago in Devon 130 km away from Bristol. My parents began by making liqueurs with strawberry or raspberry. In 2007, my sister and I took over the company. At that time, we decided to distil 6 O’ Clock Gin with some other products like the Tonic, the Sloe Gin and a range of 13 fruit liqueurs.

Why did you decide to produce spirits products?

We started with liqueurs because it added value to our harvests and it enabled us to maintain the business. As it was successful, we developed a sloe gin which quickly became our top seller. To produce sloe gin, you need gin... so we investigated how to make our own gin?

After some tests, we started distilling because it enables a much better quality. However, that gin wasn’t 6 O’ Clock yet. There wasn’t one “aha” moment. It was more a long iterative process to get to the final liquid we produce now. We tested not only several recipes but also different ingredients or producing machines. Finally, 6 O’ Clock was born in 2010.

What are the main 6 O’ Clock Gin characteristics?

The gin is a London dry style but we wanted it to be modern.

There are only 7 botanicals. My philosophy is “less is more”. If you have too many botanicals, you can’t taste them all. Simplicity gives us the right balance between the 7 botanicals to get the taste we want to reach. Our recipe is inspired by our fruit liqueurs as it should taste of the fruit you make it from. Therefore, for 6 O’ Clock gin, we were aiming to a flavour juniper led which is perfect to make a great Gin & Tonic.

Tell us more about the Tonic?

Tonic is critical in your G&T. We were not very happy with the result of most of the Tonic’s had with our 6 O’ Clock. Consequently, we worked to make our own tonic. The result is a tonic with a clear citrus taste, a perfect match with our 6’O Clock Gin.

Today, for several reasons, we decided to outsource the production and commercialisation of this tonic to a 3rd party. It is now called Distiller’s Tonic and comes in original and dry variants. We focus only on Spirits production and business!

How is 6 O’ Clock gin produced?

We are doing everything ourselves. We distil in house and we have a small bottling line. We also add labels and corks by hand. However, for the biggest volumes, we ask a 3rd party in the area to bottle for us.

It is also important to say that, with our solar panels, our production facility is carbon neutral.

Is your distillery open to public?

We have distillery tours organized during the weekend. We guide people through the whole

production process, so they really understand what we do. We take groups up to 12 people per tour and we do 12 per month. It is quite popular as it is now fully booked 3 months in advance.

Why did you call your gin 6 O’ Clock?

The origin comes from my grandfather who travelled the countries where he needed to take antimalarial

tonic. To not forget his medication, he always drank it at 6 O’clock.

On top of it, the brand name reflects the notion of temperance. If you want to enjoy quality, you

look forward to it until 6 o’clock rather than rushing it sooner in the day.

Which places would you advise us to visit in Bristol?

I would recommend visiting the SS Great Britain. It is a ship from 1843 that has been transformed in a museum. Then, the Clifton Suspension Bridge is very interesting for its industrial design in the city.

Finally, the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery where you can enjoy some pieces of Banksy, who also comes from Bristol.

Some interesting bars in Bristol?

There are many of them. If I need to mention some of them, I would say Pump House where they have more than 100 gins, The Harbourside or The Canteen located next to a Banksy mural.

What is the 6 O’ Clock perfect serve?

You use a large glass – Spanish Style- filled with ice and a premium Indian tonic (neutral taste). As a garnish, you add a lemon peel and some elderflower. Elderflower is one of our 7 botanicals, its taste tends to slightly disappear when distilled, therefore the garnish brings the elderflower flavour back.

Besides G&T, how would you drink 6 O’Clock?

6 O’ Clock would be perfect in a Negroni with our Bramley & Gage Sweet Vermouth…