Former teacher opens gin school
Earl Shilton born Emma opens gin store in new city
A former English teacher from Earl Shilton has swapped GCSEs for gin leaving the classroom behind.
Emma Kinton, 43, has opened the ultimate gin experience school in Hull, providing an opportunity for visitors to indulge in a three hour gin making and tasting session.
Joined by her partner Simon Pownall, the gin-passionate couple launched Hothams gin distillery and school after making a permanent move there in August.
The former Heathfield High School pupil Emma, has spent the last 18 months travelling back and forwards, working as an English teach for Leicester Adult Learning Service for half of the week, and the other half distilling and building their business in Hull.
“We both love gin - in fact, one of our first dates was at a gin school in Leicestershire,” she explains.
“After we’d been there, we thought it would be good fun to try and make our own gin.”
After purchasing their first still, the couple experimented with developing their own recipes and eventually began distilling their own takes on the popular tipple from home.
Friends and family tested out their creations, which was then approved by a distiller in Leicestershire, before the couple began production in February.
Emma says the response to their new venture has been overwhelming: “We set up the distillery with the idea that it would be a working distillery and a place to buy our own two gins during the week, then a Gin School at weekends and evenings.
“We found a lovely place in a Victorian arcade in Hull’s Old Town, and transformed it into our distillery - with lots of help from family and friends.
“We opened our Gin School in July 2018 as we loved the idea of sharing our love of the handcrafted gin-making process, and so far, people have loved it!”
During the experience, guests can expect to pair up around the sides of the room, which hosts nine copper stills, where they will be taken through the process of creating their own tipple.
The three hour class will see guests greeted with cocktails and educated about the myriad of botanicals to choose from when curating their gin, from jalapeños to bee pollen and horse radish to rose petals.
Pupils are then seated and informed about the history of the drink, before being allowed to distil their own flavours, tasting their creations at every stage.
The ultimate experience will set you back £125 per person, which includes the ingredients, bottle of gin and accompanying cocktails.
Once guests have created their perfect flavour their unique bottle will be named and a small graduation ceremony will be held to celebrate their homemade tipple.
Despite having relocated to more than 100 miles away, Emma has not ruled out the potential to open a similar venture here, she says: “I love coming back to see my family, living in Hull is very different from living in Earl Shilton, and it would be great to be in a position where we could think about opening something similar at home.”