Poster appeal for NHS pay rise
A BUSINESSMAN who got bored during lockdown hit upon the idea of creating his own gin and it’s proved so successful he is struggling to keep up with demand.
Tom Clark, who has run a top-rated escape rooms business Stuck in the Riddle in Huddersfield since 2017, knew he had to come up with something special given the explosion in gin brands over the last few years.
The 35-year-old, who lives in Honley, had always wanted to set up either a microbrewery or distillery but the pandemic initially put a brake on his plans. He said: “I’m really not someone who likes to relax so after the second lockdown was announced I decided I needed to start doing something to keep me sane, and decided to press on with the gin.
“The biggest struggle in creating the product was caused by constraints of being able to meet and contact places as a lot of businesses didn’t allow visitors, or would be working reduced hours as they had staff on furlough, so ordering stock took longer than it would have done, and it became very tight for everything to arrive in time for the first batch.
“I was keen to brand the gin as a truly local product, which could also have wider appeal, and naming it after Huddersfield’s most famous landmark, one of my favourite places, just seemed to be a perfect name, and so after checking there were no trademark problems, Castle Hill Gin was born.
“I always wanted to produce a Lady Grey tea gin as I’d drink a lot of Lady Grey as my main hot drink, and used to love a bespoke blend produced for a tea room in Almondbury, where I used to live, called T&Cake, and I approached them to talk about my idea and see if I could use their tea.
“They agreed and I got to work on recipe creation and testing. The business is based in St George’s Square in Huddersfield town centre.
“I was originally just going to launch with the Lady Grey gin, but then started to have doubts over whether people would be likely to buy that over a London Dry, and so I decided to create a more typical gin to launch alongside the tea gin.
“The Lady Grey is a true tea gin, with a full black tea body, perfectly complemented by the citrus notes from the bergamot, lemon peel and orange blossom. The London Dry gin is juniper-led (more so in taste than smell) and creates a herbaceous mouthfeel from the rosemary and thyme, with added sweetness from the cardamom and cinnamon.
“The initial batch we did was 150 bottles of each flavour, which I was expecting to last a couple of months, but I sold the last bottle of the London Dry three weeks after starting to approach places to sell it, and so we went straight on to producing batch number two, and have just finished bottling batch number three. “We’ve just entered the spirit into a few different award competitions, which I’m hoping will reflect the quality of the product as we get judged a little further into the year.”
The London Dry gin is juniper-led and creates a herbaceous mouthfeel from the rosemary
and thyme.
UNIONS are urging people to put colourful posters in their windows in support of a campaign for a proper pay rise for NHS workers.
Fourteen unions, representing more than one million workers, called on households across the UK to show their appreciation for NHS workers with bright displays on April 1, the day staff are due to have a wage rise.
The increase has been delayed and the Government has sparked anger by recommending a 1% rise in England, compared to 4% in Scotland.
Unions say the delay means health workers, including cleaners, physiotherapists, 999 call handlers, porters, nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, must now wait for the wage rise they are due.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Everyone can join the NHS ‘thank you’ with an eye-catching window show – the brighter the better to bring cheer to everyone’s street.”