Best of British

Guy Kelly on a West Country distillery that runs on family spirit

Four young siblings have created an award-winning gin distiller y

For the Elliott-Berry clan, drinks are a family afair. Last year the two sisters and two brothers followed in the footsteps of their parents – who run a microbrewery in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – by creating Sibling Distillery and its award-winning gin.

Cicely Elliot-Berry, 20, her sister, Clarice, 22, and brothers, Felix, 23, and Digby, 16, decided on the venture two years ago. ‘I had just done my A-levels and had no idea what to do,’ Cicely says. ‘Felix and Clarice had jobs but felt the same, so we began talking about starting a business.’

Thanks to their upbringing, the siblings had an understanding of the drinks market and a respect for the chemistry involved. They decided on the product almost immediately. ‘We didn’t just want any distillery, we wanted a gin distillery,’ Cicely says. ‘There’s so much more possible experimentation with favours.’

With start-up money from summer jobs boosted by a parental loan, the four learnt all they could about gin-making from YouTube tutorials, before buying the requisite equipment, and began production in June 2014 in a spare industrial unit at the family brewery, from where they still work.

Sibling gin is distilled three times in a two-week process that Cicely says makes all the diference to the taste. ‘First we make a base spirit from grain and green vegetables, distil that again to make a premiumlevel vodka, then add 10 botanicals, from cardamom to vanilla, and distil it once more. It means it’s smoother and more favoursome.’

That care has paid of. In its frst year Sibling Distillery produced more than 10,000 bottles, found stockists in six countries (including Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason), and won a three-star Great Taste award, among other accolades.

All this is without marketing: because all the siblings are under 25, the Advertising Standards Authority has blocked the Elliott-Berrys from using their images or referring to their ages when selling their spirit. ‘It just forces us to spread the word in diferent ways,’ Cicely says.

Aside from all mucking in with production, Cicely says there are loose roles within the company. ‘I do a lot of the operations stuf, Clarice does the accounts, Felix takes care of marketing and Digby – who’s still at school – is chief box-carrier.’

As for mum and dad, apart from looking over a bit of paperwork, they take a back seat. ‘I think they’re just proud we’ve gone and done it,’ Cicely says. siblingdistillery.com

‘We didn’t just want any distillery, we wanted a gin distillery. There’s so much more possible experimentation with favours’

Photographs by Jamie Harris From top Digby, Clarice, Felix and Cicely Elliott-Berry of Sibling Distillery; the grain and equipment they use; the gin.