Behind White Oat Gin is our Head Distiller Tudor Duxbury. The spirit of experimentation people see in our Gin is a complete reflection of Tudor and how he goes about his life.

 

We sat down with him recently and chewed the fat about all things Gin & the art of Distilling. This is how it went...

 

When did you start Distilling?

 

"I actually started when I was 13. I always had a love and interest for science. One day I got bored on my family farm in New Zealand and threw myself into learning about distilling. It became a hobby, which eventually graduated into a passion. To me it's a creative outlet, a process of creating something I can tamper away at and pour my ideas into."

 

What does good Gin mean to you?

 

"I have this theory that I like to call 'arms wide open gin'. It means that there's no one flavour that is being too loud or too brash, each element aligns perfectly to deliver a sip that is balanced and approachable. That to me is good gin."

 

Can you tell us about your home-distilling days?

 

"I've revisited home distilling on and off throughout my life, it was always a hobby before I turned it into a career. I taught myself how to braise and ferment stock feed, and even used to make copper hot water cylinders into stills from what I found laying around at tips or yards."

 

As I got a little older, I would host distilling parties with my friends where we'd get together and make different spirits and then sit around and try each of our creations."

 

What's your approach to distilling?

 

"Everything that I put in my Gin is what I would cook with or drink. My Gin is more savoury than most. I've intentionally avoided the use of lemon, as that's what you will find in most other Gins on the market. Instead, I've added orange, pepper, and mandarin undertones, which sends people on a hunt for flavour while delivering a great mouthfeel.

 

I think it's easy to be pigeon holed into what is perceived as the correct way to do things, I want to see what lies beyond that. I hope that the Gin we're making at White Oat helps to reinvent the wheel of sorts, and opens people's minds to new concepts and flavours."

 

But, at the end of the day, I'm only making the gin I'd want to drink myself."