THE GIN PASSPORT ATLAS - DISTILLERY STORY- PINNED ON THE MAP - EUROPE

My Spiritual Home....


There are distilleries you visit once, tick off the list and move on. Then there are those that become part of your own gin journey.


Silent Pool is definitely the latter for me.


It was the very first gin distillery I ever visited, and the one that really kickstarted my interest in learning more about a spirit I had been drinking for years. I've returned several times since and have been lucky enough to share some of the important moments in the distillery's story, including their wonderful 10th anniversary celebration.


The story began in 2013, when Ian McCulloch and James Shelbourne started talking about creating a premium English gin. Ian had spent almost 30 years as Commercial Director at ITV, while James brought experience in drinks marketing and distribution.


Their ambition was to create something that captured the English equivalent of the landscapes and provenance that Scottish distillers were already using so successfully.


They found their home on the Duke of Northumberland's Albury Estate, beside the legendary Silent Pool, transforming a collection of old farm buildings into the distillery. The first gin was launched in 2014 and the brand grew remarkably quickly, selling more than 30,000 bottles in its first year.


The distillery itself is rather special. A vintage wood-fired steam boiler, The Major, was restored to power Juliette, the bespoke copper still.  They also have a much larger still, Ophelia, which has the capacity to distil 1800 litres.  Both are Arnold Holstein stills with rectifying columns and are central to their story.


Then came the big change.


In September 2023, William Grant & Sons acquired Silent Pool, with production remaining at the Surrey Hills distillery.  Ian and James had built the brand from scratch, taking it from a local English gin to an international premium spirit available in more than 30 countries. The acquisition gave Silent Pool access to the global reach and brand-building experience of one of the world's major independent spirits companies, while keeping its home and production firmly in Surrey.

The original Silent Pool Gin remains the heart of the range. It uses 24 botanicals, including chamomile, elderflower, lavender, honey, cardamom and citrus, with honey from hives around the distillery. It's beautifully aromatic and layered, but still very much a gin rather than a botanical potpourri.


The range has expanded considerably over the years, with expressions such as Rose Expression, English Whisky Cask Gin, Black Juniper and seasonal and limited editions.


Black Juniper is perhaps the most extraordinary. Silent Pool went looking for what they describe as the world's rarest juniper and found it growing at high altitude in Bhutan. The berries are sustainably hand-picked and form the centrepiece of a gin that also incorporates oud and cloud tea.


The inspiration goes further, drawing on the Himalayan Puja ritual, with juniper, tea and fragrant smoke represented in the recipe. The black juniper is smoked with agarwood, creating an incredibly distinctive and exotic spirit.


The bottle and presentation are, unsurprisingly, spectacular.  It's possibly my favourite expression, but I'm sure they will have more to tempt me with in the coming years.


Then there was the 10th Anniversary Celebration Edition, which was unveiled in 2024. Pear takes centre stage as a nod to Silent Pool's early days producing pear eau de vie, supported by chamomile, elderflower, ginger, vanilla, lime, spearmint and local Surrey heather honey.


I was lucky enough to be there for the anniversary celebrations, surrounded by the people who have helped build the brand over its first decade. It felt like a particularly fitting moment for a distillery that has always put place, provenance, storytelling and presentation at the centre of what it does.


I've been back several times and I'm sure I will be back several more.


Silent Pool really is my spiritual home of gin.

"The Legend of the Silent Pool"


The legend of Silent Pool is woven right into their bottle. According to the old tale, Emma, the daughter of a woodcutter, was bathing in the pool when she was approached by a nobleman on horseback, said to be Prince John.


Frightened, she retreated into the deeper water and drowned, and the story says her spirit still haunts the pool.


The bottle's intricate copper illustration incorporates the story, with Emma, the rider and a crown hidden amongst illustrations of the gin's 24 botanicals.


The aqua-green glass reflects the colour of the pool itself, while the copper detailing references the copper stills.