In our new ‘Meet the Maker’ series we meet Hamish Martin from The Old Curiosity Distillery.

Secret Garden Distillery collaborated with Chiswick House to produce a small batch gin that embodies the Gardens. Their bespoke Camellia & Cedar gin is available in the Chiswick House Shop, open daily 10am-4pm, 10% discount for Chiswick House and Gardens Members.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you make:
The Old Curiosity Distillery is a Scottish-based gin producer, specialising in small batch production. We produce a range of products from small batch bespoke gins to larger scale traditional gins, all of which are hand crafted to ensure the highest quality. We use natural ingredients in our production process, with no added sugars. Our botanicals deliver a wide range of flavours and achieve a range of gin styles from London Dry to compounded Gin. We expertly craft our range to deliver the best-tasting gins for our customers.

How did you get into making your product?
Our Head Distiller, Mark Boswell, graduated in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University in June 2018 and has been with The Old Curiosity Distillery ever since. Both stills arrived at the Distillery the day he did, and they’ve got to know each other pretty well over the last three years! Mark states the best thing about working at The Old Curiosity Distillery is the ability to make such a wide range of gins and develop unique flavour combinations.

Which of your products are available in Chiswick House Shop?
For Chiswick House, we crafted a gin with Camellia and Cedar. We distilled extracts from their world-famous 300-year-old Cedar of Lebanon trees and petals from their heritage Camellias, one of the oldest Camellia collections under glass in the Western world, first planted in 1828. Both distilled botanicals created the delicious gin which is available to buy from the Chiswick House Shop.

What do you love about Chiswick House and Gardens?
After immersing yourself in the fascinating history at Chiswick House, you must not forget to try the award-winning Café. As well as being recognised for its architectural prowess, it’s also home to delicious home-made pizzas using fresh ingredients from the garden.

What’s your top Chiswick tip?
Take a taste of the Chiswick Gardens home with you by grabbing yourself a bottle of the Chiswick House small batch gin, made with camellia & cedar from the gardens.