RARE . BRITISH . PURE Fishers Gin takes once-forgotten English botanicals to create a gin as intense and wild as the open sea. Inspired by the boundless ocean. Crafted on the Suffolk coast, England.
OUR STORY Fishers Gin combines rare old English herbs and botanicals with distilled barley, sourced entirely from East Anglian farmers. Born from the union of master distiller John McCarthy and Oxford University botanist James Firth, Fishers Gin reflects a passion for nature and research, capturing the wild and forgotten flavours of the English coastline. Infusing these mystifying and intriguing aromas with traditional botanicals, Fishers is more than a gin, it is an expression of the English coast; its awe-inspiring natural landscapes and the captivating traditions that have flourished there for so long.
THE COAST Britain was once a wild place, where skilled people toiled hard to survive off the land and sea. And none were more skilled or toiled harder than the fishermen on Suffolk’s rugged and often bleak coast. Today boats venture out daily into the wild North Sea, each fisherman trained in a craft that has been handed down from generation to generation. It’s this rich heritage of life untamed that we’ve captured with Fishers Gin. Like the fishermen before us, we’ve mined Suffolk’s wilding landscapes, the many miles of marshes and fertile pastures carved and made mineral-rich by the sea. Although the sea can be harsh and unforgiving, the land adjoining is lush and fertile and home to a multitude of botanical delights, much of it on highly prized marshland that is home to nightjars, kingfishers, otters and a huge array of protected wildlife. Our distilling process is unique. While the majority of gins redistil alcohol from spirit grains, ours is crafted straight from the barley found in the grassy headlands that surround our Suffolk distillery. This process means our gin has a particularly full bodied texture and flavour that provides the perfect canvas for our herbaceous and extremely aromatic botanicals to shine through. This combination of traditional gin botanicals, rare plants and foraged herbs that have been used for centuries to flavour coastal dishes, makes Fishers Gin truly unequalled.
THE BOTANICALS James Firth studies Botany at Oxford University and has dedicated his life to plants and nature in England. As our head botanist, he spent countless hours scouring historical manuscripts and looking at medieval herbalists to revive ingredients long thought extinct. Adding to a classic selection of gin botanicals, from warming juniper and aromatic cardamom to sharp orange and lemon peel, James has sourced a selection of rare old English herbs to create a truly unique gin that speaks of its rare origins. Each one of our selected wild botanicals has been ethically sourced, many foraged daily by James, and are native to the Suffolk coast. On the marshland that divides the North Sea from the River Alde, the harsh sea gives way to endless shades and textures of green; hundreds of herbs, grasses and flowers growing within one area. Each botanical is carefully considered, picked and dried at the optimum time for the best impact on our flavour and aroma. Like the wild seas that inspire us, our botanicals cannot be truly tamed. Every batch of Fishers will be slightly unique in its creation and singular in its flavour. Fishers is a genuinely artisanal product working perfectly alongside nature itself.
SPIGNEL
ROCK SAMPHIRE
WOOD AVEN
BOG MYRTLE
Spignel tastes different to everyone. It is so rare that we have cultivated our own source, the location of which is a closely guarded secret. It is also the most curious of our botanicals and forms part of the backbone to the Fishers flavour profile. Some claim it has a curry-like fragrance. To others, notes of celery and fennel. Some even find a slightly sour aroma. The sensation of taste is intricate and this is what lends Fishers Gin its sophisticated complexity.
This fine British aromatic was highly prized in Britain’s Victorian era, mainly due to the extreme difficulty in locating and harvesting it. It can only be found in craggy outcrops where it only germinates in very specific conditions. Although it was traditionally used for its leaf, we use the flower and seed head as they reveal the strongest fragrances.
Harvesting this botanical is a challenging process. It is a woodland-edge plant the flower of which has a long history of medical uses, but it is the aromatic claw-like root which we use in Fishers. It is the most difficult part to obtain since the roots are so fibrous that they often break when pulled from the ground. Wood Aven lends a celery note to the gin, although like asparagus, it only reveals its scent to some noses.
This botanical can only be foraged at a very particular time in the year. As the name suggests, it is found in bog-like landscapes and its signature scent changes throughout the year, depending on when you pick it. It is extremely aromatic and has been described by many scents, although James our botanist states that more than anything, it “smells like Christmas”. An enigmatic plant as unpredictable as the ocean.
DISTILLATION At the Copper House distillery, the botanist’s work is done and James hands over to John McCarthy, our award-winning Adnams distiller. The distillery sits a few hundred yards from the sea and has its own private facility to convert local malted barley into gin. The spirit used for Fishers Gin starts its life as barley grown across East Anglia and is sourced from the same farmers each year. After being malted, John produces a barley wash, which is fermented to seven percent alcohol using an eight-year-old house yeast. Once stripped, polished and rectified, the 100% East Anglian Barley Spirit is at ninety percent alcohol and the perfect base for a gin as unique and pure as Fishers. The carefully prepared roots, leaves, seeds and berries are steeped in the barley spirit overnight and then receive a final shot-distillation in a copper gin still. The still incorporates three plates and a condenser to control reflux and produce the most flavourful, full bodied and aromatic gin possible.
COCKTAIL RECIPES
COCKTAIL RECIPES THE BLACK PEARL Oyster sauce is the secret to this special seafarer’s pick-me-up. It’s our dark and stormy twist on the traditional Bloody Mary or Red Snapper, the carrot juice and red pepper adding a touch of sweetness while the wasabi offers a fiery finish guaranteed to warm you up after a cold, hard day at sea. Ingredients 50ml Fishers Gin 40ml carrot juice 10ml oyster sauce 40ml lemon juice Tomato juice to top Red pepper Cucumber Wasabi A pinch of salt Ice Method 1. 2. 3. 4.
Crush the red pepper and cucumber in a shaker with the wasabi. Add the carrot juice, oyster sauce, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add the Fishers Gin and shake well. Strain into a long glass with plenty of ice and top with tomato juice.
COCKTAIL RECIPES FISHERS SOUR PEAR Sweet and sour at the same time, this cocktail tells the tale of the two sides of the ocean. A hearty slug of sweet pear cream liquor and maple syrup cut through with lime juice helps to evoke both the beautiful and bestial nature that can be found out on the waves. Ingredients 50ml Fishers Gin A quarter of pear 20ml pear cream liquor 30ml lime juice 10ml maple syrup 1 egg white Method 1. Crush the pear into a shaker and add the pear cream liquor, lime juice and maple syrup. 2. Whisk in the egg white. 3. Add the Fishers Gin and shake well. 4. Pour into a short glass to serve.
COCKTAIL RECIPES SEA SPICED DRY MARTINI Intense and exhilaratingly spicy, this cocktail is for the more hardy gin drinkers. We’ve added sweet white vermouth to lift the flavours and provide some balance to the strong elements. The martini glass adding a touch of gentlemanly British sophistication to an otherwise tempestuous concoction. Ingredients 100ml Fishers Gin 20ml white vermouth Dash of chili bitters Pepper Ice Method 1. Fill a shaker with ice and add the Fishers Gin, white vermouth and a dash of chilli bitters. 2. Shake. 3. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with pepper.
COCKTAIL RECIPES WILD FISHERS & TONIC Adventure awaits the makers of this wild take on the classic G&T. This is a drink that captures the heart of Fishers Gin - the awe and spirit of nature untamed. Though you may need to seek out your foraged sea beet and wild angelica root, your prize will be a drink as refreshing as a cool sea breeze. Ingredients 75ml Fishers Gin Wild angelica root Foraged sea beet Tonic Water Ice Method 1. Crush the root of wild angelica and shake together with some foraged sea beet and 75ml of Fishers Gin. 2. Strain into a long glass with plenty of ice and top with tonic water.
COCKTAIL RECIPES FISHERS GREEN GODDESS This revitalising tonic was inspired by an ancient cure for scurvy. Fresh and fragrant, the mint and lemon add zing while the basil leaves and elderflower enhance the flavour profile with their elegant aromatics. The whole drink works together to give a taste of the mineral-rich meadows and flora that once carpeted Britain’s fair green isles. Ingredients Cucumber Sprig of mint Basil leaves 1 egg white 40ml lemon juice 40ml elderflower cordial 50ml Fishers Gin Method 1. Vigorously blend the cucumber, mint and basil to a pulp. 2. Then shake with the egg white, lemon juice, elderflower cordial and Fishers Gin. 3. Pour into a long glass and enjoy.
For all enquiries please email info@fishersgin.com