OLD MOTHER HUNT
MOTHER
KNOWS BEST
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVE BALL, YOU MAKE RUM. VELO MITROVICH REPORTS
54
|
WINTER 2021
P
eople go into making spirits
grab any and all hours offered. And the
for a variety of reasons.
perks? Big airlines might have a crew
For some, especially in
lounge at airports. For the rest, the same
the whisky industry, it is a
uncomfortable terminal seats you sit on
family tradition, or the local
are their lounge as well.
distillery is the largest employer in the
For Rebecca, with two small children,
area. You either work for the distillery, in
Matt’s varying hours made it impossible
a support industry, or you move to where
for her to find work. But she knew how
there are other life opportunities.
much Matt loved to fly, what pinning on
Many, too, in whisky, follow a more
those gold wings meant to him every
traditional path of either learning on the
day. She supported him fully.
job and working their way up the food chain, or starting with a university degree
If only the industry had done the same.
in distilling. In March 2020 during the beginning However, craft gin and rum are totally
of the Covid pandemic, Matt’s Flybe
different animals. Many times, people
work chat suddenly became filled with
going into either have a ‘regular’ job. But,
messages from worried colleagues
feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled or just
reporting their aircraft had been
wanting to do something different, they
grounded and impounded, or that
decide to give distilling a try. Most times
airports suddenly refusing to give fuel.
they keep the other job until the distillery
Matt and Rebecca were worried. They
starts to pay its way or they decide this
had just bought a larger house for their
wasn’t for them. You could label this the
growing family. Still, the government
‘safe or hobbyist approach.’
immediately stepped in and promised it
For a much smaller minority, craft gin and
would keep Flybe flying. Things wouldn’t
rum distilling represents a way of putting
be that bad.
food on the table, keeping up with house
It was a pie crust promise – easily made,
payments, and trying to make the best of
easily broken. The next day Matt got the
a bad situation. That is exactly where Matt
official notification that Flybe had folded,
and Rebecca Hunt found themselves at
and he was made redundant. It hit Matt
the very start of the Covid pandemic.
like a ton of bricks. He and Rebecca realised that with so many other pilots
Matt Hunt was a pilot for Flybe; being
around the world suddenly out of work,
a commercial pilot was all that he ever
finding a pilot’s job elsewhere wasn’t an
wanted to be. However, being a pilot is
option.
a lot less glamorous than it sounds. If you’re flying for smaller airline or doing
Matt had always been self-made. Even
local hops for a big one, there is no
with his flight training, he had worked a
schedule or rhythm in your life.
variety of jobs to pay for it. But now like
You’re up at 3.30am for a 5.30 flight.
a trapeze artist, he had just let go of the
The next day you could be starting
bar, realised there were no safe hands
mid-afternoon and be flying late. You
waiting to catch him, and worse of all,
DISTILLERS JOURNAL
