JUST THE TONIC

Three flavours were then agreed, and the first batch of each was completed at the end of October. “During this period, we also started working on the branding and bottle design, we were obviously keen that it screamed Rutland and in particular featured the Rutland horseshoe and Normanton Church. Hayley came up with the idea of enlisting the help of the brilliant Katie Cardew, who agreed, and did a truly amazing job for which we are so grateful.”

As Chaz, Hayley and Tim were all Gin fans they thought that this would be a great opportunity to show off some Rutland ingredients. “Our gin is produced in the traditional distillation method using copper pot stills. This involves taking the best quality botanicals, with the key ones sourced from the nursery and from Rutland as a whole.”

“Then, we macerate (soak) them with top quality alcohol until the botanicals release their flavour, this is distilled to draw out all the essential oils into the alcohol and leave

behind all the impurities. This is then cut (diluted) with the purest water to create the dry gin and then infused with our Rutland flavours.”

“We currently have three flavours; a classic dry Rutland gin which has a Rutland twist with a hint of acorn. This a very smooth but complex dry gin. We also have our Rutland Strawberry and Lavender which benefits from fresh lavender grown at our nursery and strawberries from Manton fruit farm. This makes a beautiful summer drink.”

“Finally, we have our Earl Grey and Rutland honey which is our most unusual offering and has a rounded subtle flavouring. We use honey from the well-known local beekeeper Richard Stapling who keeps his hives just inside the Rutland border at Ryhall.”

“I think we are most proud of the Earl Grey and Rutland Honey; this is an unusual flavour combination and are not aware of any other gins brands that currently blend these two flavours.”

“Our Earl Grey and Rutland honey is our most unusual offering and has a rounded subtle flavouring...”

“We wanted a gin that would best compliment the afternoon teas at Wellies Tea room and once we tasted this combination we felt it was perfect. This is a particularly difficult gin to make as the honey needs to be specially heated to the correct temperature to allow it to infuse with the gin and the earl grey is surprisingly volatile and requires great technique from Simon to successfully infuse. It is a craft gin in its truest sense.”

“There are the traditional gin enthusiasts who like the smoothness of the classic dry; those with a sweet tooth opt for the Strawberry and Lavender whilst those looking for something a bit different try the Honey and Earl Grey.”

“In terms of sales at our initial events the marginal winner was the Strawberry and Lavender. The most pleasing part of these tastings were the amount of people who said they would not normally drink gin but really liked it, so hopefully we have created flavours with wide appeal.”

“The team of Multum in Parvo’s next project is inspired by some famous Rutland residents - the osprey. “We are fascinated that a bird can be equally at home on the shores of Rutland Water and also the coast of East Africa and wondered if we could reflect their diverse habitats in a gin and we believe we have done it!”

“We have combined two Rutland ingredients the acorn and elderflower with two ingredients that can be found in the osprey’s other home Guinea-Bissau – Grains of Paradise and Hibiscus. Grains of Paradise are also actually known as Guinea pepper due to its origin - its peppery taste makes it a really interesting botanical in the same way the acorn is, and then blended with the Hibiscus & Elderflower gives an unbelievably balanced smooth gin. It is like the Osprey were trying to give us a message! We plan to donate a percentage of the proceeds of this special gin to Rutland charities, including the Rutland and Leicestershire Wildlife Trust who helped bring the Osprey to Rutland.” Recently Multum Gin Parvo has been spreading positivity on social media with the daffodil horseshoe they planted behind their nursery.

“We planted it originally to bring some spring cheer and show our pride in the county, but as it has bloomed just as the current crisis hit us, then we have put it out there as a symbol of good luck and hope for Rutland at this most difficult of times.”

Multum Gin Parvo is available at a variety of local shops including Oakham Wines, Welland Vale Garden Centre, Stamford Garden Centre and of course Rutland Water Garden nursery.

When all social distancing restrictions are lifted by the Government you will also be able to enjoy Multum in Parvo at several local pubs. The Fox at North Luffenham was the pub to trial this out and the team have received great feedback from their customers so far.

Main: Winching up stone circa 1913. Young Jim Stapleton with back to shed. Bob Steele with back to camera.

PUT IT ON THE PUT IT ON THE SLATE SLATE

One of Britain’s smallest National Trust properties One of Britain’s smallest National Trust properties is celebrates the heritage of Rutland’s slate mining is celebrates the heritage of Rutland’s slate mining industry. This month, Paul Way of Priest’s House in Easton industry. This month, Paul Way of Priest’s House in Easton remindsus of how tough life used to be for those who remindsus of how tough life used to be for those who laboured 30ftunderground to mine and processone of laboured 30ftunderground to mine and processone of Rutland’s most coveted heritage building materials... Rutland’s most coveted heritage building materials...