Q & A with Salcombe Gin Founder Angus Lugsdin
Salcombe in a Bottle: An interview with Salcombe Gin Founder Angus Lugsdin
The narrow, Elizabethan streets of Salcombe are steeped in maritime history, its fleet of fruit schooners once the envy of the world. Capturing this heritage in a bottle is no mean feat, something Angus Lugsdin of Salcombe Distilling Company knows only too well.
Tucked away on Island Street in the heart of Salcombe’s artisan quarter, the distillery has been crafting classic gins for the past five years, scooping multiple awards along the way.
Inspired by his love for the ocean and relentless in his quest for botanical alchemy, Angus invites us into the avant-garde world of a rising gin master.
How did the idea of Salcombe Distilling Company come about?
I now live and work in Salcombe but have been visiting the town on family holidays since I was a child. I learnt to sail here and ended up teaching sailing for the Island Cruising Club where I met my business partner Howard Davies. We share fond memories of many a gin and tonic together on the yacht club terrace. Although we went our separate ways career wise for a while, I guess that’s where the seed for the business was sown. I’ve always had a passion for spirits, in fact the initial idea was to set up a Devon whisky distillery but we wanted a product to bring to that market that didn’t require aging, we both love gin and tonic, and Salcombe and gin seemed to go so well together – it was a match made in heaven.
How did you set about capturing the essence of Salcombe’s historic fleet of Fruiters in your maiden bottle of Salcombe Gin?
Our brand has evolved over the years and is full of nautical nods. We launched Salcombe Gin ‘Start Point’ in May 2016, and from the very beginning our primary label has been the shape of a gin pennant, a flag flown by sailors to symbolise hospitality. Then there’s the influence of the Salcombe Fruiters, schooners once responsible for importing more the eighty percent of citrus fruits and spices to our home shores. Many of the botanicals they transported from the Mediterranean and across the Azores go into and help inspire our gins today.
Where else do you find inspiration for your gin infusions?
We’re always seeking new inspiration for our gins and finding ways to nurture our affinity with the maritime heritage of Salcombe. Take our Start Point gin for example, a classic citrus-led London Dry Gin inspired by the iconic Start Point Lighthouse which stands on the South Hams peninsula not far from Salcombe and once helped guide home the Salcombe fruiters from their transatlantic voyages. In terms of popularity, Salcombe Gin ‘Rosé Sainte Marie’ is hot on its heels and is inspired by a cool crisp glass of Provence rosé and the lifestyle of the South of France, with hints of red fruit, fresh lemon peel, lemon verbena and orange blossom – all cargo aboard the Salcombe fruiters – and comes to the fore during the summer months.
We’ve also worked with world-renowned chefs and winemakers as part of our Voyager Series, an ultra-premium range of gins developed to reflect their approach to their craft, their history, their story, and their techniques, so really life through their lens. Our most recent in the series is Daring with Padstow chef Paul Ainsworth. Together we’ve created a milk vodka and blended it with our English wheat spirit, the base we use for our gin. We added botanicals to try and mimic the flavours of one of Paul’s classic dishes called ‘A Tale of Porthilly’ that he serves to all guests at his flagship restaurant No6. – To achieve the zinc-like oyster flavour we used oyster leaves which genuinely taste like an oyster! These have a unique umami note and we distil the oyster leaves separately from the other botanicals, adding this to the gin, to ensure we extract the optimal flavour and achieve the right balance. Paul and his team were absolutely blown away by it, they love it.
What’s in a day at Salcombe Gin School?
You’ll be invited into our distilling laboratory and take charge of your own ornate mini copper pot still to develop and distil your very own 70cl bottle of gin. Our expert distillers are on hand to guide you through the process as you choose your own citrus, herbal, floral and spice botanicals and create your very own gin recipe which will be bottled, named, and placed in a presentation box with a personalised label. Round off your day with a measure of your gin at our waterside bar served with a choice of garnishes and tonics. It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we have had over six thousand different gin recipes created in the Gin School since we opened, with some customers having returned four times to either tweak their recipes or create new ones.
Tell us about your sustainability pledge?
Our sustainability pledge is very important to both Howard and I because of our close relationship with the ocean. It is in our brand’s DNA. A couple of years ago we started doing simple things like removing plastic straws from the bar, sourcing paper tasting cups and creating plastic free packaging. We have really worked hard to remove plastic wherever possible in the supply chain and production process. We’re also working with the Marine Conservation Society here in the UK and the Seatrees Foundation in the US with a pledge that one percent of the recommended retail price of every bottle we sell supports their initiatives of protecting and planting seagrass in the UK and the regeneration of sea kelp forests in the US, both essential to carbon sequestration. It’s really important to us that we keep doing our bit for the oceans as we work towards being Ocean Positive.
What’s your Salcombe Gin cocktail of choice for a sunny summer’s evening?
My current favourite is one of our latest cocktails that we created for our Daring gin called Who Dares Wins – a take on a gin fizz with sharp citrus flavours to cut through Daring’s buttery character. I also love a negroni and anything from the classics, but the most popular cocktail at the Distillery Bar is the Marmajito which is our take on a Mojito but using our Start Point Gin instead of rum and marmalade instead of sugar. This is finished with elderflower tonic water.
Salcombe’s majestic headland and gleaming coves provide the perfect settings for gin and tonics. Can you share with us a couple of your favourite local haunts?
One of my favourite spots is being on a boat either anchored or moored just off Ditch End steps on the East Portlemouth side of the Salcombe Estuary, having a barbeque on the boat and watching the world go by. Other favourites include picnics on the beach at Sunny Cove or Mill Bay with my family and the dog, taking a boat up the estuary for drinks at the Millbrook Inn at South Pool, or walking my dog at West Charleton Marshes not far from the market town of Kingsbridge.
The Salcombe Distilling Company
Salcombe Gin School, Distillery, Boathouse Bar and Retail Store – The Boathouse, 28 Island Street, Salcombe TQ8 8DP (01548 288180)
Dartmouth Retail Store – York House, Dartmouth TQ6 9PS (01548 288180)
www.salcombegin.co.uk