News / Gin
Averys produce first own-brand gin for 40 years
Mimi Avery doesn’t know why the gin label she found in her company archives had the name Silver Lizard, but then there are many things about the 225-year-old Averys that have been lost to the mists of time.
Not wanting the label to remain in the archives, Mimi set about researching more about what this gin last bottled in the 1970s contained.
She was unable to find out what botanicals were used but did discover that the gin was made using the ‘Bristol method’ – a style of distilling where each botanical is distilled individually.
is needed now More than ever
And so that is how the newly recreated Averys Silver Lizard was made by Smeaton’s of Long Hanborough in Oxfordshire, one of the few gin producers in the UK who still use the Bristol method.
Mimi Avery with one of the 1,320 bottles of Averys Silver Lizard gin, on sale for £35
As its botanicals, Silver Lizard contains juniper, coriander, oranges, lemons, angelica root, vanilla, liquorice, cardamon and orris root.
“It’s such a smooth gin,” Mimi said in Averys’ historic cellars on Culver Street on a recent morning, explaining that her preferred garnish is red grapefruit and a fresh mint leaf, served with Mediterranean tonic from Fever Tree.
“Most people seem to like that,” she added. “The mint just gives it such a lift. It’s fantastic to have this gin now. We love it.”
By using the Bristol method, the master distiller at Smeaton’s varies the maceration, temperature and cuts for each small batch distillation of each individual botanical.
“We still hand-cut each Valencia late orange to ensure that only fresh fruit reaches the copper pot stills,” the Smeaton’s team say.
“This single-minded dedication allows the berries to express their bright flavours and delicate oils, preserves clean citrus aromas while avoiding cooked notes, and allows the barks and roots to offer up their rich flavours.”
Read more: Gin is just the tonic for Bristol
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