News / Whisky
Bristol to get first new whisky distillery in a generation
Liam Hirt opens a packet of playing cards at the Circumstance Distillery and draws out the eight of clubs. The design on the front of the card is what you would expect, but the design at the back is rather special, with each card holding a unique code.
To mark the launch of Bristol’s first whisky distillery in a generation, co-director Liam has created a cryptocurrency.
Tokens bought in the cryptocurrency will never expire, and will be able to be exchanged for any bottle made at any time by this new distillery located in a former warehouse on Whitehall Trading Estate off Gerrish Avenue.
is needed now More than ever
The first 52 people buying the cryptocurrency will receive a commemorative playing card, but anyone with a digital token will have the choice of exchanging it for one of the first bottles produced by Circumstance, or saving their token to be exchanged for more mature and more expensive spirits in the future.
One of the playing cards that will be given to the first people to buy Circumstance tokens, that can then be exchanged for any bottle made by the distillery
Liam started distilling gin in the basement of his home in Montpelier with his business partner Danny Walker in 2007, with the first bottles of Psychopomp for sale in 2013 as the pair moved into a microdistillery on St Michael’s Hill in Kingsdown.
The development of Circumstance (Psychopomp and Circumstance, geddit?) is a culmination of a two-and-and-a-half year journey for the pair, who hope that the first bottles of liquids from their new distillery will be available to buy before Christmas.
But not whisky yet, however, because EU regulations prohibit anything called whisky from being under three-years-old.
So we’ll have to wait until late-2021 at the very earliest to taste Circumstance whisky, but in the meantime will still be able to enjoy their grain and rye spirits, as well as rum, cider brandy and whatever Liam, Danny and Circumstance head distiller Mark Scott decide to make.
On a recent visit to the distillery, the trio were flushing water through their new custom-built 1,800-litre still to check for any leaks, having assembled it by hand over the last few days under the watchful eye of Spook, Liam’s 11-year-old ex-racing greyhound.
Next to the large still with columns stretching high up towards the ceiling, two smaller stills will be able to make gin, mostly for commercial clients such as Wild Beer and Canton Teas, therefore freeing up the Psychopomp distillery to double its capacity.
“We just love making shit,” says Danny. “That’s one of the main reasons we have opened this. So we can make more shit.
“We never started Psychopomp with a plan. We started off making stuff that we liked making. And we will continue to do so here at Circumstance.”
Two metal storage units the size of shipping containers are also in place, one of which is already filled with a dozen oak barrels formerly used to store bourbon, in which some of Circumstance’s whisky is set to be aged.
The wash distilled at Circumstance at the start of the whisky-making process will come from nearby Dawkins brewery in Easton, with the team proud of their Bristol roots and keen for more collaborations.
The style of Circumstance whisky will be ‘new-world’, joining distilleries outside the traditional Scotch, Irish and American identities who strive to make more innovative products away from historical constraints and tight regulations.
“As far as we know, nobody has ever done anything like this before,” says Mark. “We’re making whisky in this way in order to be flexible. It’s a massive learning curve for us, but it’s so fun and exciting.”
Circumstance token sales will commence on September 6. The first 1000 tokens will cost £30, with subsequent token releases costing £35 and £40. For more information, visit www.circumstancedistillery.com.
Main photo, left to right: Danny Walker, Liam Hirt and Mark Scott at Circumstance distillery
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