GINUARY is booming. As Didsbury Gin celebrate their investment success on Dragons’ Den Thomas Dakin have confirmed construction has begun on their eagerly anticipated new city centre gin distillery and immersive visitor experience.
The Thomas Dakin Gin Distillery is set to occupy Lloyd House on Lloyd Street between Deansgate and Albert Square with Manchester-based creative agency LOVE leading the design, and SSA architects supervising the site development.
When it opens next autumn thousands of visitors are expected to visit this craft operation each year to discover the rich links between 18th century gin pioneer Dakin and Manchester – which will, of course, involve sampling the award-winning tipple named after him by brand owner Quintessential Brands Group.
What’s in store for those visitors? Quite a lot. Thomas Dakin Gin is made with eleven botanicals including juniper, orange peel, English coriander, angelica, cubeb pepper and liquorice as well as "a hint of red cole" aka horseradish!
Taking pride of place behind the working distillery’s impressive glass frontage will be three craft copper pot stills with a capacity to produce one million bottles of London style dry gin a year and there’ll also be a distillery bar, an event space for hospitality and entertaining.
Recent awards for the gin, currently produced in Warington, include the ‘Best British London Dry Gin’ in The Gin Masters 2018, a global competition judged by industry experts, and ‘Best Gin’ in the prestigious The Grocer Drink Awards.
Thomas Dakin director David Hume told ToM: “At last, it’s happening – the Thomas Dakin Gin Distillery will soon be a reality! As the label on the bottle says, the Thomas Dakin Legacy lives on, but with this new distillery, we’re going to be breaking new ground in craft gin distilling and really championing the great craft heritage that Manchester has.
“Dakin was a true visionary of his day and the distillery will continue his legacy, while highlighting to the world the North West’s important place in the colourful history of gin.”