After a good night’s rest, a rigorous workout in the gym, a swim in the hotel pool, followed by a hearty breakfast, Mel and I strolled down to Salcombe Distilling Co. to learn the art of distilling gin. Gin, you may have noticed has made a huge appearance on the drinks scene in the last few years. It made an even bigger impact on co-owners Howard and Angus, who decided to take matters a step further and open their own distillery in this part of world, and thus Salcombe Gin was born in 2014.
With gin’s ever-growing popularity, it’s no wonder lovers of this spirit want to learn more about it, so the Salcombe Distillery Co. offer gin lessons.
Mel and I had fun experimenting with 12 citrus, floral, herbal and spicy botanicals to put in our juniper-led concoction. While we waited for the gin to work its magic in the copper pot, we came up with our personalised label of ‘Sabs Mello Gin’. I swear I haven’t had this much fun in a laboratory before. To top it, Jason gave us the thumbs up for producing a winning recipe.
The food scene in this area is second to none with cosy foodie pubs, traditional tearooms, great restaurants and everything in-between serving wholesome Devon produce. There just wasn’t enough time to sample all of them. I can, however, highly recommend the Dick and Wills Bar and Brasserie, which is located on one of the finest waterside locations, and delivers decent local produce from Salcombe crab to Westcountry Beef.