It takes a lot to make a great bottle of gin: from the distilling process to the myriad botanicals from all over the world that you'll find in every bottle. And it's a process so intricate that every facet of the gin's unique environment has a huge impact on the character of each and every measure you pour.
Silent Pool so perfectly expresses its environment that it wouldn't be quite the same if it was made outside of the small patch of gorgeous Surrey countryside it calls home.
With a passion for handcrafted, artisan spirits, a group of friends began a search for a site where they could distill a quintessentially British spirit, and instill it with the true character of the precise part of England in which it was made. And where better to set up camp than the Surrey Hills, a staple of the region surrounding Guildford and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It's also a place where juniper berries – one of the principle ingredients of every London Dry gin in the world – once grew with abundance.
The friends set about converting a group of dilapidated farm buildings right on the edge of the freshwater pool that gives Silent Pool its name. The pool is famous in local legend as the place a woodcutter's daughter drowned, and it's this eerie story that gives the pool its name. Once they made their camp, the team set to work on the mission of distilling a small piece of England into each and every bottle.
The Silent Pool is fed by a deep aquifer
Using crystal-clear water from the pool on the Duke of Northumberland's Albury Estate alongside 24 unique botanicals from every corner of the globe, the team has created a gin of distinctive flavour and uncompromising quality, and one that's both an effortless classic and a unique expression of a complex local environment.
And it's this story that makes Silent Pool so inspiring: once a chalk quarry fed by a deep, underground aquifer, the Silent Pool was an important source of water for everyone who lived nearby. Now, the artisanal distilling process that takes place on its serenely quiet banks mimics this part of local history, using the pool's water supply to create something that's equally as precious.
The result? A gin that's nuanced, earthy, crisp and complex, and one with a smooth finish that's created by the addition of locally sourced honey – another small flourish that gives the signature spirit its esoteric, quintessentially Surrey flavour. So, whether you're sipping it neat, drinking it in a martini, or in a aroma-maximising copa glass with ice, tonic and a twist of orange zest, next time you drink Silent Pool, make sure you raise your glass to Surrey.
