New vodka, that's not vodka, launched by Massingberd-Mundy

A brand new spirit has been launched by a South Ormsby distillery, whcih is vodka – but not vodka.
Massingberd-Mundy's new botanical spirit.Massingberd-Mundy's new botanical spirit.
Massingberd-Mundy's new botanical spirit.

Massingberd-Mundy, located on the South Ormsby Estate, is famous for their award-winning gins brewed onsite, but now the business has expanded into something a little more unusual.

Head distiller Tristan Jorgensen has launched a new botanical spirit, which is made using the “heads and tails” of their gins.

Tristan explained that during the gin-distilling process, the spirit comes off in three parts – the head, the heart and the tails – and it’s the heart of the gin that is used in their Burrells and Marie Jeanne Pink gins.

The base of gin is the 96 percent AVB (alcohol by volume) British grain spirit, which is like a rough vodka, and to make a batch, Tristan will take 50 litres of this spirit and put it into their distiller with 50 litres of water and then it will be brought down to 52 percent ABV.

This is also when the botanicals are added to give each gin its individual taste.

This next part is what Tristan calls the “heads, hearts and tails” process. First comes heads, where the first 500ml of the liquid contains ethanol and needs to be siphoned off and stored to be re-distilled later, which then leaves room for the heart, which Tristan says is the “good stuff” as it’s the most flavoursome without being too strong.

Then comes the tails, which doesn’t taste as good because this is where the juniper smell and taste is very strong and is very bitter. Again this is siphoned off and both the heads and tails are re-distilled later until they are usable, so there is no waste.

And this is when Tristan got the idea to create a new spirit with the heads and tails, so there is no waste at all:

"There’s so much left over during the process and we end up with barrels and barrels of it, so why not use these to create something else?” he said.

"We’ve distilled the heads and tails twice more to create this botanical – which is a natural, stripped down spirit.

"To the trained nose and pallate, you can still taste the juniper berries and citrus flavour – it’s like vodka, but it’s not vodka.”

Massingberd-Mundy launches a limited edition gin every couple of months, and the new botanical spirit was supposed to be launched in August, but due to various holidays and then Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the launched was postponed until now.

The limited edition botanical spirit is available to buy now via the South Ormsby Estate website at https://www.southormsbyestate.co.uk/products/distillery/

Tristan is already preparing for Mssingberd-Mundy’s limited edition Christmas gin, which this year will be a fruity mulled wine-inspired flavour with seasonal berries and mulled spices.

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