OnTap Magazine

I first met Lucy Beard and Leigh Lisk on a brewing course. It was winter 2014 and the rain fell in torrents, making it difficult to hear the course participants introduce themselves. Most were somewhat experienced homebrewers looking to perfect their hobby. Some had plans to open microbreweries and one or two went on to do so. When Lucy and Leigh announced their plans to start a small gin distillery, I thought I must have misheard. Either that or they’d misread and signed up for the wrong course. But then Lucy explained their plan to understand – and hopefully one day perfect – every single stage of the process. They wanted to make gin the right way, starting with the grains to make the wash – that is, alcohol that has been fermented and is destined for its first distillation. Over the years, Lucy and Leigh’s distillery, Hope, has grown and become more successful than I think the duo had initially imagined. These days, they don’t quite find the time to mash in and create their own grain-based spirit from scratch. But over the past six years they have built a reputation as a company that does things the right way; a company that puts flavour and quality over cost cutting and convenience. It all began in the UK, where Lucy and Leigh were working as lawyers, but feeling the need for a change of pace. “We had a real desire to do something together; something completely different,” recalls Lucy. Both self-confessed foodies, they started to research the British gin scene, and while Leigh admits he didn’t really enjoy gin at the time, his mind was open to the idea. “We visited some small distilleries and then some of the larger places like Bombay Sapphire were offering some really interesting experiences,” says Leigh. “Their cocktails were next level and suddenly I thought ‘maybe I do drink gin after all!’” But it was in Spain that they really got an awakening. “Gin was booming there at the time, with some 40 million litres sold per year, although that wasn’t all coming from small producers,” says Lucy. “But there was a real culture around gin that we didn’t know about. We went into a bar and I ordered a G&T and the bartender just stared at us. We eventually realised that you can’t just order a G&T – he wanted to know which gin, which tonic, which garnishes.” THE WAITING GAME Researching any alcoholic beverage is undoubtedly a lot of fun, but eventually it was time to move back to South Africa and put the theory into practice. At the time there were only a couple of micro- distilleries in the country. Inverroche had launched in 2011 and of course there was South Africa’s godfather of spirits, “The Stillman”, Roger Jorgensen. “Roger was amazing,” says Lucy. “He helped us a lot and spent a lot of time with us. It was a wonderful introduction to the industry, such as it was back then.” By the end of 2013, the equipment had been ordered from China and the waiting game began – but it wasn’t just BRANCHING OUT Although best known for their gins, Hope Distillery also produces a range of other spirits. Agave and vodka have been a part of the family for a while, with the newest addition being rum. True to their aversion to corner-cutting, Lucy and Leigh buy in sugarcane from Mpumalanga and crush it on site to make their rhum agricole , a white rum with notes of tropical fruit. Look out for it in early 2021. Also coming next year is an absinthe, given a local twist with the use of African wormwood (and before you ask, no – it isn’t hallucinogenic). The Hope team takes a break in the distillery Mildred, one of the hard working stainless steel pot stills Mad Mary, the newest addition to the distillery line up FEATURE 36 | Summer 2020 | ontapmag.co.za