We’d been meaning to try Duck and Crutch gin for sometime now after a friend told us about a mate of his who had set up a gin distillery from a shed in their garden! Just before Christmas I visited The Spirit of Christmas show at Olympia and Duck and Crutch had a stand there and I was able to finally sample their gorgeous Kensington Dry Gin. Wow! It was amazing, and well worth the wait. The botanicals include: juniper, angelica, coriander, cardamom, cassia, nutmeg, thyme, walnut, Darjeeling tea, bourbon vanilla and orange peel!

The Perfect Serve (The Gin Kitchen’s recommendation)…

I serve mine with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water to allow the flavour of the gin to shine through and garnish with orange peel and fresh thyme. To taste, Duck and Crutch is beautifully complex with juniper to the fore and a warm spice finish from the cassia.  

 

Here is a little bit about the background story of Duck and Crutch…

In late 2016, George Brooker and his girlfriend Hollie attended a gin experience afternoon and it was after this event they decided to take the plunge, quit their jobs in central London – George in management consultancy and Hollie in graphic design, and set up their own gin distillery in a tiny 6ft x 4ft shed in the garden of their lower ground floor London flat using a tiny 5 litre copper still called ‘Bunny’! As George says, they had a ‘F@!* IT, let’s do it moment’!!

With no experience in distilling, George and Hollie set about producing gin and through a year of trial and error and lots of tastings, Duck and Crutch was finally born. In deciding on the botanicals to use in their gin, they drew inspiration from other gins and foods they liked. So how did they decide on the name ‘Duck and Crutch’? Well, the first test run of their still was made on Hollie’s 27th birthday and duck and crutch is the bingo call for number 27!

With Hollie’s background in design, she single handedly designed, hand drew and created the copper foil labels, using hot foil embossing, which is a traditional printing technique -meaning each label has a slight variation and its own uniqueness.

Distilled using the ‘one shot’ distillation method. More costly and time consuming to produce but considered by purists to be the ‘right way’ to distill. Maybe this is why Duck and Crutch is slightly more expensive than a lot of other small batch gins, but I think the fact the gin is handmade, hand poured, hand labelled and waxed that the delicious gin, gorgeous bottle and the cute story behind this brand are well worth every penny! 

In January 2019 George and Hollie ‘upgraded’ to a 12ft x 4 ft shed and with it installed 2 40 litre stills called ‘Bertie’ and ‘Agnes’, meaning that George could produce a decent amount of bottles in a single batch. The pair have now been joined by Meryl (their dog!), who sometimes accompanies them around London making local deliveries!

Now stocked in Fortnum and Mason, Harvey Nichols as well as numerous smaller independent bars and shops (as well as The Gin Kitchen, of course!)

We love the brand, the gin, the story behind Duck and Crutch and  we’re sure you will too.

Visit their website www.duckandcrutch.co.uk and order a bottle for yourself – you won’t be disappointed! Share them some love on their socials below…

Trudi x