OUR PROCESS

PUTTING THE ‘CORE BLIMEY’ IN VODKA

Money doesn’t grow on trees. But our vodka does. That’s what makes it different from the rest.

NO BAD APPLES

Smooth. Delicious. Modest (well, mostly). Using only British apples, our vodka has exceptional crispness and purity because we have an obsessive dedication to quality. Our distillery boasts cutting-edge tech, dedicated experts and our infamous trio: Magic Mike (our stripping column), Granny Smith (our copper pot still) and Crystal (our de-meth column).

ONLY THE GOOD PIPS

Distilling apples is no easy feat, but we’re all in. Unlike the big automated production plants, we’re hands-on from start to finish. Our team tastes our spirit every 20 minutes because we’re that picky. And thanks to our relentless attention to detail, we’ve learnt that a dash of potato spirit gives it a lush, creamy finish. Basically, we go the whole hog to make our vodka the very best it can be.

HOW YOU’LL KNOW IT’S US

UK-SOURCED APPLES

DISTILLED THROUGH 70 DISTILLATION PLATES

CLEAN, CRISP, SMOOTH VODKA

UNIQUE LIGHTWEIGHT BROWN BOTTLE

ONE FOR THE PUB QUIZ:

THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Well done if you made it this far. We’ll tell you a bit more about how we make the world’s greatest vodka* (*well, we think so).

STEP 1

CIDER PRODUCTION

The secret (apple) sauce. We make ours the old fashioned way: from scratch, by hand, and without cutting corners. That way, we can guarantee the best quality and our distinctive crisp flavour profile.

STEP 2

DISTILLED AT LEAST 70 TIMES THROUGH 70 DISTILLATION PLATES

Now the magic begins with our stripping column (Magic Mike), our beautiful copper pot still (Granny Smith) and our two rectification columns. All of our equipment was specifically designed to produce Dutch Barn at Ellers Farm and to make it one of the best vodkas in the world. Combined, our columns contain 70 distillation plates and this is a key feature of the process of making Dutch Barn as good as it is.

As the heated spirit passes through the columns as a vapour, at each of these distillation plates it condenses and then is heated by the rising vapours until it is vapourised and passes through to the next plate where the process is repeated over and over again. Each time the spirit goes through the phase of liquid-to-vapour-to-liquid it is purifying and increasing the alcohol strength of the spirit.

Now here is where it can get a little bit more confusing. As part of our slow controlled process, in our rectification columns we actually send the majority of the cooled spirit back into columns after it has passed through and been cooled down in the condenser to create a strong reflux effect. This recirculated liquid cools the columns and as a result forces the spirit to go back through some, but not all, of the distillation plates again (this varies during the runs). This is why we say it is distilled at least 70 times - because we know it’s at least been through the 70 distillation plates but we don't know for sure how many extra distillation phases the liquid has gone through before it is up to our exceptionally high standards.

STEP 3

TOP-GRADE PURITY

Now it’s Crystal’s time to shine. As our de-meth column, it reduces our spirit’s methanol levels to an incredible 1.5mg per 1,000 litres. This is not only way below most vodkas – but it also means that it’s superbly clean.

STEP 4

A TOUCH OF POTATO

Apples and potatoes: a match made in heaven? We think so. After discovering that adding a bit of potato spirit gives our vodka a luscious, creamy mouthfeel, we blend and marry together.

STEP 5

UNIQUE FILTRATION PROCESS

We strive to create a vodka purer than any other which is why we designed a unique carbon process - a bespoke combination of two types of carbon and 21 filtration plates to remove any impurities and leave you with a vodka as clean as you can imagine. A vodka that has come of age, 21 times filtered.

STEP 6

RESTING AND CHILL

Most rush it out the door, but we rest our vodka before bottling. This allows the flavours time to fuse and mingle, softening any harsh edges, allowing subtle notes to deepen and mellow. The rest is over to you: enjoy!