Member Article

The serious business of gin

Under normal circumstances, gin wouldn’t be a great thing to sink your money into, but two drinks entrepreneurs think they’re onto a winner.

Nick Dymoke-Marr and Tim Moor founded Langtons Gin because they thought the spirits market offered growth and wanted to try their hand at crafting a product using their combined design and drinks industry experience.

After securing private investment, and drilling boreholes under Skiddaw, the fourth highest mountain in England, the pair are now selling their patented gin to Scandinavians and Spaniards.

Nick explains: “Gin is something that has until recently lagged behind vodka and tequila. It traditionally had an older market, but things started to happen. Product development began around four or five years ago and a couple of brands came to market and really opened the space up.”

Both Nick and Tim have roots in the Lake District, and this rainy part of the world is core to the Langtons brand. Like in any distilling process, water is fundamental to determining the style and character of a gin.

“We decided fairly early on that we were going to actually drill our own borehole, rather than get water from elsewhere. 350 ft down, drilling under Skiddaw, we tapped into a type of ‘virgin aqua.’ Most people have surface run-off water that has to be filtered and mucked about with to change its characteristics, ready for consumption. What we have is flawless. The geologist said he’d never seen a source like this in his 30 years of work,” adds Nick.

Langtons set their stall out as a Northern product. Nick has dug back in time to make sure the brand hits the notes, and every detail has been poured over.

He explains: “In the 1700s there was no brands but booze was recognised by the shape of bottle or vessel it was served out of. Gin was in a square bottle because the East India company was exporting it and the shape allowed for stacking and storage.

“The colour of the bottle is intended to reflect the colour of buttermere slate which covers the houses around Skiddaw. The greens, blues and grays shine through when it’s wet - which is quite often!”

Almost by accident Nick and Tim found they only had to pay 10% in corporation tax thanks to HMRC’s Patent Box legislation. The first of their patents is the use of oak bark as a botanical in English gin and the second, which is pending, is the shape and design of their bottle.

The pair are planning to share their experiences on patent law with businesses at the upcoming Leeds Business Week.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .