On the nose is the distinct character of apple blossom with the contribution of the cask reminiscent of hot buttered toast. The spirit is smooth on the palate with an initial sweetness giving and warmth of the spirit which gives way to the characteristic apple flavour which lingers in the mouth. The vanilla and caramel spiciness of the cask marries beutifully with the apple aroma and leaves the memory of warm apple crumble. At that point I’d been making alcoholic drinks for about 15 years. First it was those awful lager kits you could buy in Boots, but that eventually led to full mash brews including my all-time favourite, Brett fermented Flemish red ales. I served my craft cider at my wedding in 2009 and, over the years, have had various infusions and macerations secreted about my home. The Masters in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt accelerated the move from passionate hobbyist to full-time career.

I also use seven more traditional gin botanicals in supporting roles to gap-fill where I couldn’t source those flavour profiles from natives – particularly spicy and citrus aromas. And I use Sussex-grown coriander. I suppose I could consider Juniper one of my local botanicals but it’s not abundant here and would feel a little disingenuous… When it comes to gin, Greensand Ridge sources most of its botanicals locally, including hawthorn berries, poppy seeds, oak moss, honey, gorse flowers and rose hips. It also has plans to make its own gin base spirit from waste food products. As Will explains, botanicals make up a tiny proportion of a gin recipe compared to the ‘fermentables’ that make the base spirit, so achieving sustainability in the latter is an important goal. The south-west part of the Greensand ridge and hills is in the South Downs National Park. Much of the Greensand Ridge in Surrey is one limb of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty while a section of the Greensand hills in western Kent, from Limpsfield Chart near Westerham through Sevenoaks to Plaxtol, forms part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where it is known as the Sevenoaks Greensand Ridge. The inspiration to create a Rum followed our ethic of using surplus produce as much as possible, in line with our environmental practices. As with all our spirits, we make our Rum with 100% renewable power and no chemicals. Suggested Serves GG: Can you explain how you have reduced your carbon footprint in the traditionally energy-intensive process of distilling?Once the plum spirit has been distilled, we aged it first for a year in Marsala wine casks to impart a fragrant oak character and a touch of fruitiness from the wine, then for a year in bourbon casks to add vanillins and sweetness. If you think you know Rum, or it's not been your spirit, ours is one to try. We're not trying to copy existing rum styles, and ours is certainly no sugared and aggressively spiced rum. Expect something ridiculously smooth, with a sweet character and no harshness. It's a complex spirit with a sophistication characteristic of all our releases.

Powered by 100% renewable electricity and with a zero target for chemical use and non-recyclable waste, Greensand Ridge Distillery is a truly sustainable business. NCA Profile:120 Wealden Greensand". Natural England. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016 . Retrieved 18 May 2020. Will Edge grew up in the Weald of Kent before, like many classmates from Sevenoaks, starting a white-collar career living and working in London. Friend, Peter (2008). Southern England. Looking at the Natural Landscapes. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-724743-1. GG: You describe your gin as ‘a walk through the woods of the Weald of Kent’. What botanicals do you use and are all your ingredients locally sourced? Why is this important to you?

As an organisation that set out to change how society values food waste, having to scrap this unsold beer was causing us sleepless nights. Upcycling it into a fantastic product that will also benefit those hit hard by Covid-19 is the silver lining we needed.” - Toast CEO Rob Wilson