Sitting in the heartland of North Yorkshire, Masons Distillery is currently a local secret, but it is destined to become a national treasure. The pandemic may have brought more attention to
local produce makers, farmers and crafters, but Masons was here before all of
them and already has a pedigree to rival the very best.
We came for a Friday afternoon tour of the Bedale/Northallerton
plant, expecting a quite functional manufacturing still and over priced gift
shop as often befits the ‘craft brewers’ who have suddenly popped into Google
Maps. Instead we found a welcoming, sharing,
almost embracing feeling that we had been brought into someone’s cottage
garden, nursery, hatchery where the love of the produce far out-weighs the
commercial sterilisation of so many other breweries/distilleries.
The story of Masons is a modern day fairytale – a couple
who, after being offered a G&T for lunch instead of the usual aperitif, realised
that perhaps others would enjoy the cool, crisp taste and limitless combinations
that gin can offer. And so, Masons gin was born. I make lite of the countless hours of development,
trying to push a once believed ‘cheap’ ruin, and stand aside from the other ‘mom
and pop’ businesses; Mason’s is strong; as rounded and as complex as ALL the
other major players in the ever-bourgeoning Gin market but with a very unique
element – they are LOCAL. They use local
providers, employ local people, celebrate local identity and, as someone from Darlington,
they make me proud to declare my heritage.
Our tour began with a complimentary G&T (what else) before
the wonderful Jody Craddock (who must have the 2nd best job in the
world) gave us a history lesson into the origins and life-cycle of gin as w
know it. We were then treated to tour of the distilling process, including
making acquaintances with Mason’s 2 stills.
The fascination didn’t stop with the brewing; we were then
given access to the secret lair of their master flavouroroligst (name withheld
to protect his identity) who spends his days exploring new ingredients to find
the best next mix. If his job isn’t THE
best for a gin lover then I don’t know what else to ad (short of Brad Pitt as
your lab mate).
The tour was concluded with a blind taste test of Mason’s
finest; can you tell your Lavender from your Orange Zest, your Cardamom from
your All Spice? The tasting session was amazing;
I thought I had a discernible palette but under Jody’s expert guidance (she
used to buy tea for Yorkshire Tea so she must know what she’s doing) I could
taste so many more flavours and nuances that I’d thought possible.
Of course, we had to end the visit buying some gin, and some
wonderful new glasses (all at great prices, no hiking for the tourists).
We left Mason’s having enjoyed our tour, sampled some new flavours
and, more importantly, having a new found appreciation of the work and research
that goes into producing gin; a local gin, a World Class gin.
If you fancy a tour of a real gin distillery, get to see behind the scenes of making a new flavour or listen to the amazing story of how gin has evolved over the years (thanks Jody) then pop yourself over here -
https://www.masonsofyorkshire.com/pages/gin-experiences
