A GIN that celebrates Inverclyde’s shipbuilding past has been launched in Gourock.
Shipyard Gin is the brainchild of Greenock-born Andy Samuel, 37, whose grandfather John Samuel worked in the shipyards in the 1930s and 40s as a plater. This was a skilled job that involved laying and riveting plates of steel to form the ship’s hull.
“I’m Inverclyde born and bred and have always had a fascination with the shipyards,” Andy says. “At one point during their heyday, ships built on the River Clyde amassed to a fifth of ships worldwide – which is pretty amazing for a river that’s only about 100 miles long.”
John Samuel worked in the shipyards his whole life and, as a hobby, would make wine from locally collected berries and flowers, including elderberries, for friends and family.
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“When we were younger, we used to go out with my grandpa to pick berries,” Andy recalls. “These are now the botanicals we’re putting into the gin.”
Gorse, elderflower and heather are all abundant locally and are three of the main botanicals in Shipyard Gin.
“The gorse gives a vanilla, coconutty essence which is a very faint and delicate flavour,” Andy explains. “The elderflower gives a sweet note that complements the gorse. The heather is almost floral, but also very faint and ties everything together.”
Starting Shipyard Gin has been a life’s dream – and lockdown presented the opportunity when Andy’s existing business with a colleague as a wedding filmmaker was put on pause.
“It’s a pipe dream I’ve had for a long time, but I never thought it would turn into reality,” Andy says.
“As wedding filmmakers, our business just dropped off a cliff when Covid hit, and we went from 38 weddings to only filming two last year. I thought – this is a great opportunity to start Shipyard Gin – because I had lots of time on my hands. So, I started looking into it – and now it’s launched.”
Andy and his head distiller Lewis Scothern developed the recipe over six months and three trial distillations.
“I started looking at different flavour combinations using the same botanicals that my grandfather used in his wine, and by some beautiful serendipity, they all managed to go together quite well,” Andy says. “The only thing we had to change was to use elderflower instead of elderberries.”
Shipyard Gin is 44% ABV (alcohol by volume) and is bottled in distinctive octagonal bottles which represent the bow of a ship. The gin can be purchased online at www.shipyard-gin.com, with Andy hoping to reach customers across the UK and internationally.
“The uniqueness of this gin is its link to the shipyards, and this can be applied to lots of different shipbuilding areas around the UK, like Liverpool, Newcastle, Sunderland and Belfast,” he says. “It also has global appeal and we’ve had some interest already from a hotel chain in the United States.”
Andy’s ambition is eventually to open a local micro distillery: “This would hopefully become a tourist attraction and could run tours that highlight the heritage of the shipyards,” he said.
On what his grandpa John Samuel might have thought about the new venture, Andy says: “I think he would be extremely proud. He wasn’t a gin drinker – he was more a hauf and a hauf man. But I’m sure he would have liked a taste!”
Shipyard Gin is based at the old municipal buildings in Gourock.
