Rachel Sutherland, Liquid and Innovation Manager
Warner’s Distillery

When it comes to London dry gins, focus often goes into how flavour develops throughout the distillation process. The aim of this talk is to discuss post-distillation treatments of a London dry gin and what can be done, within regulations, to optimise desirable flavour profiles.

By using the same London dry gin distillate, I’ll be looking at how differences in the method of proofing, resting and filtration of the gin can influence the overall flavour of the final spirit. The talk will be accompanied with tasting samples so the audience can follow along and draw their own conclusions!

Rachel’s career began with work experience in local whisky distilleries in the Scottish Highlands and as part of her Master’s degree in Chemistry, she undertook a year-long internship with Diageo working on optimisation projects in New Make Whisky. All of this led to her passion for the distilling industry and after graduating took on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Nottingham focusing on understanding the interactions between botanicals in the distilling and post-distillation processes to improve quality and drive product development, working alongside Warner’s Distillery in Northamptonshire.

In 2021 she joined the team at Warner’s as Liquid and Innovation Manager so now spends her time working on new and ongoing recipe development and managing quality control. She regularly judges spirits competitions, including IWSC and World Gin Awards and in 2021 was awarded the IWSC Award for Emerging Talent in the Spirits Industry. She is currently undertaking a postgraduate degree in Sensory Science. With samples.