In many of our pubs we are proud to stock local beers, wines and spirits, and one of these is Silent Pool gin. While many distillery’s sit on uncharismatic industrial estates, Silent Pool sits in the picturesque heart of the Surrey Hills, a location which has inspired not only the way that they work but also their evolution which tracks back to 2014. Ahead of our opening of our first Pub with Rooms on 26th February, The White Horse in Dorking, the Marketing team took part in a tour of the Silent Pool Distillers in Guildford to discover where they handcraft, distil and bottle this iconic gin. Led by a bubbly tour guide, the team learned the legend of the breathtaking onsite Silent Pool, why and how this particular location was chosen for the distillery, and the complex – and chaotic – history of gin itself. 

The team were shown the stills (Juliette and Ophelia) that are used to make the spirits, given a demonstration of the four-stage distillation process and carefully selected botanicals that flavour these aromatic gins, and of course tastings were involved! They even uncovered the origin of well-known phrases, from hangover to blind drunk. Partakers in the tour, which start from £25pp, also receive a £5 voucher to use in the distillery shop, spend at your own risk…

With many florals on site, Silent Pool aims to source much of the 24 botanicals that go into their classic gin locally, using Linden Flower and honey from the apiaries at the nearby Albury Vineyard, and Lavender from Mayfield Farm in Banstead.

With easy access to Albury Vineyard just next door, a free public car park, several walking routes leading from it and a view point at the top of the hill that looks over the Surrey Hills – we can confirm that a day at Silent Pool Distillery is a simply dreamy day out in Surrey.

Stay tuned for more information on Silent Pool, from the excitement of World Gin Day to Hollywood connections…