When we first saw the designs for our new cans, we were horrified,” Square Root co-founder Robyn Simms said. “Our marketing team got a right telling off! But then we came to realise this terrible design faux pas presented an inadvertent solution to the problem of the natural sediment in our drinks. Doghouse Distillery was founded by husband and wife team, Braden and Katherine Saunders in 2016. Prior to building a distillery, Braden and Katherine owned a successful craft beer pub in Australia (where Braden hails from) and it was Braden who first developed an interest in production while visiting the States. Also within the range is their Baller Vodka which recently won “Best Spirit” in Great Britain in the 2019 Great British Food Awards. This tipple is London’s only vodka made fully from scratch using 100% English wheat. Full of attitude, this baller is totally unfiltered and loaded with character.

Probably the beach holiday we had after the insanely busy Christmas period It’s not all fun and games, is it? It’s a mental time for Gin and super competitive in the UK. In your opinion, what makes Renegade Gin stand out in today’s crowded market?What followed was a struggle in which Gabriel lobbied to make his gin, arguing that there was historical precedent for this act. Extensive research uncovered that historically gin was produced in pot stills over a naked flame, which is exactly how Cognac pot stills were designed. “I don’t know about you but when I am pissed at something I work even harder! France is a very bureaucratic country. I was told there’s no rule that allows me to do this, but I was much younger and rebellious in nature and I said there’s no rule that says I cannot”, he said. Eventually, “after five long years, I finally received the AOC approval to distil gin in Cognac in 1995!” Gabriel’s desire to explore and test the limits of gin led to the creation of the limited edition Extreme Collection. The first was Citadelle No Mistake Old Tom Gin , made with caramelised Caribbean brown sugar that was aged in the barrel with its cask-aged Citadelle Réserve. Wild Blossom followed, a gin inspired by his mother’s love of herbal infusions that was distilled wild cherry blossom petals and aged in cherrywood casks for five months. “They keep me sane. Take ‘Saisons of the Witch’, which I made by roasting my juniper berries and distilled it with the other botanicals to create a slightly smoky, roasted pepper gin. We sell it only on the estate and we made a few hundred bottles, but I love it,” Gabriel says. “Right now I can tease that we’ve got a new aged gin expression on the way and, also some breaking news, we have a gin maturing in 100-litre vats made from juniper berry tree. All this crazy stuff that I’m having fun with is all part of that new frontier of gin! Then 2021 will be the 25th anniversary of the launching of Citadelle, so the 25th anniversary will come with some surprises as well”. While we remain committed to bottling our drinks, we foresee cans becoming a key part of our offering this summer and beyond.” That grainy base is there, albeit in a very clean, almost tropical form. There’s a huge, green leafiness to the gin overall, with hints of sage and something ever so slightly mentholic tugging at the nostrils. We are focused now on releasing an Aperitivo in the first half of this year. As far as gin goes, though, we have produced and will release in the coming months our first batch Damson Gin, as part of our Sidewayz brand, and also the second batch of our Sidewayz Sloe Gin.

So to England from Australia via America Saunders journeyed, heading to London not just because it is the land of gin, but because he’s felt the magnetic pull of the city ever since he pulled a five-year stint in the early Noughties. Plus, he adds, “it’s the best city in the world, right?” A distillery that is revolutionary in epic proportions; Doghouse, is the only operation in London (and one of only a handful in the whole of UK), to pioneer the ‘grain-to-bottle’ approach in crafting their liquors. Where most distilleries buy in a 96% neutral grain alcohol to provide the base for the spirits they make, Doghouse holds the rare distinction of having their own in-house base spirit; completely made from scratch. Through this added effort, they have been able to achieve complete control of uniqueness and quality. The Brands of Doghouse; Renegade Gin and Baller Vodka are true artisanal spirits that showcase very distinctive characters in texture and taste. Aptly named for the attitude and spunk that is evident in their profiles, both are best case scenarios of how a complete disregard for convention leads on to deliver incomparable brilliance. This badass gin is insanely sessionable, deliciously herbaceous and piney, with a smooth, lingering finish.When it burst onto the scene in late 2017, Renegade Gin had our attention instantly. A grain to glass gin made in central London seemed if not impossible, highly unlikely, so we hot footed it down to the distillery to see what was going on. We were astonished by the level of craft co-founder Braden Saunders was working towards, and we’ve been trailing his journey ever since.

In this speedy 60 second interview, we caught up with him to find out just how fast things are moving for the team and how his unique, anti-hero style brand is captivating the attention of many, especially ourselves! Gin Foundry: You have a full year under your belt now. Congrats! What’s it been like living in the eye of the storm? As we’ve mentioned in other articles featuring grain to glass made gins and berated them for it, we’ll just say it here for the record - this is made to EU 96% ABV standard, not the “almost there” 94/95% ABV you see in some small operations, and the Doghouse Distillery stills have monster sized columns to be able to handle the workload. The barrels have added a distinctive and unique flavour to the gin, whisky, rum and vodka respectively. I have always loved Gin and it was at this time that I started trying different gins, including some awesome West Coast US ones. So, in 2014 I set it as a life goal to make a gin!” Finish: Dry and a little peppery at first, the finish then develops with plenty of aromatic baking spices, fennel, more liquorice and a sweet hint of angelica.

Bushmills Causeway Collection 2000 Port Cask Whiskey

Doghouse Distillery is an independent, grain distillery based in Battersea, London, and was established in 2016 by Braden and Katherine Saunders. Doghouse is London's only full turnkey vodka distillery. It comprises a 2,000L brewery, 1,500L copper pot still and 21 metre copper vodka fractionating column. The company and its culture are heavily inspired by music, particularly live music, and the brands reflect this love giving them an unconventional and identifiable edge that sets them apart from the rest. G&T without doubt - and a simple one with no fluff, where you can really taste the Renegade. Light on the garnish, we like a small sprig of rosemary or sage. We are pretty simple drinkers in the Doghouse. Renegade was made to be a perfect G&T. It does make an epic Negroni and Southside, though. Gin’s a competitive but inclusive community, so too is distilling. How have you found the craft distilling scene and who’s another distiller you admire?