Distillery plants rare Croatian juniper in Wales
Micro-distillery Eccentric Gin has teamed up with a local Welsh town to grow a rare juniper plant from Croatia for use in its gin production.
More than a dozen juniper bushes have been planted in the areaThe company currently imports dried juniper berries from Croatia, and is working with the Freemen of Llantrisant Town Trust to introduce the plants.
The new shrubs will grow in locations around the old town, on the Freeman’s common land, where the distillery is based.
The Eccentric Gin website states: “Due to the general decline of juniper bushes across the UK, we’ve largely relied upon imported dried juniper berries to craft our unique gins… Until now that is.
“Having teamed up with the freemen of Llantrisant, we have been able to plant rare juniper bushes on common land that will allow us to add a whole new level of localness to our gin, which already uses a whole array of locally sourced botanicals.”
Distillery owner Tom Newman told Wales Online: “It is important for us as a company to work closely with the community and when we discussed the possibility of growing our own juniper locally then we immediately thought of the Freeman’s common land which is in abundance around the old town.
“Llantrisant Town Trust readily agreed to help us and together we’ve planted more than a dozen juniper bushes in locations around the area. Now it’s a case of waiting to see how they develop.”
