Pub landlord opens UK’s ‘smallest’ distillery
A pub landlord has opened what he claims to be the UK’s “smallest” commercial distillery, called The Fat Pig Distillery.
The Fat Pig Distillery makes vodka, gin, whisky and apple pie flavoured moonshineHamish Lothian, of The Fat Pig pub, Exeter, set up the distillery in a bedroom above the pub and plans to produce vodka, gin, whisky and apple pie moonshine.
The distillery features a 100-litre still, which can produce approximately 30 bottles a week when running at full capacity.
“It’s something I have always wanted to do,” said Lothian, as reported by the Exeter Express and Echo. “I moved out of the bedroom into the attic and took it from there.
“The paperwork and bureaucracy were immense and we had custom and excise here and had to provide a bonded warehouse with the duty of having to be paid in advance.
“It has probably been about 12 months from the first idea to going into production.
“I have checked as best I can and it looks like it is the smallest commercial distillery in the country.
“We are small independent and poor – we even use the existing pipework and pump the mash upstairs.”
While The Fat Pig Distillery claims to be the smallest, Cambridge Distillery operates a smaller 30 litre still.
In other recent distillery news, Marcin Miller and David Croll revealed they are preparing to launch Japan’s first gin distillery – The Kyoto Distillery.
