Local hero: Saint Sithney

Saint Sithney has firmly established its distinct blue bottles across the south of England, and has plans to open a distillery, and create new products.

Based near the coastal village of Porthleven in West Cornwall, Saint Sithney was founded in 2023 by Wendy and Greville Richards, known for their work in the grocery sector.

Coming from a Cornish farming background, Greville co‐founded a vegetable farm, Southern England Farms (SEF), when he was in his twenties.

SEF is now a multi‐million‐pound national supplier of brassicas, courgettes, and more to retailers such as supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Explaining his move into the competitive gin market, Greville says: “We wanted to create a gin that was distilled right here in our parish; one that would stand out from the crowd.

“We knew the kind of taste we wanted to achieve, so we brought in the expertise of Matt Servini and Vanessa Rapier of The Craft Distilling Business. Matt is a master distiller, and we worked closely with him to land on the perfect recipe.”

Wendy adds: “I’ve always been an avid cook, but obviously there are different ingredients to consider when making a spirit. We worked really closely with Matt, who’s been pivotal to the brand in creating the perfect recipe, and Vanessa was instrumental in guiding us through the legal, licensing and duty process.”

After blind tasting five recipes, the founders settled on one that resulted in its ideal taste profile – a smooth gin with a warm finish. Describing the gin, Wendy explains: “It’s unashamedly juniper heavy, as we wanted to maintain that signature piney taste, but there’s a citrus note in there as well from orange and lemon, a little bit of lemongrass, and some kaffir lime for freshness.”

The recipe remains a secret, but the cofounder confirmed that a touch of cardamom is used, alongside Cornish water.

The gin brand was self‐funded, with Greville noting that they had “invested considerably in making this the best product we could”. Saint Sithney Gin launched its first bottles in December 2023, and it has since secured listings across the south of England such as the Great Cornish Food store, The Pig, Scarlet Hotel, the Tom Kerridge Group, Hooked on the Rocks, and Trevisker’s Kitchen.

Saint Sithney Gin is also seeing booming internet sales, and the team is set to expand with a dedicated export manager, joining a team that includes a southwest area sales manager and another in Dorset.

Icons of local heritage

The bottles were chosen for their deep blue colour, and each one is decorated with a map of the area, alongside icons of the mining heritage that define the local landscape of the distillery. Flexi‐Hex, a sustainable packaging brand with headquarters near Saith Sithney, also provides despatch packaging for the gin maker.

The brand has also unveiled its first line extension, an orange‐flavoured gin named Cornish Sunset. There is also an alcohol‐free version and a Cornish ‘Tequila’‐style spirit in the works, with a vodka planned for 2025. The Richards aim to build a distillery and visitor centre at Marsinney Farm, where they plan to grow botanicals such as juniper, elderflower, blackthorn, and agave.