Skipton’s Otterbeck Distillery toasts international gin award
The Editor
Less than a year into business, the team behind Skipton’s Otterbeck Distillery is celebrating an international win.
The business, which was founded during the first lockdown in May 2020, has just scooped a silver medal at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) for its first product; Cotton Gin.
Otterbeck Distillery is the brainchild of husband-and-wife teams Nicola and Dougie Lampkin MBE and Alexa and Chris Ives, who founded Ilkley Brewery.
Otterbeck Distillery co-founder Nicola Lampkin said: “After only releasing it in July 2020, we’re absolutely thrilled to have won our second award for our delicious Cotton Gin - which also won gold at the Gin Masters Spirits Business 2020.
“We lovingly craft this premium small batch gin using only the finest botanicals; Yorkshire watercress, English coriander, hand-foraged local spruce, rowan berries and nettle leaves. All of this makes for a fragrant and herbaceous gin which is reminiscent of an English country garden or a rolling meadow.”
The distillery is located within a converted 18th century cotton and silk mill on the banks of the Otterburn Beck. A 'Cotton Ginny' was a machine used in cotton production at the mill, which is what inspired the name for the gin.
This latest award is yet another success for the company which has been going from strength to strength, despite setting up in challenging times. Released in November, its ubiquitous Captain Sir Tom’s London Dry Gin went viral and sold 10,000 bottles to date.
Otterbeck has just released a new Sir Captain Tom’s Limited Edition Barrel Aged Gin, to celebrate the incredible achievements of a man who inspired the world during the pandemic.
Aged in a Bourbon cask and bottled at 50% abv, only 100 bottles have been produced, making this a very special limited release. All profits will be donated to the Captain Tom Foundation, which supports causes that were close to his heart.
The team at Otterbeck love to support and work with local shops, producers and hotels such as Keelham Farm Shop, the Michelin starred Angel at Hetton, Coniston Hotel, Annabel's Deliciously British and Tame & Wild.
