The phrase farm-crafted gin gets used rather freely. At Walnut Tree Distillery, it really does describe what happens.
The distillery forms part of a Norfolk family farm whose history stretches back more than 100 years, with Emma's family's farming connections in the area traceable considerably further.
The spirits are made in small batches in the farm's former dairy, using natural Norfolk spring water from the farm's own well. Every spirit contains botanicals that Emma and Graham have hand-picked on the farm.
Walnuts are gathered from the trees surrounding their home. Sloes come from the farm hedgerows. Other ingredients take their inspiration from the plants, flowers, gardens and hedgerows of the Norfolk countryside.
It's difficult to manufacture provenance like that.
From milk to gin – an old Norfolk dairy with a new purpose
There's another detail about Walnut Tree Distillery that we particularly like.
The distillery hasn't forgotten what its building used to be.
Its gins are distilled in custom-made milk-churn stills, each named after one of the cows that was originally milked in the old dairy.
It's a wonderfully eccentric detail, but there's a serious principle behind it.
Emma and Graham wanted their gin to reflect not only Norfolk ingredients but the particular place in which it is made and the history of the farm itself.
The result is a distillery where the building, ingredients, equipment and family history all contribute to the story inside the bottle.
Why is it called Walnut Tree Distillery?
The answer is refreshingly straightforward.
Walnut trees surround Emma and Graham's home on the farm, and walnuts hand-picked from those trees are used as a botanical in their gin.
Walnut has consequently become something of a signature ingredient for the distillery as well as providing its name.
Every Walnut Tree spirit contains something sourced from the farm – which means when they say that every bottle contains a little bit of Norfolk, they can be quite literal about it.
A family connection with gin that goes back generations
Walnut Tree Distillery may be a relatively modern business, but gin-making isn't entirely new to this Norfolk farming family.
The family's relationship with gin stretches back three generations to Emma's great-grandmother and her sloe gin recipe.
Like many agricultural families, the hedgerows provided another harvest alongside the crops growing in the fields.
Remarkably, Emma and Graham still collect sloes from the same trees and bushes used by previous generations of the family.
And while Walnut Tree has developed an increasingly varied range of gins, its Farmhouse Sloe Gin continues to be made in the family farmhouse using the traditional family method.
That's quite a bit more provenance than simply putting the word Norfolk on a label.
Who makes Walnut Tree Gin?
Walnut Tree Distillery is run by Emma and Graham, who describe themselves as the distillers, bottle washers, labellers and general gin obsessives behind the business.
Emma's family has farmed in Norfolk for more than a century, with local parish records tracing the family's connection to the area back more than five centuries.
Graham moved from North Yorkshire to Norfolk to work as a research chemist at the University of East Anglia, bringing a rather appropriate scientific background to the partnership.
Together they produce the Walnut Tree range from their small distillery on the family farm.
Where can I buy Walnut Tree Gin?
You can buy the full Walnut Tree Distillery range from The Norfolk Deli in Hunstanton.
We stock Walnut Tree alongside spirits from other independent Norfolk distilleries, giving you the opportunity to explore different approaches to gin being produced across the county.
You can also order Walnut Tree Gin here through our online shop for UK delivery, either as individual bottles or alongside other Norfolk food, drink and gifts.
