Lauren and Harriet are the Southsea based ladies behind the 1969 Citroën HY Van – The Gin Emporium. They relaunched the business at the start of COVID last year and during that time have worked hard to expand the business beyond outside events with bottled premium cocktails, which led to developing a new gin, Southsea Spirit. Chatting to Harriet she said “As a team, we wanted to create a spirit that celebrated the vibrancy and energetic culture of our seaside home. We felt that there was space for a young, fun spirit in our local area. Our first batch sold out within 48 hours, which was very exciting!”
Southsea Spirit is made with organic grain spirit. From there, organic juniper is added, as well as coriander and lemon peel to create the base. Toasted fresh coconut and ripe pineapple are then thrown in to intensify the flavours before adding extra zing with fresh navel orange peel. The final product is true liquid sunshine – perfect for that tropical state of mind! We recommend you serve with fresh orange peel and a good quality Indian tonic or mix to create the perfect south coast Tiki cocktail. Gin enthusiasts are going to love this and the fact that the first batch sold out in 2 days is a testament to its taste and quality.
The gin itself is is a tropical 'Old Tom' made in a bathtub style. Produced by award-winning and critically acclaimed distillery Corner 53! They are based in Clanfield and were founded in 2017 by Thomas Rudman who is the chief distiller. Corner 53 is fiercely independent and produce contemporary spirits that break the mould of the drinks industry in tiny quantities. Their style and focus on different experimental tasting gins like the Lemon Meringue Pie gin makes them stand out in a crowd by focusing on exciting techniques, bold flavours and meticulous attention to detail.
Alongside the 70cl bottles (designed by local designer Alice Coffey) Southsea Spirit has also produced a 70cl Refill Pack. Being an eco-conscious bunch, they also believe in bringing you the best value for your money. Although the original gin bottles can be recycled at your local glass bank, the 70cl refill pouches carry a far lighter carbon footprint as you're saving on glass bottle production. When your bottle runs low, order a pouch, top up and enjoy!
At present, this new exciting gin can be purchased directly from the website, from Strong Island Island Clothing on Marmion Road (an exclusive PO stockist). Gin glasses are clinking across the city in various bars with Southsea Spirit such as the King Street Tavern, Drift, Croxton’s and Meat & Barrel to name a few!
The second batch of Southsea Spirit is now on sale and has received lots of positive reviews via social media. The Gin Emporium is open at Sam’s Sunflowers on Hayling Island, Thurs – Sunday in August where Lauren and Harriet will be selling Southsea Spirit cocktails, hopefully in the sunshine!
To find out more about Southsea Spirit please see below for socials and the website.
