Q & A with Johnny Neill

Hi, Johnny! So, how’s business going?

Business is great, Whitley Neill is growing strongly both in the UK and overseas, it’s a really exciting time.

We know you come from a long line of distillers so the assumption is probably made that you would always follow that same path. But was that always your ambition? At any point did you think: I want to be a dentist? Like many small boys I think I always saw myself growing into an international sporting legend, sadly that never came to pass! I did end up getting stuck in the finance sector after University, in the end the amount of time spent developing spreadsheets proved too much, I’m very glad I get the chance to get out and about meeting people and talking about something I’m passionate now.

Did you feel at all pressured being the 8th generation gin distiller?

Having to live up to expectations of both your family and gin lovers both in and out of the industry.

There really were no expectations from my family, in fact my father left Greenall Whitley, the family business, when I was pretty young so I had no involvement with the firm. I did always dream of creating my own gin and Whitley Neill is the culmination of that dream. Dad was my biggest customer for the first 6 months and continues to assist with daily consumption! With regard to gin lovers, what I was looking to create was something of high quality, something distilled using traditional techniques and equipment but also a gin that had a slightly different flavour profile to the gins that were on the market at the time.

But why launch another gin? Did you feel the market was lacking something that you thought you could bring to the table?

At the time I launched there wasn’t the plethora of premium brands around, it was only really Hendrick’s and Martin Miller’s in the UK that were making waves. I thought that I could produce something just as good but with real provenance and a real brand story, something that would stand out, hopefully I have managed that at least…

Do you feel the current market is becoming saturated by new craft gins that are popping up everywhere?

It’s certainly pretty busy out there at the moment and a great deal of money is being invested in new distilleries. If this continues at the present rate then yes the market will become saturated. Whilst there is room for the expansion of the gin range in many on-trade accounts I think it can only go so far so companies are going to have to find good demand from outside the UK too.

Talk us through the process of developing your flavour profile. You must have sampled a lot of African botanicals. How did you end up choosing the Cape gooseberry and fruit of the Baobab tree?

Yes, we tried distilling over 20 different South African/African botanicals in the mini-still. Some, like the seeds of the Protea flower gave no real flavour differential and many were astringent and overpowering. In the end the botanicals were becoming unmarketable and unpalatable and so I stepped back and started looking at citrus as a root to new flavours. That is when I stumbled across the Baobab, quite by accident. I didn’t realise that the fruit pulp had such an amazing and distinctive citrus note to it, it is almost “grapefruit-like” and I discovered that it was used to make a homemade Baobab lemonade. When distilled, the flavour profile was amazing. Cape Gooseberries I knew from the jams and preserves I’d had before in South Africa and again it was different to the orange and lemon peel traditionally distilled so again these berries gave me another interesting, very unique citrus note.

Your wife is South African so we can see where the inspiration came from to add uniqueness to the gin, but did you trial other botanicals that were not African? Or were you always set on using African botanicals from the start?

I did originally start with botanicals such as Dandelion and Elderflower, quite British-led, but British was already being used as a marketing piece by other brands and I wanted to be a bit different, hence the adventures in South Africa.

You use a 100 year old copper still. How does that affect the flavour than say a younger still?

I wouldn’t say that the effects are dramatic but I do feel that Constance probably offers a “cleaner” aroma than certain newer, stainless steel stills might.

You’ve recently redesigned your bottle (and a bloody good job you’ve done too). But what does the new design evoke that the previous didn’t. What were you trying to portray with the new design?

One word – Africa!

What are the most difficult aspects of not only launching your own gin but also promoting it and keeping in the eye line of both consumer and trade customers?

The most difficult aspects are time and resource, both monetary and physical. Building the brand properly takes time, to build relationships, to grow sales. It also takes a great deal of money, try to share this burden and also find people of a similar mindset to help. If the people you partner with don’t understand your passion for the product or the personal nature of your brand it can be very difficult to develop your brand.

How do you maintain a good level of passion and confidence for your gin and what really keeps you driving forward?

I want people to try it, when they try it they love it and that’s what makes me happy. I enjoy getting out there and talking to people, showing them the passion I have for my product and I enjoy the different ways my gin is used – whether it be sipped neat, used as a cocktail base or in a lovely refreshing G&T.

Any tips for wannabe gin distillers?

Tread carefully, do your research, get people on board with experience, share the risks and perhaps start looking at another category!! (Unless it is a real passion for you!)

What was your greatest achievement last year?

Finding a wonderful importer in Germany called Borco, they are as passionate about premium brands as I am.

So what’s next for Whitley Neill? What are your aims for 2015?

To get Whitley Neill back into the US on a solid footing with a quality importer. To get around the UK as much as possible to talk to people about Whitley Neill and more importantly to get them to sample it!

Describe Whitley Neill in three words:

Refined, Versatile, Different!

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