Drylaw bets £5m in sustainable spirits

Aug 1, 2024by Miona Madsen

Organic Grape Spirit distillery in Kent, England, has launched Drylaw, a product line with the aim of ‘revolutionising the spirits industry’.

Drylaw was established in 2020 to honour the legacy of its founder Federico Gulino Camarero’s great-grandfather, Giuseppe Bertolin, a Sicilian immigrant and bootlegger during the Prohibition era in the US. The £5 million (US$6.3 million) state-of-the-art distillery, built without external financing, is dedicated to ‘crafting the world’s finest spirits’ with a focus on ‘independence, quality and a commitment to excellence’. Drylaw uses imported organic grape must from Spain to produce a range of spirits, using diverse grape varieties and yeast strains to unlock different flavours during fermentation and cold distillation under vacuum while minimising energy consumption and waste. The initial launch includes Organic Muscatel Vodka, Organic Muscatel Gin, and Organic Chardonnay Vodka, all offered at 40% ABV. The Muscatel vodka is ‘sweet and floral, with robust notes of cooked apples, creamy honey and warming spice’. Distilled in small batches, the Muscatel Gin is made with rose, rooibos tea, lemongrass and lemon peel alongside traditional gin botanicals. The expression won Gold at The Gin Masters 2024 – First Tasting. Over the next 12 months, the company plans to introduce new offerings, including seasonal editions of its gin, as well as rum, brandy, Tequila, vermouth and sangria. The company distributes the spirits in the UK and plans to expand to the EU. As a strategic investment, Drylaw is opening a Drylaw Bar in Westminster, London, with a sustainable refilling system. The system will allow business-to-business (B2B) customers to refill five-litre pouches and consumers to refill 0.7-litre bottles.
Commitment to sustainability The company is managed by Camarero and Louis Wang, who joined Drylaw to help with the brand development. The duo, who are both under 30 years old, met at university and set out to ‘revolutionise’ the spirits industry. Drylaw prioritises superior raw materials and custom fermentation methods, embracing green engineering principles using renewable energy sources and 90% recycled glass bottles. The distillery is committed to achieving carbon negativity by 2025 through CO2 recovery and waste reduction initiatives, such as repurposing yeast for future fermentations. By using organic grapes, Drylaw is made without pesticides, streamlining fermentation and enhancing overall energy efficiency. The company also plans to launch Liquid Labs, an early-stage incubator for high-quality organic alcoholic drinks. Liquid Labs will provide comprehensive services to selected companies, including flavour profile creation, bottle design, production, and brand launch. By eliminating intermediaries, Liquid Labs will ensure a streamlined and efficient process. The curated list of brands will have the opportunity to receive funding from the company’s partners in Dubai and showcase their spirits in Drylaw Bar.
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