I have been involved in hospitality, in particular the pub trade, since leaving college. But it was during our time running the Beamish Mary Inn in Co Durham (1987–1999) that I gained a passion for real ale. At ‘The Mary’ we won several prestigious CAMRA awards, including National Pub of the Year 1994.  Later on (2000–2013) we ran the historic Sun Inn at Beamish Open Air Museum, where we built a reputation for offering real ale. It seemed a logical next step to learn how to master the art of brewing - in addition to selling it.

My interest in the drinks industry runs the whole way through the life of the product, from how individual drinks flavours are created and how they should be ‘kept’ to make them a pleasure to drink, right through to how drink brands are designed and developed. The actual brewing and distilling process was another element of this journey that was of interest to me.

I have a very good relationship with Brewlab at Sunderland, having hosted many of their students over the years in my brewery, so signing up for one of their ‘Diplomas in Distilling’ seemed a perfect opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the brewing process.

I have always enjoyed learning new skills. Experiences are great fun, whether it jewellery making, stained glass, felting etc and the idea of a fun afternoon with likeminded people learning ‘how-to’ create a flavoured gin - and then be able to take it home at the end of the day is just, to me the epitome of a great time.

I met with Elizabeth Devon, one of the trustees of The Cornhill on Tweed Centre back in spring 2023 when I was interested in the development of the Village Green. Elizabeth gave me a guided tour of the centre and the units and straight away I thought that the former school kitchen would make a perfect distillery with enough space for distilling workshops along with the bonus of outdoor space for growing botanical herbs.

Coincidentally, John and I both live in Cornhill on Tweed in the original village primary school. There have been 3 primary schools in Cornhill over the years.  I attended the 2nd incarnation which was situated in the area where Tweed View is now.  This was a great school and well attended but the building wasn’t so great and on stormy days we would get sent home as the building wasn’t always 100% safe!

Joanne, I will be developing the Botanical Garden. This is a small area in the Village Green that we have been permitted to use to grow the Botanicals we will be using in the distilling process. I have always been a keen gardener so this will be just an amazing project for me to get stuck into. Also, I will be the single-handed backroom
team. Bookings, accounts, website, social media, the list goes on. John is more the scientist, the teacher, the distiller, the talker!

John, meeting new people, teaching them how to distil and generally enjoying the experience. Also, I am looking forward to developing new recipes with all of the lovely Botanicals for retail sale.

Joanne, Gin!