On International Women’s Day every year, the voices and stories of women across the world are celebrated, as we address the issues that cause gender inequality and diversity. But despite these issues remaining, such voices and stories take a backseat once the day is done.
We think it’s worth doing the opposite and actively challenging the issues that create these gaps in our industry, which is why we launched our weekly Wednesday Women series, where we profile the stories of the inspiring women in this great and wide industry.
Today we speak with Bombay Sapphire’s Master Distiller Dr Anne Brock, whose less than conventional path to distilling took a detour through medicine and mixology.
Reflecting on her early decision to study medicine at university, Brock says: “I wanted to help people – I was very young and idealistic, and my parents were super proud because I got into med school and that’s a big deal. But after seven months I quit and became a bartender, which was also a big deal, but not in the right way.”
Brock was a bartender for four years, “and not a good one”, she admits, before going back to university and obtaining a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Having enjoyed venturing into the worlds of both hospitality and chemistry, Brock eventually found the perfect intersection of the two, stepping into craft distilling right as the industry was on the rise.
“I started my career in about 2012 in London, when the craft distilling movement was just starting off. I set up a small craft distillery in central London and ran that for four years. Then one day, randomly, I logged onto LinkedIn and there was a message from Bacardi saying ‘we’re looking for a master distiller for Bombay, would you interview?’. At the time, I said absolutely hell not, I didn’t want to work for a big company,” Brock told The Shout.
Intrigued to see how she’d fare with the sensory test, Brock still interviewed, and despite her initial apprehension, joined Bombay Sapphire in September 2017. “Within three days, I knew that it was the best decision I’d ever made,” she says.
“I’m so lucky to work on this brand – you enter the world of gin as a craft distiller and then get to work on arguably the most iconic gin in the world.”
A vision shaped by the bar
People often assume that having a PhD in Organic Chemistry will be influential in Brock’s approach to distilling, but interestingly, she says it’s her bartending background that holds more weight.
“One of the things it has given me is an absolute insane respect for cocktail bartenders, people behind the bar with an incredible level of skill, because I was not bartending at that level.
“Yes I’ve got my knowledge of chemistry, but often you’ll find bartenders get a little bit obsessed with a particular aspect of flavour extraction or ice formation, and they’ll really go down the rabbit hole, and it’s fascinating to listen to them.”
Not only is Brock’s approach influenced by the craftmanship of bartending, she also feels that her connection to the industry has given her a different relationship with the end consumer – one that shapes the innovation pipeline at Bombay.
“I think anyone who’s worked in the hospitality industry knows how important the consumer is,” Brock explains. “At the end of the day, the bartender has got to want to use your spirit, and the consumer’s got to want to drink it, otherwise what’s the point of making the gin?
“And it’s really fascinating when you see the different drinking cultures in different countries. If you’re making a gin that you want people to be able to enjoy globally, it’s got to work in so many different aspects of a drink. Yes, it has to work in a gin and tonic, but say for the American market, it has to work in classic cocktails.
“That’s where some of the skill comes from. We’re really lucky that Bombay Sapphire has a flavour profile that is balanced and works in most, in fact all, cocktails. But I think when you’re creating a new gin and doing innovation, you’ve really got to be clear about how you want the consumer to drink it. You can’t just make something that tastes nice and then go, right, how does this work in drinks? It’s got to be part of the innovation.”
When to innovate?
Around the world, the gin category has evolved drastically over the last decade from the rise of craft brands to the explosion of different flavour profiles. While Brock says this ballooning isn’t necessarily healthy for the category, she still sees room for innovation when it’s done with the consumer in mind.
“What we’re seeing now is this rationalisation of the category, and the consumer is actually looking for real gin, London dry gin. Bombay Sapphire works perfectly in that area – it’s the only 100 per cent vapour-infused gin that’s available globally.
“When we’re looking at innovation now, we wouldn’t do something for the sake of doing it, or for the sake of a trend. It has to fit and work with what we see as the key assets and the best bits of Bombay.”
As the master distiller of one of the most distinctive gin brands in the world, it’s important to Brock to maintain the heritage of Bombay Sapphire while finding a way to pushing innovation forward.
“There are certain aspects that consumers love about Bombay, and that is our relationship with our growers and suppliers, the way we harvest and source our botanicals, and also our distillation process.”
Being that it’s the distillation process that gives Bombay Sapphire its balance, when the distillery is facing innovation Brock has some clear non-negotiables – it must be vapour-infused, and the botanicals must be sourced from the sustainably certified suppliers that the brand works closely with.
“We always say we have to make a spirit that when you drink it, it has the DNA of Bombay Sapphire, so it’s recognisably from the same wheelhouse, and then push it beyond that using the master of botanicals’ expertise and my expertise in our respective areas to make it the best we can,” Brock concludes.