Sipello

An introduction from the producer....

Handcrafted in the Surrey Hills, Sipello marries a gooseberry-led blend of British ingredients such as rhubarb and the little known chuckleberry with sustainably sourced botanicals from around the world.

Led by sandalwood, gentian and wormwood, our botanicals are hand-picked, wild harvested and where certifiable, organic. It is a fruit-forward aperitif with a long bitter finish.

After almost 18 months of experimenting and blending batches at the distillery, we approached dozens of top bartenders in lockdown, many of which are household names with a batch we felt was close to the finished article. Most were happy to receive something different and new so Sipello’s Founder, Tim, would jump on his bike if they were in London and hand deliver them himself – much to their surprise.

In those moments on their doorsteps he’d explain what Sipello is but not how they should drink it because at this early stage, he wasn`t sure himself. Delivering samples in time for Christmas and New Year`s Eve in December, and then again in January and February, Tim cycled about 700km on his bike, often in temperatures that reached -3c!

Sipello takes 4 weeks to make as we macerate many of the ingredients separately before blending the fruity-bitter liquid to give it depth, complexity, and a long finish.

We think of it as layering the flavours for a drinking perfume.

Some of the fruit is macerated fresh, some is picked and frozen before being pressed to keep the sugars locked in. We like to think of it as a similar concept to how they make ice wine.

We found that 22% abv was the right amount to bring out the best in the ingredients and along with the gentian give it the right mouthfeel.