The Quintessential Distilling Co this week revealed their plans to transform former art cafe Dalton Pottery, which caught fire last year, into a micro gin distillery and bar.
Raymond Clynick, managing director of the company, said: “This project is multi-faceted, in that we have the distillery which will employ five people within the year and then the tasting room, bar, visitor centre and Scandinavian barbecue hut will require a minimum of seven people.
“We aim to have a team in excess of ten people within two years. “Due to the fire our start date has been delayed. We are aiming to be open by the end of February 2017.”
The company already have the trademarks in place for their gin — The OroGin — and hope to sell it worldwide, putting Dalton on the map.
Mr Clynick said: “We would like to become a global brand penetrating multiple export markets, including Asia, Europe, America and South Americas.
“This is our long term aim: at this stage we will be happy if we can enter the thriving home market which is currently undergoing a phenomenal renaissance.”
As well as creating their own gin, the distillery will be open to visitors who can tour the site, including the bottling line and product development lab.
The Tasting Room and a Scandinavian barbecue hut – The Grill – will also help pull in tourists. Mr Clynick has called The Tasting Room a ‘new experience’ for the area.
He said: “We will be offering a full bar, subject to licence approval, in very restful surroundings where we will be supplying free tapas sized, locally sourced, little dishes.
“The Grill will offer events in the evenings for groups, such as a gin paired barbecue menu, where gins or wines will be matched with a specially designed menu.
This will be available for private hire, or if demand is great enough it will be a constant feature.”
Hoping to be welcomed by the local community, Mr Clynick said: “Depending on our licensing terms, we aim to be open as much as possible for the community and tourists alike.
“We would like to host events for any society, and in conjunction with local businesses, as we would like to become a focal point for the community.”
