Slake Spirits
An independent distillery near the South Downs national park. Crafting locally produced spirits, including limited edition seasonal sipping gins, by fusing traditional flavours with hand-picked wild foraged botanicals.
It all began when Tom Martin-Wells developed a passion for foraging whilst out on walks with his dog Logie.
After joining the Association of Foragers, a network that teaches and promotes sustainable practice, and learning more about edible plants he realised he wanted to share his passion for local food and drink.
At the same time, gin was beginning its seemingly unstoppable resurgence and that was the lightbulb moment. Tom founded Slake Spirits in 2015, to produce small batch gin from his home at Shoreham-by-Sea using ingredients foraged from the surrounding area.
Choose from the Sussex Dry Gin, stylistically similar to London Dry Gin but made with locally sourced and foraged ingredients, or the fruiter Hedgerow Gin.
Tom is now experimenting with creating a Sussex brandy, a Campari-style drink and even much-maligned absinthe as possible future projects. If you enjoy aperitivo you’ll want to keep an eye out for Slake’s range of gin-based apéritifs made using Sussex grapes launching later this year. During lockdown he put his talents to great use creating a hand sanitiser that meets WHO regulations.
Want to taste Slake for yourself? You can order from the website, look out for it at local festivals, or on the menus in good Brighton restaurants like 64°and Isaac@. Or, turn up by appointment to buy from the gin workshop door.
