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Behind-the-scenes: Distillery No. 209 with Arne Hillesland
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Arne Hillesland, a.k.a. the Ginerator, hand-crafts each batch of gin, producing about 2,800 gallons per month.
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Inside the distillery, with the hand-hammered copper still (left), the holding tanks for the corn-based, neutral spirit (center), and the bottling machine (right).
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The 1,000-gallon, hand-hammered, copper alembic pot still and its surrounding scaffolding was custom-made in Scotland.
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25 pounds of botanicals macerate in the neutral spirit overnight in the still before distillation begins the following morning.
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Hillesland individually distills the several botanicals that make up No. 209 gin individually, pictured here, to taste for quality and educational purposes.
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Hillesland distills small batches of the eight to eleven botanicals individually with this still.
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Currently distilling bergamot peels in the small still, Hillesland describes the distillation process and says, “The only changes I make are to keep each batch exactly the same.”
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They just released two of their aged gins, pictured above, which are aged in Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from the Rudd Winery.
