Nestled on a farm in the heart of the beautiful Wye Valley, on the Monmouthshire border, you’ll find multi award-winning Silver Circle Distillery. With its innovative products and commitment to sustainability, it’s been named as one of the best distilleries in Wales - and it’s not slowing down.
From signature award-winning Wye Valley Gin to Black Garlic Vodka and Silver Circle Aquavit (the distilleries version of a Scandi classic) expect all your favourites with a twist. Spirits are handcrafted using locally-grown botanicals and the setting adds an enchanting element to an experience that’s guaranteed to engage your senses.
We spoke to Founder Nina Howden to find out what inspired the business idea and what to expect from the Make Your Own Gin experience.
Tell us a bit about your story and why you chose to enter the world of distilleries and gin-making in Wales
I’m Swedish but I lived in Berlin for many years where I ran a music agency, promoting artists in Germany and organising festivals. I think there’s a real connection between food, drink and music - it’s that link between hosting and making people happy.
I then started working with a distillery in Berlin where I realised you can create smaller distilleries complemented with lots of food and drink pairings, which I loved - that’s something we do here in partnership with our food-neighbours on site.
I met my British partner here and we decided to start a business together. He went to uni in Cardiff and just loves Wales so we consciously chose to come here.
How do you think the Upper Meend Farm setting makes for a special experience?
We’re on a working farm and all our botanicals come from the garden on site. When you arrive, you literally walk through the garden to get to the distillery. You’re surrounded by farm animals and other food and drink businesses, it’s super green, the air smells nice… It’s only a 45-minute drive from Cardiff and then you’re transported into the Monmouthshire countryside.
Tell us a bit about the Silver Circle Distillery and what makes it unique.
We see ourselves as an experimental distillery. Like an open plan kitchen, you can see everything we do. Exciting stuff is happening in cocktail creation and some of our most popular products are our cocktails.
We make Aquavit, a Scandi spirit which is great - we made the first Welsh one! You make it the same way as gin but it contains caraway and dill so it’s more savoury. People can try this as part of the tasting tour.
We’re also really passionate about sustainability. We bottle everything to minimize costs and we have a zero waste cocktail menu. For example, we’ll make drinks using lime and grapefruit leftovers to minimize waste.
We’re plastic-free and have refills on all products. The distillery is heated by an air source heat pump, we only use green energy, and all the botanicals are composted to ensure zero waste.
What can people expect from your experience?
We welcome you with a gin and tonic then go through the history of the distillery and onto tasting and smelling botanicals. We’ll guide you through making a well-balanced gin with a good flavour profile. Then, people get to distil this on their own - not all gin experiences offer this.
It’s unique because it's so personal. The people who run it are the distillers (i.e. us!). We have a flavour library to show people the things we’ve done before which they can try. We also shape the experience around the interests of the customer, so they can bring lots to the table.
Yuup is all about celebrating community and championing local experiences, by local people. What made you choose to move to Wales and what do you love most about the Welsh community you’re part of?
I love that it’s such a mythical country with all of these legends and beautiful stories. There’s so much magic in the air. In our community, there’s lots of support from people helping each other out. We share resources and have a collective, sustainable approach. Also, everyone who's here wants to be here.
Do you have any fun facts about gin or gin-making that people might not know?
Most people don't know that gin is made by distilling vodka with botanicals. What's also different is that the taste doesn't come through in the distillation. For example, distilled honey comes out as the flavour of pollen and plants (floral) with the essence of honey. Instead, you must distil with something that gives an illusion of sweetness - like cinnamon or liquorice. When you distil you work with your nose and aroma.
What is your favourite type of Gin and why?
A good gin should tell a story about the landscape and where it’s made. Isle of Harris Gin is great. I also like foraged gins or ones from a farm.
What made you choose Yuup as a partner of choice?
It’s hand-picked, unique, and made by locals.
