The Influence behind the BLACK CAT DISTILLERY… WE WERE INSPIRED BY THE CHARMING 18TH CENTURY TALE OF THE CREATIVE AND RESOURCEFUL ENTREPRENEUR, DUDLEY BRADSTREET. The 1736 Gin Act made it illegal for anyone to sell gin in quantities of less than two gallons to reduce the excessive gin consumption of the time. He devised a scheme to discreetly sell gin on the streets of London, taking full advantage of the loopholes in the Gin Act, which required sellers to be visibly selling the gin. He sourced a wooden black cat sign and adapted it to become the precursor to the first vending machine.

Gin lovers would approach the black cat, saying, “Puss puss,” and the response would be “Mew mew,” indicating that gin was available for sale. The money would be inserted into the cat’s mouth, and the gin would be dispensed through a metal tube under the cat’s paw. We have created our own representation of the black cat dispensing machine as our logo. Nestled in the peace and serenity of the Eden Valley, Black Cat Distillery can be found at the magnificent partially restored 14th century fortified structure Brougham Hall, Penrith.

We are surrounded by echoes of the past, within a stone’s throw of Neolithic sites, Roman forts and Norman Castles. The inspiration behind Black Cat Gin’s recipe development fuses traditional techniques and Southern Asiatic and European botanicals with hints of exotic Africa to create modern and elegant flavours. We tie together these cosmopolitan influences with water that runs through the Lakeland fells which contains the very soul of the Lake District. 

We believe excellent gin should never be overlooked for being made in petite quantities. In fact, the process of making gin in small batches ensures we can monitor every step of the distilling. This attention to detail is what sets small batch gins from their large scale counterparts. Our exceptional British gin is all the better for being a handmade artisan gin and this is something we plan to stick to, no matter how popular Black Cat gin becomes.