MOVERS & SHAKERS
fter a conversation in a field while walking their much-loved Labrador Darcy, Lucy and Will
IMAGES The Cambridge Dry Gin is a classic and was created from botanicals found in the couple's garden and in the fields where they walk their dog, Darcy
We meet the duo behind Cambridge
Lowe decided to quit their jobs, start making gin and set themselves up as the Cambridge Distillery. At the time, Will was working in London as an educator in the wine trade, while Lucy worked at the Judge Business School in central Cambridge – but despite their busy careers the two were confident they’d eventually get round to creating a business for themselves. “We always knew that we’d end up powered by our interests,” says Lucy, “Ever since I was little I’d wanted to do my own thing: I always hugely disliked routine, and didn’t want to be at a desk from 9-5. I loved the opportunities and freedom offered by working for yourself.” The couple started out by distilling
gin in their living room in Histon, which was certainly one of the UK’s smallest distilleries if not the tiniest (a shed in Scotland also claims to be in the running for the crown). The lack of available space played a part in their choice to approach distillation via vacuum, rather than large, hot, splashy copper stills, but it also gave Will and Lucy fine control over the process, and enabled them to extract maximum flavour from even the most delicate of botanicals. Each botanical is distilled individually, in volumes of less than two litres at a time, to ensure that the freshest possible characteristics of the plant, flower, spice, fruit or berry – or whatever – are preserved: it’s not the fastest route to creating gin, but it guarantees something rather special at the end. “We were working every evening and weekend at the start. It was exciting – it was this little secret we had,” says Lucy. That same year the couple presented Will’s father with his very own gin as a birthday gift, created specifically to challenge his long-standing complaint that no gin was dry enough. The couple gave the creation the fitting name Professor Lowe’s Raspingly Dry Gin – and it was this spirit that caused the moment when the Lowes realised they’d struck on something special. “Will’s uncle was staying with Will’s father, and they’d
Distillery, the local
gin-makers putting our city on the map
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ISSUE 01
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