I tried some fabulous Sussex brandy and vodka at the grand opening of Spirit of the Downs’ new distillery – in photos

And from what I can tell from the Met Office forecast, it may actually be the last sunny day for a while as autumn begins to take hold.

But, for this day at least, the comfortable 24°C temperature gives a rather Mediterranean feel to the otherwise quintessentially English countryside that is home to this award-winning local drinks producer.

Spirit of the Downs can be found at Unit 3, Bookers Vineyard, Foxhole Lane, Bolney, and makes fabulous brandies, grape spirits and vodka. Visit spiritofthedowns.co.uk.

Outside, I speak to Tagore Ramoutar, director and advisor of Spirit of the Downs’ commercial aspects. He tells me: “This is the first time we’ve created our own home where people can come visit and see the whole process.”

He continues: “It’s the first time we’ve had a distillery of our own. This is the new home, the first home, and there’s nothing better than actually being in the countryside for a distillery. We’re surrounded by grapes which is the heart of what we do.”

Tagore describes the new distillery as ‘a little boutique one’, saying it’s small but perfectly formed and very productive.

“We do artisan brandy like nobody else does and using local pomace,” Tagore says, adding that, as the ex-founder of The Oxford Artisan Distillery in 2015, he has ‘been on the same journey’ as Spirit of the Downs before.

He says: “On Saturdays we’ll be putting on tours and the idea is to get more people to come in, see what we do...and taste the product.”

Inside, partners, potential investors, friends and supporters – including Burgess Hill councillor Mustak Miah, who is the owner of Flavour restaurant, and East Grinstead and Uckfield MP Mims Davies – are enjoying a selection of meats, cheese and olives, alongside some of the distillery’s drinks. I sample (very small amounts of) the Handrafted Artisan Sussex Brandy aged in French Oak, as well as the brandy aged in English Oak. Not knowing the correct terms to describe it, I can safely say that it’s ‘very good stuff’. I decide to try the Limited Edition Grape Vodka too, despite never really liking Vodka that much, and it has an outstanding flavour.

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CEO and founder Michael Yeoman says: “Today is the official launch of Spirit of the Downs in our new distillery in Bolney. We’ve been open a few months now and it’s very much trying to make people aware of the new distillery and showcase what we've done in terms of the vast number of awards we’ve won. We’ve won 11 international awards for our brandies, grape spirit, vodka.”

Just this year, Spirit of the Downs got two wins in the Great Taste Awards 2024.

Michael continues: “We’ve got some more launches as well, which is very much focused around our coffee liquor, and we’re also working in collaboration with lots of local vineyards.”

The vineyards that Spirit of the Downs works with include Breaky Bottom, Surgrue South Downs, Tickerage, Bolney Estate and Plumpton Estate.

Michael says: “ What we tend to is work with small batch producers that spend a lot of time, energy and passion creating really great wines. And the grapes that they use for those wines, we take the press.”

He explains that the pomace is fermented with champagne yeast, sugar, and water. The mixture then sits in big steel tanks for a year so they can extract a lot of flavour into their spirits. Then these either go into a steel container if they are vodka or grape spirits, or into a barrel for brandy.

Michael says: “The barrels we have here are English oak, using oak from Staffordshire, and they’re put together by one of the master coopers in Yorkshire. They’re handmade, so there was no machine work.”

He continues: “When we put the grape distillate into the barrels it’s totally clear and over time the barrels will extract the flavour from the wood. Typically with English oak you get floral notes, you get a little bit of vanilla oak. This enables us to have two types of brandies because we have the English oak for lighter brandies and then we use French oak for the more traditional style.”

Michael also explains that Spirit of the Downs’ process is sustainable because it minimizes waste, adding that the waste they are left with then goes on to be used as fertiliser. He says: “We’ve got a fully sustainable loop. The still is electric so it will be powered by solar energy over the coming months and we’ll be a net contributor to the grid.”

Richard Cox from Burgess Hill Business Parks Association adds: “It’s great to see Sussex produce being created in such a sustainable way.”

Bridgette Ryan, business development manager, tells the Middy that this grand opening represents a ‘great milestone’ for the company, as it had started life operating out of Shoreham airport with its ferments in a hanger. She says: “It’s great to have everything under one roof and being able to invite trade customers in.”

Posting on Facebook after the event, Mustak Miah said: “It was an absolute pleasure to attend the grand opening of Spirit of the Downs Distillery alongside Mims Davies MP (East Grinstead and Uckfield). We had a fantastic tour of the distillery with Michael and Bridgette, learned all about their exciting vision and future business plans. You can try their fine Sussex Brandy which they specialise in or many other spirits they offer. Wishing them every success in their journey ahead!”