In BLOOM! Gin for the ladylike palette

Meet the world’s only known female gin distiller, the creator of Bloom, a divine and harmonious London premium gin with delicate botanicals of camomile, pomelo and honeysuckle in stunning feature bottle.

Q & A with Joanne Moore

How did you get into distillation as a career?

Having completed my degree in biochemistry I started working at G&J Greenalls distillery, where I am in my 15th year at the company. During my time at Greenalls I worked initially in the laboratory then moved on to quality management, which allowed me to get involved in liquid development and distillation. I really enjoyed this side of my job and found I had a natural flair for creating gins, so I worked with the previous head distiller on liquid development for a few years until he retired in 2006, at this point the company passed on the accolade of master distiller to myself, the 7th master distiller at G&J Greenalls in 250 years.

What would a typical day be like for you?

It can be very varied which really appeals to me as no two days are the same. Of course, there are some things that are routine and so when I’m on  site I part take in the daily taste panel where we conduct tastings of all the products produced on the stills the previous day. If I’m working on a new project then I will spend some time in the tasting lab playing around with flavours/ botanicals/ tweaking / adjusting etc to get the right blend / profile. Or researching into different botanicals. I also play an important role in educating consumers and trade on G&J Greenalls brands like BLOOM.

Why gin?

Why not, it’s a great spirit one that has  a wealth of opportunity in terms of innovation as we can use any number of botanicals to provide the unique  aromas & taste profile, legally the only ingredient us distillers have to use is Juniper, which ultimately  gives gin its characteristic perfume notes. I think it helps also that my family are big fans of Gin and so it was always the choice of tipple at home.

What would you suggest if other women wanted to investigate a career change into this industry?  What sort of skills and training are required?

For me having a background in science helped and a great passion for creativity within the spirit  trade.
Why is gin so popular with women? (even the mainstream brands)

Gin uses an array of botanicals to give each brand its own unique flavour profile. This gives the spirit much more depth and character which I think appeals to women as they can then choose an appropriate mixer to compliment their choice of gin  which works for their own individual palette. It’s also easy on the calories compared to other alcoholic drinks and has a more sophisticated  appeal.

What’s your favourite Gin based drink?

It really depends on my mood and / or the  occasion, the classic G&T works well at the end of the day or before a meal or if I am out for the evening I tend to drink my gin as a martini.

Are there any plans for future botanical spirits from you?

One is always creating it’s important to have a constant flow of ideas that we can bring to life as brands – watch this space..