Wilfrid Shon is making some of the best gin in the world in a Dorset farmyard – and its Asian kick has its roots in a notable 1767 local fair
One of the most famous scenes in all Thomas Hardy’s novels is the hiring fair in The Mayor of Casterbridge, at which farm labourer Michael Trenchard, in a drunken fury, sells his wife.
Two villages in this area lay claim to be the home of that notorious fair – Yarlington near Wincanton, which still has an annual fair, and Shroton near Blandford. Geographically, Shroton might seem to have the more plausible claim, as Thomas Hardy would more likely have known it.
Shroton Fair, founded in 1261 in the village under the lea of Hambledon Hill, was probably originally a horse fair, but later became a hiring fair, where tradesmen and craftsmen would hire themselves out for contract work. The fair continued, inevitably changing over time, but finally closing in the 1960s – there must be many in the area who still remember it.
Famously, in 1767, a tiger came to Shroton Fair – and that extraordinary exotic visitor has given its image to Wilfrid Shon’s gin, which he produces in a container unit in the courtyard of a farm on the western slopes of Cranborne Chase, just a few miles from Shroton, where he and his family have lived for more than 20 years.
Founded just three years ago, Shroton Fair Gin has this summer scored two major successes. It won gold and was judged in the top five per cent of gins in the International Wine and Spirit competition, for which around 1,000 gins were entered.
At the Global Spirits Masters awards, more than 400 gins were blind tasted – Master’s medals were awarded to entries scoring higher than gold, meaning Shroton Fair Gin is one of just 36 in the world with a Masters (making 27-year-old Wilfrid a Master of Gin).
It is quite an achievement for the young distiller who only began making gin in the wake of Covid, and describes his one-man business as a ‘nano-distillery’.
Educated at Sandroyd School near Tisbury, Clayesmore at Iwerne Minster and Canford School, where he did his A levels, Wilfrid read politics at the University of York and gained his masters in warfare and strategy at Leeds. He was working in the events industry in York when the pandemic closed down hospitality. Sensibly, he opted to come home – and began experimenting with the idea of making his own gin.
Grains of Paradise
‘I love cooking, hospitality and booze,’ he says. ‘You could call it my holy trinity! When I came back home I had to do something, so I started experimenting with botanicals to make a gin.’
He spent many months exploring the possibilities but finally found the right combination: ‘I stopped tweaking when I liked it,’ he says.
Apart from the essential juniper, Wilfrid began with spices including cardamom, cinnamon and coriander – and later cumin – and some herbs. The mystery ingredient, which gives this gin its very distinctive taste, is a West African pepper called Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta) which comes from the ginger family and has a slightly citrussy flavour.
The process begins with these botanicals being soaked in muslin bags for about 18 hours and then drained through a lively mix of grapefruit, lemon, ginger and cranberry. The finished product has ‘a bright mouthfeel,’ says Wilfrid, who recommends drinking Shroton Fair Gin with Fevertree’s Mediterranean tonic and a slice of frozen grapefruit.
After he had settled on the recipe, Wilfrid needed somewhere that he could officially distill his new gin. He asked local farming friends, and a few months later was able to move into a little container in the courtyard at Ash Farm, where he is open to customers (including people looking for refills) on Friday and Saturday mornings from 9am to noon.
It is a constant learning process – ‘Every day is school day,’ he says, as he discovers more about distilling, the industry and the business of marketing his product.
He loves events and meeting new customers – look out for the Shroton Fair Gin stand at this year’s Great Dorset Chilli Festival on the weekend of 3rd-4th August, Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show on 14th and 15th August, Dunster Show on 16th August, Mid Somerset Show on 18th August, Melplash Show on 22nd August and Stock Gaylard Oak Fair on the weekend of 24th and 25th August.
- For more information on Shroton Fair Gin and where to buy it, visit shrotonfairgin.co.uk
The Spiced French 75
Every gin should have a signature cocktail, and this is Shroton Fair Gin’s. It’s an elegant serve which complements the botanicals, and is the perfect aperitif on a warm summer’s evening.
For the spiced syrup:
- 100g caster sugar
- 100ml water
- 1tsp Grains of Paradise
- 2 dried juniper berries
- 5 coriander seeds
- 3cm fresh ginger root, chopped
- 1 strip lemon zest
- 1 Strip grapefruit zest
For the cocktail:
- 10ml lemon juice
- 10ml grapefruit juice
- 10ml spiced syrup
- Champagne to top up
- Ice to shake
- Lemon twist to garnish
Method:
- Add the water, sugar and spices to a small pan and set over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved, increase the heat and boil for three to five minutes until syrupy.
- Remove from the heat and add the citrus peel. Leave to cool.
- Once at room temperature, strain through a muslin cloth into a sterile bottle and store in the fridge. Pop a champagne flute in the freezer to chill.
- When ready, add the gin, citrus juices and syrup to a Boston shaker and shake for 15 to 20 seconds, or until the sides of the shaker feel cool.
Strain from a height into the chilled champagne flute to aerate the mixture. - Top up with champagne, and give a gentle stir with a bar spoon, garnish with a lemon twist and serve immediately.
