Interview: Ben Marston of Puddingstone Distillery, makers of Campfire Gins and Pud Pud Gins

I’ve been chatting to Ben since last year when I was looking for a Christmas gin. A lovely chap with an incredible range of gin, the best way for you to find out about Campfire gin is through him.

Who are you and how are you feeling?

Ben - co-founder and distiller at Puddingstone Distillery, a business set up alongside my wife Kate. How am I feeling? Well it’s 8.44 am, I’ve been in the distillery for an hour and I’ll be here for at least 12 hours. I’d rather be playing guitar, mountain biking or paddle boarding somewhere warm but don’t let that fool you into thinking that I don’t love making gin!

How did you get into gin?

It’s a long story, with lots of things coming together. A wrist operation delayed by six hours saw me waiting on a hospital bed. Kate headed off and bought two books to pass the time - ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’ and ‘A Guide to Gin'. These great books proved to be inspirational. We were also supporters of campaigns to promote our region (Hertfordshire and the Chiltern Hills) as a food and drink destination. 

Kate was getting bored with her job in graphic design. Meanwhile I had been helping a local brewery to grow. A combined love of gin and a realisation that there was not a distillery in the area got us thinking. 

After a year of drinking other people’s gins, qualifying as distillers, and being invited to speak at the London Distilling Expo, the distillery was born. From its inception in January 2014 to the doors opening in 2016, it was an intense time but it provided us with a new creative outlet. Sounds simple? It wasn’t but we still love it.

Of which gin are you most proud?

Our Ultrasonic Gin - it was borne of lateral thinking without any consideration for how it would work out. It took some time to achieve the result we were after, especially as we were working with botanicals that we’d not used before and utilising a completely new process. It was created in collaboration with the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, a charity we have supported through bottle sales for over 5 years. The greatest part of this project was discovering a way to reduce botanical inputs which is another step in our ongoing effort to reduce our impact on the environment. We’re also exceptionally proud of our London Dry which we created to work well in a Martini. In 2019 we won The World's Best Martini Challenge using that gin. The recipe for the martini can be found on our website.

You've taken a lot of inspiration from camping. If you had to take the following on a solo camping trip - 1 gin, 1 album and 1 book, what would they be?

Whether it’s camping, glamping, sitting by a fire pit in the garden, or the times we’ve been lucky enough to go on safari, a G&T next to a roaring fire with food, starlight, friends and stories is a great environment to exist in. As for those choices, I’d have to go with our Campfire Cask Aged gin, it’s my “hip flask” gin. A great neat sipper, especially with a small dash of sweet vermouth. Books eh? Well I just finished Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods quicker than any other book I’ve ever read so it would have to be another one of his - throw one at me, I don’t care what it is. Music choice is tougher as I have a broad taste but I prefer the sounds of nature when camping…that said you’ve twisted my arm and I’m going with by Home by the John Butler Trio

What's the plans for Puddingstone 2022?

Refinement, growth and innovation. In September 2021, we relaunched our core Campfire range in 70cl bottles (previously in 50cl bottles). This was a huge undertaking that had an impact on every aspect of the distillery. This year we are building on the success of that transition and increasing our share of the market, whilst battling the challenges of long lead times and increasing supply chain costs. We are still a small distillery but with over 25 International Spirits Awards and the accolade of the Gin Guide’s 2021 Distillery of the Year, we have a strong platform to build on. Highlights will include a limited edition Summer release that involves the use of a charcoal stove, a revamp of the PUD PUD range that Kate has working on, speaker appearances at Ginposium and London Distilling Expo, a 70mile cycle challenge to help raise 30K for the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and a host of other events. Best place to keep up to speed on it all is by signing up to our e-newsletter at www.puddingstonedistillery.com

Which gin by another distillery is your current favourite?

Oooh that's a tough one! Kate and I do try gins from other distilleries, usually based on the fact we’ve visited them, have been gifted them or want to know how they achieve double gold medal accolades! The one that really stood out for me over the last couple of years, and inspired us to use elderflower is the Dry Gin from Stockholms Bränneri. It’s a lovely balanced gin.