Myth and magic are woven into the landscape of the Isle of Man. Encircled by the Irish Sea and sat midst the Gulf Stream, this enchanting Island is home to standing stones engraved with ancient runes and Celtic crosses, haunts of smugglers of yore and, if the legend is to be believed, fairies both good and evil.
According to the Manx myth, you can find fairies amongst the roots of the elder trees that grow thick and wild on the Island. For Paul and Tiffany Kerruish, creators of the gorgeous craft gin in our June 2021 Gin of the Month box, the elderflowers that blanket the Island every June had to be the focal point of June’s gin: Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Elder Shee Special Edition. Together with their resident master distiller Rusty, the husband-and-wife team created this bewitching spirit, designed to whisk gin lovers away to the mystic realms hidden on the Isle of Man.
Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Elder Shee Special Edition
Distilled on the Isle of Man exclusively for Craft Gin Club members
43% ABV
Botanicals:
Juniper, British coriander seed, elderflower, pink grapefruit peel, lemon peel, rosemary, lemon thyme and orris root.
Tasting Notes:
This gin has a whimsical blend of flavours, with a delicate headiness on the nose that carries through onto the palate. Extraordinarily fresh, floral and smooth when sipped - a well-balanced mix of elderflower and pink grapefruit complemented by the herbaceous notes of rosemary and lemon thyme. Delightfully moreish on the finish, with a bright burst of sweet citrus.
From Members to Makers
While the couple behind June’s Gin of the Month have enjoyed drinking gin for many years, it wasn’t until Tiffany and Paul joined Craft Gin Club that they became true connoisseurs.
“Gin became something we really savoured, and a conversation starter in our house, especially because we found we had less time to go out once we had our first child. We’d always enjoyed gin, but it wasn’t until we joined Craft Gin Club that we fully appreciated how complex and varied it could be.”
It was over G&Ts one evening that the thought struck them: why hadn’t anyone crafted gin on the Isle of Man before?
With every Craft Gin Club box that arrived, their dream of starting their own distillery grew stronger – all they needed was a little push from fate.
“It was a chance encounter that propelled Fynoderee Gin into reality. To celebrate my 40th birthday we went on a trip to North Yorkshire and visited a local distillery. We got chatting to the Head Distiller, Gerard Macluskey, and told him about our dream of creating a gin on the Isle of Man. He loved the concept, and his encouragement gave us the courage to keep developing the idea.”
What Tiffany and Paul didn’t know during their initial meeting was that Gerard was looking for a new challenge – and creating the Isle of Man’s first ever gin certainly fitted the bill.
“It went from Gerard giving us advice to him saying, ‘how about I come and help you make a gin?’ We’d almost talked ourselves out of doing it when Gerard then told us he’d handed in his notice and that he’d be here in a week! Then there was no turning back.”
In a matter of months, Paul and Tiffany went from dreaming of a Manx gin to having a master distiller raring to go, as well as a still sitting in their garage.
As Manx as the Hills
“We always wanted our gins to have a strong Isle of Man influence and provenance from a botanical point of view. After all, I was born and bred on the Island. I’m as Manx as the hills, as they say here!”
Although Tiffany was born in Suffolk, her family had been living on the Isle of Man for generations, and when she moved there she fell in love with its culture.
“There’s a long oral tradition of storytelling on the Isle of Man – lots of whimsical, ethereal folktales that have been handed down from generation to generation. The Celts, Vikings, Irish, Scottish and English have all taken residence and influenced the culture of the Isle of Man at some point, leaving bits and pieces of their mythology behind when they left.”
It’s certainly easy to see why people would believe in such myth and magic, given the bewitching natural beauty of the Isle of Man. With mountains and moorlands, glacial plains and seaside cliffs, sandy beaches and rocky coastline, the Isle of Man is a microcosm of the diverse geography found across the British Isles. And growing amongst it all is an intriguing variety of botanicals, which Paul and Tiffany were keen to forage and take inspiration from.
First on their list was juniper – the botanical every gin must contain by law. While once upon a time juniper could be found all over the Isle, it had been inadvertently eradicated through sheep grazing. Then the last known juniper plant was reputedly dug up and transplanted to the lowlands to preserve it, where it promptly died!
But all hope wasn’t lost. The Manx Wildlife Trust began reintroducing juniper to the Island just as Tiffany and Paul were setting up their distillery. While the new plants won’t produce juniper berries for some years to come, for Tiffany and Paul, they offer the hope of one day adding Manx juniper to the mix.
Glen Auldyn, where the juniper is being reintroduced, also happens to be an area the couple are familiar with.
“It’s just outside of Ramsey, where we live. The scenery changes from town to complete wilderness within a mile, and then you find this beautiful glen among the hills and forest, bounded by lots of the botanicals we were planning to hand-pick for our gins.”
Tiffany felt sure she’d heard the name of Glen Auldyn somewhere in local folklore before, so she flicked through a trusty volume of Manx fairy tales. Sure enough, the popular tale of the Fynoderee and Kitty Kerruish was set in the enchanting glen.
“The story piqued our interest because Kerruish is our surname. It felt like fate.”
And so it was decided. They would name their gin brand ‘Fynoderee’ (pronounced Fi-nod-er-ee), and on each of the bottles this satyr-like figure would appear. Now that they had the ‘hairy fairy’ – as the Fynoderee is affectionately called – on their team, they were ready to join forces with Master Distiller Gerard to develop their gins. Not ones to do things by halves, they decided that over the next twelve months they would create not one but four gins – one each for winter, spring, summer and autumn respectively.
They kicked things off in the autumn of 2017, and over the next year they developed four unique gins, each featuring locally foraged and seasonal botanicals. They soon began winning awards, and their gins became the tipple of choice for the people of the Isle of Man and visitors alike. As their success grew, so did their desire to share the provenance and heritage of the Isle of Man beyond the Island itself.
The Elder Shee
By the time Craft Gin Club co-founders Jon and John asked Tiffany and Paul to develop a gin exclusively for members, the two of them had been Craft Gin Clubbers for several years.
“We knew we were going to be creating a gin that people would be sipping in June, and as members of the club we also know how great it is to get a gin that uniquely suits the time of year. We were also very keen to use a botanical that grows on the Island.”
When they thought about which botanicals were most prevalent on the Island in June, elderflower immediately came to mind.
“Tramman, which is the Manx word for elder tree, has great significance on the Isle of Man. It’s thought that fairies live in the roots, so nobody on the Isle of Man will cut down an elder tree, and that means you see elderflowers absolutely everywhere during the early summer on the Island.”
They worked closely with Berle Wilson Figgins Jnr., a master distiller from the USA affectionately known as Rusty, who had crossed the pond with his family to join the Fynoderee team in October 2020. They began experimenting with building a gin recipe centred around their two key botanicals: elderflower and juniper. They then added classic gin botanical coriander seed and as is the case with all their gins, British coriander grown in Sussex. Sweet citrus notes were to follow with the addition of Spanish pink grapefruit and lemon and to balance the gin, rosemary, lemon thyme and a touch of orris root.
“I’m a farmer’s son, and our farm was full of elderflowers. In the summer, my mum used to infuse fresh homemade lemonade with elderflower, and it’s a flavour combination I’ve always loved.”
When the time arrived to sample the very first batch of their final Fynoderee Elder Shee Special Edition, Tiffany, Paul and Rusty waited with bated breath. Had the mischievous fairies of the Isle cursed or blessed their endeavour?
“From the moment we smelled the final trial on the nose, we knew we had got it right – it was destined to be a real conversation starter. It’s so memorable in terms of flavour and great for people who like to get a real botanical hit when they take a sip and the tonic is still popping.”
But beyond the beautiful flavours, what made Paul and Tiffany especially proud was the dash of Manx magic that brought it all together. For hundreds of years the people of the Isle of Man had been passing stories on from generation to generation, adding local flavour as they went. And now, with this spirit, Tiffany and Paul can share that special heritage with fellow Craft Gin Clubbers too.
“We hope when everything is safe we’ll be able to welcome a few Craft Gin Club members to our distillery here on our beautiful Island.”
Located in an old Victorian white-brick coach station, the distillery gives guests the chance to immerse themselves in the world of Fynoderee. With copper pot stills (including a type you won’t find anywhere else in Europe and designed by Master Distiller Rusty), bottles of different Fynoderee expressions and often local Manx musicians playing traditional tunes, it’s a place that truly captures the mythical and magical heritage of the Isle of Man.
It’s certainly an Island worth visiting. But, in the meantime, allow June’s Gin of the Month to transport you there. We’ll leave you with the Manx word for cheers: slaynt vie!
The Fynoderee Seasonal Range
Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Spring:
Flavour Profile:
Warming juniper gives way to light, zesty lemon verbena, fresh mint and coriander, with subtle herbaceous notes from handpicked Manx gorse. A sweet lemon-sherbet finish lingers long on the palate.
Recommended Garnish:
A wedge of pink grapefruit, fresh rosemary or thyme.
Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Summer
Flavour Profile:
This crowd-pleaser is distilled with fresh Manx strawberries. The ripe fruit flavours give way to juniper, coriander and citrus notes, which dissipate into a smooth vanilla finish.
Recommended Garnish:
Slices of fresh strawberry, raspberry or cucumber.
Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Autumn
Flavour Profile:
Crisp Manx apple and crab apple are complemented by the earthiness of handpicked rowan berry and rosehip, and the sweetness of wild foraged plum.
Recommended Garnish:
Apple slices or blackberries.
Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin Winter
Flavour Profile:
This gin is complex on the nose and palate, blending piney juniper and coriander with handpicked Manx elderberries, blackberries and sloes. The lovely mouthfeel is complemented by the spice of clove, cubeb pepper and cinnamon on the finish.
Recommended Garnish:
A twist of orange peel or a cassia quill.
The Fynoderee label is full of fascinating details:
The fairy on the bottle:
“The fairy on the bottle is the Elder Shee. She’s a figment of our imagination, inspired by the Manx myth about fairies living in the roots of elder trees. ‘Shee’ is the word for fairy in the Manx language.”
The tree: This illustration is based on an ancient elder tree on a farm near the Fynoderee Distillery.
The stone: The Isle of Man is covered in standing stones engraved with ancient runes. Using an ancient Celtic tree alphabet of runes called Ogham, we can decode this one – it means elder tree.
The satyr-esque figure: This figure pays homage to the mythical character that lends this gin brand its name: Fynoderee. Paul says, “If anyone picks up the bottle and asks what’s Fynoderee, you can say he’s sitting right there looking at you!”
Biosphere logo: The Isle of Man is the only whole-state UNESCO Biosphere in the world, and the inclusion of the logo on the Fynoderee bottle reflects the pledge Paul and Tiffany made to use their brand to:
• Protect natural resources and promote living land and seascapes
• Develop the local economy sustainably
• Support and promote Manx heritage and culture
• Engage with the local community
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