‘World’s first’ gin in a paper bottle launches

To mark World Earth Day on 22 April, Silent Pool Distillers has released what it claims is “the world’s first commercially available” gin in a paper bottle – Green Man Woodland Gin.

The Surrey-based distiller has risen to the production and waste challenges facing the drinks industry as well as working towards the 2019 UK government target to make the entire food industry carbon-neutral by 2050.

Priced at £30 a bottle, Green Man Woodland Gin is inspired by the woodlands of Surrey and features 25 botanicals. The gin is said to have “woody, rooty notes coming through from Bosnian Juniper, fennel seeds, dandelion and burdock root.”

Silent Pool Distillers is working with Frugalpac, a British company that develops sustainable packaging products that are made from at least 90% recycled paper, to make the bottles.

The bottles are five times lighter than their glass counterparts, use 77% less plastic than other plastic offerings and have a carbon footprint six times lower than glass or PET plastic bottles.

The first Earth Day took place in 1970 and now has over 75,000 partners from over 192 countries working with the initiative to drive for change, making it an ideal day to launch Green Man Woodland Gin, which “wanted to capture the essence of the Pagan spirit of The Green Man in a bottle”. The Green Man figure is usually associated with rebirth and new growth.

Director of Silent Pool Distillers, Ian McCulloch, said: “Other spirits brands have spoken about using paperboard bottles for a while. However, when you scratch the surface, you realise that they’re quite far away from making that a reality. We wanted to make a real difference right now.”

McCulloch added: “With the release of Green Man Woodland Gin on World Earth Day, we’re very proud to be the first 100% recyclable paperboard bottle on the market.”

This isn’t Silent Pool Distillers’ first eco-venture: its main still is powered by biofuel, which reduces emissions by up to 90%, and the company’s smaller still is powered by a reclaimed steam boiler, while the rest of the distillery is powered by solar panels.

Silent Pool Distillers is located on the Duke of Northumberland’s Albury Estate, where the founders transformed a group of dilapidated farm buildings into the distillery.

Green Man Woodland Gin is available to order from the Silent Pool Distillers website from today, and will be available on Amazon from 1 May.