The Big Interview: Katherine Jenkins

Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE tells Sarah Neish why her ultra-premium Welsh gin Cygnet 22 is worth singing about.

When wecatch up, Katherine Jenkins OBE is in Chiswick, London, about to head into a studio to record songs for BBC television show Songs of Praise. Due to that plague of the modern age, the Zoom malfunction, we’re required to swiftly pivot to carry out the interview by WhatsApp audio, but the last-minute change barely rattles the classical singer. In fact, agile communication has been a key spoke in the wheel in bringing to life her ultra-premium gin, Cygnet 22.

Having launched the spirit in June 2023, selling out twice within five weeks, Jenkins says there continues to be “a lot of back and forth” between herself, Cygnet 22 co-founder and film-maker Andrew Levitas, to whom she happens to be married, and the distillers.

“I’ve come into every aspect of crafting this gin with an artist’s mind, and I have the same kind of interactions with the distilling team as I have with songwriters,” Jenkins says.

“We get together multiple times a week, either in person or on Zoom if I’m on tour, to talk about Cygnet. Releasing a drink is a completely new thing for me, so I’m very happy and excited to have their expertise and guidance.”

Led by female master distiller Aster Sadler, the all-Welsh distillation team is based at the Cygnet distillery in Swansea, only six miles down the road from Jenkins’ mother ’s house. Aster and her husband Chris, formerly of Sadler’s Brewing Co., set about determining exactly what would make Cygnet 22 stand out from the growing roster of ‘celebrity gins’, including Emma Watson’s Renais, Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s limited-edition Edinburgh Gin.

What was non-negotiable, however, was the 300-litre copper pot still crafted by Germany’s renowned Arnold Holstein, with which they wanted to produce the spirit.

“The first thing the Sadlers asked was: ‘How do we make this personal to you?’,” says Jenkins. “So we focused on things I use and love when choosing the botanicals for the gin. Manuka honey is something I’ve always used for my throat and voice because it has amazing antibacterial and antioxidant properties.”

The combination of Manuka honey with super-pure Welsh water, along with the other botanicals featured in the blend including bee pollen, lemon balm, rose petals and white peppercorns, resulted in “a much softer liquid” compared with other gins on the market. The silky-smooth mouthfeel, which has fast become one of Cygnet 22’s unique selling points, opened Jenkins’ eyes to the wealth of possibilities that can be achieved through distillation.

“I’ve really enjoyed the discipline of having to learn something so technical,” says Jenkins of the production process. “I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours learning how to sing, and I love to be immersed in learning, so I wanted the Sadlers to teach me.”

A sipping gin

It was during Jenkins’ education at The Royal Academy of Music that the idea of creating her own gin started to build like an impassioned aria, until it finally reached a crescendo this year.

“When I came to London to study, the tutors talked to us a lot about the relationship between alcohol and the voice, and one of the things they pressed upon us was the notion of ‘clean alcohol’,”

Jenkins says. “The cleaner a product is, and the fewer ingredients it contains, the less harmful it is to the voice.”

Generally speaking, Jenkins explains, beers, wines and some mixers (“back in 1998 there wasn’t the diversity of mixers on the market that there is today”) tend to be “less clean” than spirits. Furthermore, “Champagne is better [for the vocal cords] than wine”, according to Jenkins, who was crowned the best-selling classical artist of the century by Classic FM, having sold a record-breaking 2.7 million albums.

“While I was studying singing, I stopped drinking gin completely because we were advised to avoid the mixers that people tended to put with them,” Jenkins ruefully recalls.

A kernel of an idea began to grow that, if she were to create “a quality gin, using the very best ingredients, one that you could sip neat and didn’t have to overdilute”, then she might be able to partake of a few bevvies again.

“I wanted to drink something where I knew exactly what was going into it,” she explains. Having performed for Popes, Presidents and royal families, not to mention countless live, radio and television audiences over her 20-plus-year career, it’s no surprise she wanted to protect her pipes.

As such, her preferred way of drinking Cygnet 22 is “on the rocks, with a sprig of rosemary”, though Jenkins is also fired up following a recent mixology class showcasing cocktail recipes incorporating the gin.

“We want to be inclusive of how anyone wants to enjoy it,” she explains.

Feathered symbol

Named after a baby swan, the feathered symbol of Swansea where the Cygnet distillery is based, the number 22 refers both to the number of botanicals included in the gin and to the age at which Jenkins signed what was then the biggest recording deal in classical music history. Her first recording contract in 2002 netted her £1m for a six-album tie-in with Universal.

“I come to everything I do with a certain level of expectation, so with Cygnet 22 I knew I wanted to create a benchmark gin,” she says. “If you think about Don Julio 1942 Tequila, it’s miles away from the kind of Tequila that you might drink on a girls’ night out in Nice.”

Is she trying to create the Don Julio 1942 of gins?

“We want to be sold anywhere that embodies class, quality and elegance. That’s where I feel we sit as a brand,” Jenkins says. One might also add to that list anywhere that is quintessentially British.

In its five months since launch, Cygnet 22 has already secured UK listings at John Lewis, Waitrose, Master of Malt and Harvey Nichols, with a suggested retail price of £47.50. On-trade stockists include Chiltern Firehouse, The Maine Mayfair, Searcy’s and The Portrait Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery.

“To be in places like that, which represent much-loved British brands, is a major achievement,” Jenkins says. “Great things are made in Wales and I naturally fly the flag for Welsh products.”

If she could see Cygnet 22 behind the bar of any venue in the world, where would it be? “We held part of our wedding at The Rosewood Hotel in London, so that’s a special place for Andrew and I. To walk into a place which has such a personal connection for you and to see Cygnet 22 on the back bar, it’s an exciting moment.”

Jenkins adds that it would also be a dream to see her gin served on the rooftop bar of the five-star Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.

“We’ve just been talking about the plans for Cygnet 22 in Asia. I’ve been performing in Japan for 20 years, so I’d also love to see it in the Japanese market,” she says.

Does she think that a Welsh gin could be a tough sell in the Asian market?

“No I don’t,” Jenkins says resolutely. “In my experience, Asia loves luxury and I think the quality of Cygnet will speak for itself.”

While the Welsh connection is important to the singer, she doesn’t think it will “necessarily be a factor” in the consumer buying decision process.

As well as launching Cygnet 22 in Asia, there are plans to roll it out across the US in 2024. “We’re just making sure we have the correct strategy in place,” Jenkins says carefully. “The aim is to work through the places where I have the most presence from travelling or touring.”

Speaking of the US, her husband Andrew Levitas, known for directing critically-acclaimed films such as Lullaby, starring Amy Adams, and the Johnny-Depp-led Minamata, is a born-and-bred New Yorker, which will no doubt help open doors for Cygnet 22 in the Big Apple. What has it been like working together on the gin?

“It’s actually been brilliant,” says Jenkins. “There are definitely moments when we might disagree on something, but the thing with Andrew is that he’s a sculptor, a painter, a film-maker, a writer, a professor at New York University… so his mind is very open to different ways of doing things. He’s also a really good motivator on the team in terms of bringing people together.”

Jenkins says that the pair dedicate “a huge amount of time” to developing Cygnet and confides that she was taken aback by just how important the gin brand would become to them.

“To be honest, we didn’t realise how passionately we’d feel about it. That’s been one of the most surprising things,” she says.

The upshot is that the couple see Cygnet 22 as a long-term investment, and Jenkins hints at future product line expansion in the near future.

“There will be an addition to the range within the next 12 months,” she says.

This sense of longevity is reflected in everything from the recipes to the bottle design. On the latter, Jenkins worked closely with Eric Villency of Villency Design Group, whose back catalogue includes designing the frame for the original Peloton bike, as well as the interiors for luxury hospitality venues including the W Hotels and The Plaza.

Something beautiful

Describing the gin’s packaging with its swan-like, elegant bottle neck, Jenkins says: “I wanted to make something beautiful that would have a second or even a third life. Eric [Villency] is just brilliant and together we worked on creating something that would live on after you’ve enjoyed the last sip, whether as a single-stem flower vase or an oil-and-vinegar carafe. Upcycling was at the core of our design process.”

Choosing to forgo a bottle label in favour of printing directly onto the glass was another big call. “Even the ink is organic, so when you put the bottle into hot water it will wash off easily,” says Jenkins.

With green goals in mind, the team decided to opt for a lightweight bottle that weighs up to 50% less than the average spirits bottle, meaning less energy and raw materials are required in production and transportation.

Rather unusually for a celebrity product, discretion was a must. “The minimal branding was deliberate,” says Jenkins. “It’s not about having an ego. It’s important that, with or without me, these products stand up on their own.”

The accomplished singer, actress and charity ambassador has found a new home in the drinks world and hopes that Cygnet 22 will “bring people a moment of joy”.

It helps that the distillery is located so close to her mum’s house. “She might be popping in regularly for quality control,” Jenkins laughs.

Katherine Jenkins at a glance

At 22, Jenkins signed a six-album deal with Universal worth £1 million, at the time the most lucrative contract for a classical artist. In 2020 radio station Classic FM announced Jenkins to be the best-selling classical artist of the century, beating the likes of Luciano Pavarotti. That same year, she made her film debut alongside Johnny Depp in Minamata and has also performed in the West End, in the likes of Carousel with the English National Opera.

Jenkins has sung for the Royal Family many times, including at the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. Following the death of HM The Queen, Jenkins was asked to sing the first recording of God Save the King. She was awarded an OBE in 2014 for her services to music and charity, and is a global patron of The Wilderness Foundation, as well as being a long-time ambassador for charity Macmillan Cancer Support and a trustee of the British Forces Foundation.