Why DRYLAW Put £5m Behind a Different Way of Making Spirits
In August 2024, The Spirits Business profiled DRYLAW’s £5 million Kent production facility and the thinking behind its grape-led approach to fermentation and low-temperature distillation under vacuum.
What interested us about the article was not simply that it announced another spirits launch. It focused on the question that came first:
How should a modern spirit actually be made?
For DRYLAW, the answer starts before the still.
Start with the raw material
Our spirits begin with organic grape must. Different grape varieties provide different aromatic starting points, while fermentation becomes part of flavour development rather than simply a route to alcohol.
That is why Muscatel, Chardonnay and Garnacha can create recognisably different expressions while belonging to the same production philosophy.
The Spirits Business feature highlighted DRYLAW’s use of Spanish organic grape must, selected yeast strains and cold distillation under vacuum.
These are not separate marketing claims. They are connected stages of one system.
Why vacuum?
Reducing pressure lowers the temperature at which distillation can take place.
DRYLAW uses low-temperature distillation under vacuum with the intention of preserving delicate aromatic character developed in the raw material and during fermentation.
For us, premium should be visible in decisions like these rather than added to a product through language alone.
Efficiency by design
The same thinking applies to sustainability.
If the intended flavour can be achieved through intelligent raw-material selection, controlled fermentation and efficient separation, unnecessary processing can be reduced.
That is why our view of sustainability starts with manufacturing:
better use of material, better process control and desirable yield maximisation.
A distillery built to keep experimenting
Building a dedicated production facility gives us the ability to keep testing the variables that shape a spirit.
Grape variety.
Yeast.
Pressure.
Temperature.
Extraction.
Each can change the final bottle.
The £5 million investment was therefore not simply investment in a spirits range.
It was investment in the ability to keep asking better questions.
Products featured
in this article:
Muscatel Vodka
A cold-distilled celebration of organic Muscatel grape aromas. A perfect misfit. Trusted sidekick. Embodying the pure spirit of invention, for cocktail creation without limitations. Vodka from Muscatel grapes; 700 ml 40% ABV
