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“I consider myself very lucky that I was in the right place at the right time to do this.”
Lesley Gracie is our Hendrick’s Master Distiller and the Rare Character behind our iconic Hendrick’s Gin. Lesley has been part of the William Grant & Sons team for over 37 years.
“I was asked if I’d like to become the Hendrick’s Master Distiller, and I said, why not? I feel very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.”
Following a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry where she worked as part of a flavouring team in a research and development lab, Yorkshire-born Lesley joined our technical team as a chemist in 1988.
A few years later, she was approached by the great grandson of William Grant, Charles Gordon, to create 'a totally different’ gin using two antique stills – a rare Carter-Head and the 19th Century Bennett
“We were asked to create a new gin, something totally different to what was already available on the back bar at the time, both in terms of flavour, and how it was made. We were only given one caveat – that it must contain the quintessential British elements of cucumber and rose. It was a surprise to us as the popularity of gin was dropping.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Lesley’s restless wonderhas enabled her to find inspiration for new liquids everywhere - from the Amazon rainforest to the deserts of Dubai, to the Scottish seaside, and even her own garden.
“The ideas really can come from anywhere and there’s always a story behind the flavours I create. It could be silly things like a garden centre, with all the herbs and plants, or the amazing sunsets on the West Coast of Scotland.”
“Sunsets, for example, are one of those rare things that everyone stops to look at, and I wanted to reflect that feeling and spirit within Hendrick’s Sunspell.”
“Meanwhile, Hendrick’s Amazonia was inspired by my visit to the rainforest in Venezuela. Even today, when I open the bottle, the smell is exactly what the rainforest smelled like. I love the feeling it gives me.”
It takes a special nose to create the perfect blend of botanicals whilst maintaining the unique spirit of Hendrick’s. For Lesley, her skill of nosing and fascination with botanicals started from childhood.
“My parents were both really interested in gardening. I was always involved with the garden, and my mum, well she was a rascal. If we went to some sort of garden, you could guarantee she’d leave with a handbag full of cuttings she’d acquired – and I find myself doing it now! It’s what I grew up with, and I think it’s led me to where I am today.”
The Hendrick’s Gin Palace is based at our distillery in Girvan. “When you come in and you've got the beautiful building that we have now, it’s just amazing and I really love it. I love having the two greenhouses where we can grow things and experiment. It is such an iconic building, but also just a beautiful building.”
What started as a quest to create something different has resulted in an iconic gin. “I never imagined Hendrick’s would be where it is now. It was a relatively slow growth, and then it just took off. It was great to see everyone appreciating the difference in Hendrick’s compared to what else was available.”
Despite Lesley’s incredible impact on Hendrick’s, she maintains that she was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. “If I hadn't done it, then somebody else probably would. That's why I consider myself very lucky that I was in the right place at the right time to do this.”