Sacred Spirits was established in London in 2009 and is the only vacuum distillery in London.
Sipsmith Distillery in Hammersmith started at a similar time, but they use an atmospheric pressure copper pot technique. Sacred Spirits (originally named Sacred Microdistillery) was launched by Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney initially as a pure
Gin distillery, but now produce flavoured
vodkas using the same process. Ian Hart, who had previously worked as a
Wall Street banker, was laid off in 2008. After his layoff, he began to conduct tests on the production of gin starting in September 2008. After conducting 23 gin-making experiments, he made the initial batch of Sacred Gin on May 22, 2009, and founded Sacred Spirits. His wife, Hilary Whitney, operates the company with him. Sacred Spirits also has created
vodka,
whisky,
vermouth, and
negroni products. It distributes its products to over 50 bars and restaurants in North and Central London, This includes Duke's Bar in
St James's, where
Ian Fleming invented the
Vesper cocktail. It is also stocked by
Fortnum and Mason in
Piccadilly, and
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in
Oxfordshire, before acquiring an on-trade distributor, Coe Vintners. ==Products==