Ten years ago, two scientists from Maidstone sat down at a kitchen table and discussed the idea of opening a gin distillery.

Grabbing a notepad, Andy Reason and Norman Lewis wanted to use a blend of science and nature to create the perfect spirits but little did they know a decade down the line they would be recognised at international level thanks to their title as creators of ‘The World’s Strongest Gin’.

They left their jobs as pharmaceutical experts at GlaxoSmithKline, and in August 2011, opened Anno Distillery nestled in Marden, the first micro-distillery to open in Kent in 200 years.

Since then the distillery in Pattenden Lane has become an international success.

Its Anno Extreme 95 Gin, holds the title as the world's strongest gin with an alcohol by volume of a whopping 95%.

It is described as packing more punch and flavour than any other spirit while retaining all the flavour, balance and subtle notes that gin lovers have come to expect over the years.

It is both vegan and vegetarian friendly and costs £30 a bottle.

That title is just the tip of the iceberg, their efforts have also resulted in several highly regarded accolades.

These include a Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards, to Kent Product of the Year at the Taste of Kent Awards.

Anno even had the honour of being ‘Short-Term Retailer of the Year’ for its pop-up shop offering blending experiences at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Christmas 2018.

It beat the likes of Maison by Christian Dior.

It was this pop-up shop that led to the business expanding.

It was such a success, the following year the distillery took over the unit next door in Crest Industrial Estate to make room for a bar area for tasting and tours, and a blending experience laboratory where gin lovers can create their own bespoke gin.

With such accomplishments you could forgive them for sitting back to enjoy the fruits of their labour, but that’s not in the plan for the founders who are now in their mid 60s.

Dr Andy Reason said: “From our humble beginnings as a family-based distillery, to our now much more extended family of employees and fans, it has been a remarkable and rewarding journey.

"When we first set out we wanted to make a quality gin, and now we have produced an outstanding range of 14 different core spirits and limited editions - and counting.

“It is nice to take a brief moment to look back on all we have achieved in a relatively short space of time.

“It’s astonishing really, and we couldn’t have done it without the vital input, hard work and sacrifices from our wonderful staff, both past and present, as well as the gin lovers who continue to support us.

"We’ve been so amazingly fortunate to have enjoyed such success, though of course, we hope that there is much more to come in the future.”

While the journey so far has been a success, it hasn’t always been plain sailing.

In the early days the pair had to endure an arduous 18-month wait for a licence, but the perseverance paid off.

As a celebration, Anno Distillery adorned its beloved 300-litre copper pot still with the name ‘Patience’ as a tribute to those challenging times.

Patience stands proudly as the centrepiece at the distillery and every one of Anno’s spirits is still made in it to this day.

Having backgrounds in science allowed them to have Patience specifically designed to their requirements.

Dr Lewis and Dr Reason first became friends in 2000 when the pharmaceutical companies they were working for merged to form GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

GSK is a global healthcare company that develops and manufactures medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products.

Dr Reason was the head of site at GSK Tonbridge, as well as being a Vice President and the head of the strategic technologies department.

Dr Lewis became director of particle sciences, which was within the Strategic Technologies group.

They worked on developing drugs for asthma, cancer, epilepsy, flu, Parkinsons, migraines and HIV to name a few.

As part of their science days they worked from small test tube scale experiments in a laboratory, up to the pilot plant scale to understand a controlled manufacturing process before finally to full scale manufacturing.

When they moved from drugs to drinks, using distillations, it was the same processes and understanding of scaling up.

Developing the first gin, Anno Kent Dry Gin, took time and patience.

It was done in a very methodical way, trialling individual distilled botanicals before mixing them together to see what worked best and in what ratios.

They also tried many local botanicals, some that had never been used in gin before, such as samphire which they say was 'an interesting period of discovery'.

Three years ago the distillery partnered up with a brewery in Sevenoaks and released the first ever whisky to be made in Kent.

The mash was fermented by Westerham Brewery and then distilled by Anno Distillery, with the exclusive cask being filled in May 2015.

In 2018 the resting spirit officially became whisky and was released following a tasting by owners.

In March 2020, when Covid-19 moved in, Anno was quick to adapt and started producing its own alcohol hand rub using its scientific knowledge and equipment to supply hand sanitiser in a time of need.

To celebrate its birthday, the distillery held an exclusive VIP birthday event for just over 150 guests.

Gin fans in attendance were treated to an insight into the history of gin from Anno’s in-house experts, a behind-the-scenes tour of the distillery and how the spirits are made, as well as getting the opportunity to try out the award-winning range.

Anno runs distillery tours and experiences most weekends bookable from their website.

They are also offering 10% off their distillery webshop for the month of August to help celebrate this exciting milestone.

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