Nicky Bicket (Founders House, 1973) in the UK writes as follows:

THIS TIME, WITH VODKA

Twice is probably not a trend, but our second visit to Mousehall, Gary Jordan's (1978G) northern hemisphere estate, cousin of Jordan Wines just outside Cape Town, hopefully sets up more to come - with more applying also to additional varieties of spirits to the growing Mousehall portfolio - even as their chardonnay and pinot noir mature in barrels for later enjoyment.

Mousehall Country Estate lies within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in a secluded valley on the northern edge of the parish of Mayfield in East Sussex. Mousehall was first recorded in the Doomsday book in 1086 and since then has been a working farm with a prosperous history. Pretty much derelict when the Jordans acquired it, it is almost at the end of a painstaking restoration - and most certainly worth a visit.

Gary, wife Kathy and daughter Christy (Chief Distiller) hosted a group of ODs to a gin and vodka tasting (or what we used to call in the UCT Science faculty a lec-dem) on Saturday 15th July 2023 where we learned among other things what a "distillate" was and experimented in creating our own personal brand of gin.

Since last year, Mousehall has garnered four awards (only two shown on the bottle on the right) for their incredible gin and introduced vodka into their repertoire. A crowd of young ODs (and some older ones) listened, learned, sniffed, tasted, swirled, and swallowed (never spitting) their way into the alchemic world of high-end spirit-making.

Between the tasting and lunch, we soaked up the alcohol with Kathy's excellent homemade bread, liver paté, and humus. 

And then we repaired to (and were repaired by) lunch at The Rose & Crown, where we were looked after by a very patient and empathetic Lucy.

Our huge thanks to the Jordans who gave so elegantly and generously of their time, expertise, and hospitality. It really was a fantastic experience.

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For any further related information please contact Nicky Bicket the UK Branch Secretary at [email protected]

Please go to the blogspot for images and further information.

https://ukodu.blogspot.com/