Earlsfield in South West London, tucked between the much better known Clapham and Wimbledon, is my home. It has also been home to Ben’s Canteen since 2014, which has for the past years been our go-to for brunch, countless dinners with friends and hosting big birthday parties. Now it’s entering a new chapter and has evolved into Bloody Bens bar, distillery and kitchen. I caught up with founder Ben Walton to talk about his latest venture.
What brought you to Earlsfield after opening your first restaurant in Clapham?
‘I wanted to open another venue in South West London and Earlsfield felt like an area everyone was starting to move to. It’s a lovely neighbourhood and the venue was another corner site like the original Ben’s Canteen, so it just made sense.’
Where did the inspiration for Bloody Bens come from?
‘Ben’s Canteen is famous for brunch and customers were asking us to bottle our Bloody Mary mix. So, just before Christmas 2017 we did exactly that and the name is a fun one. Also, it’s tough times for restaurants at the moment, so we wanted to create another aspect to our business and another reason for people to be talking about us.’
As well as the Bloody Mary mix which launched the Bloody Bens name in 2017, they now produce two gins as well, both distilled on site in Earlsfield.
What makes Bloody Bens gin unique and where does the Mallorcan influence in the signature gin come from?
‘Our signature gin is a London Dry but it’s got a distinctive honey and orange taste that sets it apart from countless gins with more “traditional” flavour profiles. My brother lived in Mallorca for years and on my numerous trips to the island, I would daydream about starting my own business. It’s also where I fell in love with gin, in those lovely big coppa glasses with exciting garnishes – so much better than the serves you’d get back in London in those days.
‘The Signature Gin tells the story of me setting up the business, honey for Wandsworth (where I lived for about 15 years) and orange for Mallorca.’
‘Shane Gardiner, our Head Distiller, has a drinks industry background, so we used that to think about what bartenders might want. That’s part of the reason our Gin is 43% (better for cocktails) and is a bartender friendly bottle shape. ‘
The distillery has now expanded from being a side project in a cabinet at the Earlsfield Canteen, to grow with demand with a beautiful 30ltr copper still which has pride of place at the rear of the venue.
What led you to want to change one of your restaurants into an expanded distillery and bar?
‘As our gin has become more popular, we wanted to give it even more focus, hence the name change too, and we’ve purchased a bigger still. And if things keep growing then we now have the space for more gin kit – plus we’d like to make a rum in the future.’
‘We’ve sold over 2,000 bottles and our gin is stocked in over 100 bars, shops and restaurants both in the UK and abroad – word of Earlsfield is spreading!’
‘It’s brilliant that we have a venue where we can host mini gin festivals and invite fellow gin makers down to show off their creativity.’
Recently Bloody Bens launched a strawberry and cream release, SW19 Pink Gin, inspired by the world famous tennis tournament in the neighbouring postcode to the distillery: Wimbledon. It’s a beautifully refreshing gin, that despite a clear strawberry flavour still tastes like a gin with that juniper note coming through to taste. While lots of other pink gins go down the rhubarb, pink grapefruit, raspberry or rose route it’s refreshing to see someone doing something different in a very saturated market.
Pink gins are hugely popular right now, what do you think makes your SW19 release stand out from the crowd?
‘It’s still a juniper forward spirit and not as sweet as people expect, it isn’t a gin liqueur like many similar products. Also, we didn’t just make the flavour for the sake of it – we’re just down the road from Wimbledon Tennis, the home of strawberries and cream. It’s a nod to that local connection. The label is pretty unique too, it represents those amazing London sunsets you get and celebrating British summers. ‘
Community seems to be a really big aspect of the Canteens and Bloody Bens, would you like to see future collaborations with local businesses? Building on your gins being sold and places like Well Kneaded next door who make their own tonic to pair with it.
‘Yes, totally, we’re actually working with AFC Wimbledon (who are returning to the area, playing at Plough Lane which is just a few mins walk away) to produce a gin for them. And we’re exploring plans to work together with Paradise Cooperative, the community garden up by Wandsworth Prison, to make a gin featuring their produce. Also, some kind of collaboration with our mates at By The Horns Brewery sounds fun.’
‘I love that South West London has gin companies, makes a change from everything like this being so East London centric.’
Bloody Bens’ bar has an impressive collection of other gins too, in addition to their own creations. 70 bottles from around the world now adorn the bar with gins ranging from the local Graveney Gin (Tooting) and Renegade Gin (Battersea), to the likes of Scapegrace (New Zealand) and Four Pillars (Australia).
If you can’t reach for a bottle of Bens what are some of your other favourites?
‘Ooh always so tough. I want to grab a bottle of Duck & Crutch, Porter’s, Marylebone Gin (Johnny the maker helped us get started on our gin journey) and Renegade who are in Battersea.’
What do you see in the future for Bloody Bens?
‘There will definitely be more gins in the future, we want to celebrate the local area – we met with local historian Geoff Simmons who gave us some amazing ideas. Did you know they used to grow lavender and peppermint locally? Also, we’re metres away from an old ammo factory that supplied warships in the Dutch wars and one day that’s going to lead us to making a rum and maybe a navy strength gin.’
‘We’re also doing a Winter Gin Festival in partnership with gin blogger Sarah Bryant on the 30th November, perfect for people to stock up ahead of Christmas. We want to do more gin socials and gin based events.’
It’s so great to welcome Bloody Bens to Earlsfield and I’m excited to see (and taste) even more delicious creations, drawing from our local area.
Bloody Bens’ distillery and bar is open Wednesday-Thursday 5pm-11pm, Friday-Saturday 9am-midnight, Sunday 9am-5pm.