Gin could be just the tonic needed for dilapidated farm buildings

Mr Everitt, who now lives in Geneva, has applied to East Cambridgeshire District Council for permission to convert dilapidated farm buildings into a distillery.

If successful his Brockmans gin would be distilled in the East Cambridgeshire countryside.

Artist's impression of the proposed gin distillery near Wilburton. (Image: Brockman)

It would be based at Flexon Farm between Wilburton and Stretham and produce gin for Mr Everitt’s hugely successful company that he launched in 2008.

A design statement describes Brockmans Gin Ltd as “an exciting, fast-growth company headquartered in the UK, with key markets in Europe, North America and beyond”.

It says the opportunity to “re-invent” the farm buildings would also see the surrounding fields growing the blueberries and blackberries needed for production.

“A distillery would give Brockmans Gin a home in Cambridgeshire and see generations of tradition continue in a new and modern way,” says the statement.

“It would also allow us to employ two people in the area and possibly more as the fields of blueberries and blackberries and indeed other botanicals are grown and harvested.”

The company already distils its gin in this country using traditional methods and 100-year-old copper stills.

Historic image of the farm near Wilburton where old barns are to be converted to a gin distillery (Image: Brockman)

“It uniquely balances traditional gin aromas of juniper and coriander with top notes of citrus, blueberries and blackberries to provide a vibrant, intensely smooth taste experience truly like no other,” says the company.

Brockman turns over £10m a year and its gin is for sale in most leading supermarkets – and has a world-wide market.

“We have grown from an idea in the mind of our founders to a multinational, multi-award winning, progressive company with sales in over 50 markets,” says the planning statement.

“Brockmans can be found everywhere from the cocktail bars of New York to the cosy pubs of the UK.

“It is one of the largest independent super premium gins in the world.”

Mr Everitt grew up on the farm which has been in his family since his great-grand father bought the land now known as Top Farm on December 31, 1920.

Neil Everitt of Brockmans, an independent English gin company set up in 2008. Neil is one of the founding partners. (Image: Submitted)

The planning statement says the still would be located within the barn “to take centre-stage as the focal point of the process and to add a degree of drama to the theatre in which it is the ‘principal performer’”.