Capreolus Distillery
Non-conformist spirits distiller, Barney Wilczak is championed by some of the world’s most respected sommeliers and bartenders as amongst the most iconic producers of wine and spirits. We met Barney in the Spring of 2022 and absolutely loved what he is doing. He makes the most stunning Eau de Vie we've ever tried and it is no surprise some of the top cocktail bars and fine dining establishments are clamouring for this.
Growing up in The Cotswolds, Barney Wilczak was surrounded by flower rich grasslands, ancient woodlands, historic orchards and wildlife. This led to his former life as a photojournalist specialising in conservation stories as the perfect way to find, experience and capture rare and precious moments. Having had a hobby of distilling gin and eaux de vie (French fruit brandy), he found fruit distilling came as a natural extension to this discipline. It has taken Barney a decade of distilling to become happy with his own work and he is still learning constantly.
Growing up in The Cotswolds, Barney Wilczak was surrounded by flower rich grasslands, ancient woodlands, historic orchards and wildlife. This led to his former life as a photojournalist specialising in conservation stories as the perfect way to find, experience and capture rare and precious moments. Having had a hobby of distilling gin and eaux de vie (French fruit brandy), he found fruit distilling came as a natural extension to this discipline. It has taken Barney a decade of distilling to become happy with his own work and he is still learning constantly.
From the start, Barney made a decision to work only with local fruits for his spirits - eaux de vie and gin. Tens of tons of local fruit are processed in the garden of his childhood home from late June through to the New Year in a long, focused season. Rather than trying to replicate artificial fruit flavours Barney looks to capture eaux de vie that elevate and preserve true flavours of both fruit, parent tree or plant, and the landscape in which they grow. Each expression an unrepeatable record of a year’s growth. The volume will always be in Barney’s words insignificant as the finite nature of what they do is a celebration of the rarity of the subjects they work with.
