FAQs

Blind Swan is Cookham's first and currently only spirits brand. To date we have won awards for the world's best contemporary gin in 2022 and 2023 at the Global Gin Guide Awards and have taken gold at the World Spirits Masters. Both of our drinks are built to sip rather than swig although we appreciate that our customers often prefer to add a mixer. 

At the moment we sell gin and rum but we are looking to expand our offering over the coming months.

As much as we would love to, there just isn't enough space in the shed so this honour goes to the Henley Distillery. Our role is to provide Jake the master distiller with a brief, he usually looks at us as if we are crazy and then, after multiple rounds of tweaking and tasting, his mastery comes to fruition in the form of beautifully crafted spirits. 

Originally named Cookham Cocktail Club Gin No.5, as it was the fifth iteration of 11 and was born out of cocktail club we launched during lockdown, we renamed our spirits brand to Blind Swan at the beginning of 2023.  Inspired by Cookham's iconic symbol, the swan, we playfully substituted it with a pig, drawing upon the historical concept of the "Blind Pig" from the prohibition era. During that time, innkeepers charged for animal shows as a cover for serving complimentary drinks. 

With bold juniper leading the way this carefully crafted super smooth gin has been specially blended with plenty of citrus and a kick of spice. Throw in some fresh yuzu-peel, black pepper, pink peppercorns and the warming notes of cinnamon and aromatic cardamom, and you can’t go wrong.

Our recommendation is that it is served on ice with a slice of orange and a stick of cinnamon. But for the faint of heart, it tastes jolly good mixed with Indian tonic with ice and that all important slice, and of course as the key component to your favourite gin-based cocktail

Gin is made by distilling a neutral grain alcohol with juniper berries and other botanicals to make the delightful spirit we all know and love. 

Yes. Blind Swan gin is a London dry gin. 

Blind Swan gin has an ABV of 42% which is the level that really marks a premium gin from the rest of the pack, thanks to the quality in botanical flavour it provides. Gin is fantastic but it is called Mother’s Ruin for a reason. We recommend that you drink responsibly. 

Happily, we can answer yes to both of these questions.

A single gin and slimline tonic has around 115 calories. That’s fewer than four rice cakes, surely making it a no-brainer.  

Gin love has exploded for a reason and there’s always room for a quality product such as our No.5. If you are that worried about the range of gins out there, maybe buy our rum that’s coming next year. 

The price of our gin is consistent with other premium drinks in the category. And because it’s better. Seriously. 

15. What is the rum made of?

Blind Swan rum started out in life as a dark rum, but has been redistilled to create a white rum. With a deliciously smooth finish it combines notes of cacao and coffee beans producing an exquisite flavour. 

Luckily we have experts on board who know how to deliver against our crazy requests. In this instance, the experts at Henley took an already aged rum (actually it was a combination of two Caribbean rums) and, through the redistillation process, further enhanced its quality while retaining its base character. Clever eh!

Like our gin, we have built it to stand on its own without a mixer. With its aromatic intensity it is a perfect sipper but can also be mixed beautifully into cocktails. For those who prefer it a little less strong, add in some coke or another mixer of your choice. 

Designed to pack a punch, the ABV is 42%.