A WINCHESTER man has traded a London career spanning 20 years to make and sell his own gin.

Paul Bowler, of Upper Brook Street, has started Winchester Distillery in a bid to bring a taste of local produce to bars and restaurants across the district.

His new product, Twisted Nose dry gin, was first made in May and is now, several batches later, a refined product made of lavender, Alresford watercress and New Forest water with an alcohol by volume of 40 per cent.

Despite it being in production for less than six months it has already been snapped up by  well-known high street names including Hotel du Vin, The Green Man, Cornerhouse and, most notably, the new River Cottage canteen which has acquired it as its house gin.

Now Mr Bowler, who only makes 50 bottles at a time, says the demand is increasing at such a rate he’s knows giving up the high-powered city job has been worth it.

“I spent 20 years working in the city in IT consultancy, mainly in banking and finance,” he said. “After 20 years I’d had enough. Gin is always something I’ve enjoyed and I think it would be nice to have something truly local, even down to the scent.”

Mr Bowler said he knew he had created the right concoction when his wife and head taster, Renata, smiled pleasantly following weeks of wincing.

Now he’s also adding local wine merchants to his list of clients, including the Naked Grape and Wine Utopia, and is in talks about supplying Majestic warehouses right across Hampshire.

He hopes to create a new product soon, the Bar Master’s blend, which, at 52 per cent, will be one of the strongest gin products on the market. His aim is to develop purely-Hampshire products celebrating the county’s resources.

“It’s creating something from Hampshire for Hampshire really,” he added. “It has its own identity. Gins have a very distinctive taste and, of course, there are global brands but there is a growing demand for regional produce, particularly in London. I want Winchester to have that something of its own.”