Patient Wolf is cleaning up Southbank

By Jack Hayes Southbank’s own gin distillery, Patient Wolf Distilling Co., has joined forces with an old friend in Wolf of the Willows Brewing to ease the current shortage of hand sanitiser by making their own. No strangers to an “All-Wolf” collaboration, Patient Wolf co-founder, Dave Irwin, and Scott McKinnon from Wolf of the Willows, are working together again following two successful ventures, including the Tom Collins Sour winning third prize at the 2018 GABS festival, and the exclusive Rogue Barrel Gin. “After a short discussion with Scotty, we knew we could do something to help our local communities. We’re both glad to help out, and the new malt smell in the distillery is fantastic,” Mr Irwin said. “We knew there was a lack of sanitiser around. So, we thought we would distil it and come up with a sanitiser product.” With stage three restrictions forcing the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants on March 30, Wolf of the Willows was able to put good use to their otherwise idle brewing equipment and malt. Palleted-in by the keg, the 220L German-made Patient Wolf still has given a new lease on life to the XPA malt beer wash and hope for two companies faced with the financial devastation of a global pandemic. “It was interesting, but saddening to see how it [COVID-19] swept through the hospitality industry. Everyone around us shut down, a lot of them before government restrictions, and sadly some business won’t be coming back,” Mr Irwin said. “We only had our full team together two weeks before the lockdown and were really starting to establish ourselves. I lost half my staff in the first week.” With no clear end to COVID-19 in sight, Mr Irwin, along with co-founder Matt Argus, have been forced adapt their business model, firstly, to keep Patient Wolf alive, and their remaining staff with jobs. “We’ve had to pivot the business. We have been more focused on our online presence and are now opening up the store for bottle sales,” Mr Irwin said. “We’ve also amended our licence so we can start selling wine and beer.” “Wolf and the Willows will be selling their beer through here; we have a growing number of wines and spirits to choose from.” In May, Patient Wolf will be launching a same day cocktail delivery service. A range of feature cocktails will be available for purchases before 3pm • To purchase a bottle of hand sanitiser or gin: buy online at patientwolfgin.com or instore at 34-36 Market St, Southbank