Having been a pencil pusher for the first part of my working life, I am forever grateful to have learnt to use my hands as a kid from, and, worked alongside my old man Richard Saunders, affectionately known as MacGyver amongst even the best tradesmen! 🛠💪
Some, definitely not all, of that skill managed to wear off and is put to good use every day in Doghouse Distillery. It was also put to the test and allowed me the good fortune of being able to hand assemble our stillhouse which came as pre-fabricated, disconnected pipework from Italy. 🙏👍
It was quite the challenge with three 7.5 metre columns, a pot that weighed some 1.5 tonnes and was 5 metres tall and ancillary pipework connections for days that required assembly at heights close to our roof's apex of 8.5 metres. A few nose bleeds abound and fear of heights gone! 🪂 🤙
I couldn't have done it without the invaluable assistance of the self proclaimed "World's Best Pipefitter", Joshua Wicks, (shown in pic), "Apprentice Pipefitter" Katherine Saunders, our heavy equipment lifters who helped place our pot and columns in position, plus, and last but absolutely not least, our great mate, the late Chris Fouracre, whose assistance and knowhow was beyond priceless! Bosses the lot of them 💯👊