Where did you grow up, and what made you go into distilling?

I grew up in Durban. My alchemy journey started in a rose garden. As a child, I would accompany my grandmother into her garden, picking roses to infuse into medical-grade ethanol and learning to create basic perfumes. This was the inadvertent starting point for my vocation as the head distiller at Time Anchor Distillery. The path to the creation of Time Anchor Distillery and our premium Mirari Gin range was further explored through youthful experiments with confectionary-infused vodkas at university. My husband Warrick Brown noticed how passionate I was, and I was gifted a 5-liter micro-distilling copper pot still. I used this 5-liter micro-distilling copper pot still for my early creations. Our distillery has progressed from a 100 litre holding capacity to 100 000 litres since its founding in 2013. Until May 2018, I single handily ran the whole of Time Anchor Distillery, right from the distillation, through to the packaging of all of our products. I am proud to say that we now employ three wonderful ladies full-time and will continue to employ women in our community and keep Time Anchor Distillery as a female-run and operated business.

Tell us about yourself.

I am obsessed with flavours and smells. I am always working on flavour, taste, and smell combinations. I am always looking out for new things, whether at the Joburg Fruit market, a walk through the botanical gardens, or at a local restaurant or bar. There are flavours to be found all around.