BACK IN his carefree student days, Demijohn founder Angus Ferguson enjoyed a spell of living and studying in the southern Italian city of Naples where, as he puts it, the people “live to eat, rather than eat to live”.

One part of the Italian food culture that he was particularly impressed with was the way in which local wines were sold in the Neapolitan cantinas – customers could turn up with their own bottles, buckets or indeed jerrycans, sample a wee bit of what was on offer, make their choice, then fill up their containers straight from the barrel.
This traditional sampling and decanting model, so far removed from the hermetically sealed and packaged practices of UK food and wine retailers, planted a seed of an idea in Angus’ mind, an idea that has now bloomed into an extraordinary business success story, involving three good-going shops (in Glasgow, Edinburgh and York), a fiercely loyal customer base, and an exclusive range of liquids so delicious that I quail at the prospect of trying to describe them with mere words.
The shops started when Angus, graduated from his studies, and having “ate and drank” his way around the world during a stint with the army, finally returned to Edinburgh to settle down with a girl – Frances – who, as he put it, also quite liked to eat and drink a lot.
Eschewing a career in a bank – a wise move as it turns out – Angus pursued his dream of establishing a ‘liquid delicatessen’, a shop that would use that Italian model of stocking quality goods by the barrel, to be decanted directly to customers.
But rather than wine, Angus’ focus was on the plethora of liqueurs, spirits, speciality oils and fruit vinegars that he had encountered on his foodie travels in the UK; unique and exquisite specialities being manufactured, at more or less kitchen-table scale, by an enthusiastic, but largely undiscovered, underground of amateur artisans.
These tiny producers, many of whom had started out simply supplying friends and family with homemade treats, were often to be found selling through their local shops or farmers markets, with no real prospect of ever achieving the scale to reach a wider audience.
“Packaging and distribution was a real obstacle to these businesses,” noted Angus. “At that small scale, the cost of bottling, labelling and shipping stuff around can dwarf any profit. So that is where we came in. Through us, buying in bulk and selling out of the barrel, as it were, these guys get a much wider market for what they are making, at minimal cost.
“In return, we – and our customers – get all the love and care and attention that each of these producers has put into the very special, often unique products that they have made.”
Offering taster samples to visitors to his shops is obviously one of the pleasures of Angus’ life, and when The Scottish Farmer team visited Demijohn in Glasgow, we received the same indulgence, as we were talked through an intoxicating guided tour of the racks of huge glass vessels lining the walls. As we sipped, Angus added to the fun by recounting his wee character sketches of the people behind each liquid.
“This,” he said, as we raised a thimble of a bramble and whisky liqueur, “ is made by a couple of retired PE teachers from West Linton. Amazing people.”
Amazing drink too... and that bramble content definitely counts towards one of my five-a-day... at least I heartily hope it does.
Doling out a gooseberry liqueur, Angus continued: “This,” he declared, “is made by a lady called Rosie who was a hospital pharmacist, but is also very keen on bellydancing.” A few more drinks like that, and I’ll be the one doing the bellydancing, I think to myself.
And so it continues; we are treated to Seville orange gin, rhubarb vodka, raspberry whisky liqueur, raspberry vodka, grapefruit vodka, and a 42% cider brandy, made by an ex-banker, that would be the very definition of a show-stopper if you served it up with some strong cheese at the end of a dinner party.
Currently in the research and development phase – where Angus insists there is a healthy two-way interaction between Demijohn and its disparate suppliers about what is ready for the market, and what needs more work – there is Beech leaf gin, orange whisky, strawberry and pear vodka and sloe sherry.
“We don’t release stuff until its ready and we know it can stand alongside the rest. There’s no point putting out something new that isn’t up to scratch, because the established varieties we have are so good, with the tasting we offer and no pretty labels to hide behind, the customer can make a completely straight comparison, and a below par offering just wouldn’t shift.”
Temporarily leaving the joys of strong drink to one side, Demijohn also offers a great range of oils and vinegars, equally lovingly handmade, and guaranteed to enliven your homecooking. Again, Scots berries and flowers feature prominently among the flavours on offer.
Whatever they come in to buy, Demijohn’s customers are obliged to buy a bottle with their first purchase, and to this end, the shop carries a full range of Italian glass receptacles, from teensy 40ml perfume bottles up to two litre glass balls. Thereafter, however, customers may bring that bottle back for refills, straight from the tap of any of the shop’s striking glass sales globes.
“We get great customer loyalty. People come clinking back in here with their bottles, and once that habit is established, it is absolutely a bargain getting a refill straight out the barrel. Where there is seasonal stuff – like the elderflower vinegar for example – our regulars want to know when it’s coming back in, and there is a sense of anticipation. People are happy to wait for something good like that – the big retailers have forgotten that.”
Demijohn also offers a cute range of handmade presentation boxes and tantallus made from Scottish wood. When we spoke to Angus, he was eagerly anticipating the Game Fair, where he planned to launch a special shooters’ box, holding four half-litre bottles of liqueurs and spirits, and a tray of cartridge-shaped taster glasses.
That idea – and a dozen more in development that we were made privy too, on the (correct) assumption that our memory of the detail would be too fuzzy to give away any secrets afterwards – make it plain that Angus is having as much fun with his business as he is success.
On the back of a record 2009, which saw sales up by 30%, and a burgeoning internet-based mail order business – up a stunning 70% – expansion is on his mind, with plans afoot for another shop in England, and a dedicated distribution premise to handle the ever-increasing flow of delicious liquids.
However, Angus will doubtless resist any business developments that might distance Demijohn from its roots in the appreciation of the local and the handmade.
As a closing example of these earthy principles, back in 2007, following runaway sales of their sloe gin, the producer involved admitted that they hadn’t the staff to pick enough sloes to satisfy the demand Demijohn was experiencing.
Angus’ response was just what you’d expect from the man. He closed all the shops for a long weekend, and took his staff out into the countryside to help pick sloes – an outing that is now an annual event on the staff calendar.
www.demijohn.co.uk