As part of her role, Charlie creates and distils all of Burleighs’ range which currently includes seven different varieties. As well as hand bottling and preparing for dispatch to customers across the UK, Charlie also develops new recipes and ideas for upcoming products and collaborations, and manages the Burleighs Gin distillery.
Hi! My name is Charlie, and I am the head distiller at Burleighs Gin in Leicestershire. I am originally from the West Midlands but now live in South Derbyshire and have been working at Burleighs for four and a half years. My entire working career has always involved working in the drinks industry, whether working part time in pubs for a bit of extra money while at university, to being manager of a pub in Derby city centre, to where I am now, making my own gin.
My main role at Burleighs is to ensure that we always have stock to sell; if we have a product that we are running out of then I need to distil more of that gin and get it bottled. Everything at Burleighs is done by hand, so it can be quite a physical job but I love everything about it, especially when I get to develop new recipes. This involves looking at new botanicals and different flavours to create something new and exciting – something that is going to make us standout against the many other gins on the market.
Not at all! I never knew growing up what I wanted to do and have had many different careers to get me to where I am today. I am a fully qualified hairdresser, I have a degree in special educational needs and now I make gin. My working career has definitely been varied but I have always taken the path of doing something I enjoy. I love the job I do now, I get to be creative whilst working with some amazing people – everyone at Burleighs is passionate about the brand and it really is an enjoyable place to work.
If I ever have faced a challenge, then I always deal with it head on. I never feel like I can’t do anything, which I suppose is a good trait to have. There are times when a goal is taking longer to achieve than I had hoped for, this is usually where I start to lose enthusiasm and heart, but I always take a step back, evaluate and go for it again.
My proudest achievement so far is developing the recipe for our latest edition, National Forest. This gin brings flavours of blackberries, cherries and elderflower to give a fresh and fruity taste. The gin has just been awarded five stars by Difford’s Guide and we are also hoping it’s going to do well at the IWSC awards in the spring – fingers crossed!
Having the support of family and friends is always a massive factor in achieving success. My family are so supportive of what I do, they love that I am one of very few female distillers in Great Britain and help to promote the Burleighs brand as much as possible.
To get to where I am at Burleighs, I was the previous distiller’s mentee – I was a novice when I started at Burleighs and learnt all I know now by training here at the distillery. I would like to go on to get a distilling qualification, something I am hoping to achieve next year. I do have an assistant in the distillery, who is currently under my guidance, learning all there is to know about distilling. I hope I can pass on all the knowledge I have and that he continues to love the job as much as I do!
I think the main point would be to try and encourage more women to be more confident in their passions – if you want to achieve a goal then you should just go for it, what is there to lose? By building confidence in women, by promoting what women can do and what struggles we have overcome to get to where we are today, this will help to empower more women. Times have definitely changed for the better and women are now getting more praise for what they do – the ideal isn’t quite there yet but it does give promise for the future.
My younger self was really carefree and didn’t really take anything too seriously – I have always only ever chosen things like career paths, if I know I’m going to enjoy them, which is great, but several times in the past I have decided to do something without really thinking it through thoroughly, which can leave you in a sticky situation. For example, 10 years ago I decided to go travelling with a friend in Australia for six months – we had so much fun but it wasn’t all supposed to be fun, we needed to find jobs out there in order to make a bit more money, which was definitely harder than we both ever expected. We saw some and had some amazing adventures, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done! So I would definitely tell my younger self to take time, step back and evaluate the situation, to have a bigger think about whether it is the correct path to go down.
My challenge is always going to be to create amazing tasting gins using ingredients that hopefully no one has used before. This aim is getting harder and harder as more and more distilleries open, offering fresh and new tasting gins, but it is always going to be something I strive to achieve. We are hoping to launch three new products this year, all with a different concept and flavour, so fingers crossed everyone enjoys the taste as much as us!
May
20may18:0020:00This Independent Life | Building a Career in Women's Health | Workshop
20/05/2024 18:00 - 20:00(GMT+01:00)
Are you looking to build or pivot to a career in women’s health but don’t know where to start? Join this workshop & make it happen in 2024!
This session will be recorded and shared with all attendees after for future reference and to make it accessible to people with conflicts or who are in different time zones.
In 2022, Rebekah quit her senior job leading an independent healthcare communications and consultancy in London to start TIL. She’s now a women’s health advocate, speaker and advisor, event and podcast host, and thought leader in the women’s health space. She knows first-hand what it’s like to have a passion and desire to work in women’s health without knowing where to start, and is now passionate about helping others to do the same. Her clients include global organisations such as UNiDAYS, whistles, Schroders, University of Oxford and Imperial College London, she’s been featured in The Guardian, Nasdaq, Cosmopolitan and Stylist, and she leads and advises on a variety of women’s health initiatives, including workplaces, universities, charities, research, and start-ups. She’s educated 1000’s across the world and collaborates with renowned institutions, brands and leaders across the women’s health industry, such as for her annual, first-of-its-kind, Future of Endometriosis Conference in London. A Biomedical Science graduate, she’s an experienced creative leader and facilitator across the healthcare space having worked in research, the NHS, pharmaceuticals, communications and consultancy, and having lead, launched and grown international multi-million dollar accounts, brands and teams.
This will be a safe space for learning and is open to anyone regardless of your background, all are welcome (including allies, babies and animals!) If you’d like to join but can’t afford it right now please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do to support.
We look forward to welcoming you there and to supporting you in building a thriving women’s health career in 2024 and beyond!
Rebekah,
Founder of This Independent Life
Rebekah Lloyd is a women’s health and careers expert, speaker and advisor, event and podcast host, and founder of This Independent Life. After experiencing burnout and chronic pain, a 10-year delayed endometriosis diagnosis, and the resulting career and financial challenges, she started This Independent Life to help all people to achieve health, wealth and fulfilment in life. She delivers talks, events and consulting for workplaces and universities, research institutes and startups, and communities. She is a UN Women UK delegate and is dedicated to using business as a force for good, her clients including global organisations such as Barclays, National Trust, UNiDAYS, Whistles, University of Oxford and Imperial College London. She hosts an annual first-of-its-kind global conference on the Future of Endometriosis and Women’s Health, has been featured internationally including The Guardian, Stylist and Nasdaq, and was recently invited to advise the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee on women’s health as a result of her work that was broadcast globally via the BBC.
Reserve your spot here.
21may10:0012:00Beginner's Guide to Social Media Analytics for Charities (21 May) | Media Trust
21/05/2024 10:00 - 12:00(GMT+01:00)
Join this exciting new webinar to learn how to understand and master your social media analytics. Do
Do you know what is and what isn’t working for your charity on social media? We put so much time and effort into creating engaging and entertaining content, we want that effort to count. Measuring what’s working for your organisation should be a vital part of our digital marketing strategy – but where do you start?
In this 2-hour session, we’ll explore the fundamentals of tracking performance across various social media platforms. You’ll learn how to set achievable social media goals and how to measure the correct metrics. We’ll also cover all the different ways you can record your data and present it back to your team in a way that helps inform all future decisions.
This training will be delivered online, via Zoom. If you would prefer to pay via invoice, please email [email protected]
This session is ideal for you if you are responsible for your organisation’s social media and are looking for ways to use data to improve performance.
Beginner
Jade is an expert in supporting both charities and small businesses to transform their digital comms. She specialises in delivering training that builds digital skills and confidence, despite small budgets and time constraints. Working for Media Trust, she’s had the privilege of designing and delivering training for hundreds of charities, and really understands the challenges and barriers they are facing. Jade loves all things digital and is a firm believer that succeeding in digital is about having a curious mindset, and always being open to learning new things.
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22may13:0014:00Foundations of Positive Leadership | Clear Sea Coaching
22/05/2024 13:00 - 14:00(GMT+01:00)
Learn how to lead with positivity and inspire others in our online event, Foundations of Positive Leadership! Welcome to the Foundations of Positive Leadership event! Join us online
Learn how to lead with positivity and inspire others in our online event, Foundations of Positive Leadership!
Welcome to the Foundations of Positive Leadership event!
Join us online to discover the key principles and strategies that make a great leader. Learn how to inspire and motivate your team, cultivate a positive work environment, and lead with confidence. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take your leadership to the next level!
Reserve your spot here.