More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Kent's gin distilleries are set for a bumper year.
It has been an unpredictable summer, with lots of rain but also plenty of sunshine - the perfect weather for crops.
Unexpected boom for Kent's gin distilleries
And with good grain comes quality gin for Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham.
Co-founder of the award-winning company, Matthew Russell, said: "Grain is much like the grass in your garden. It needs lots of sunshine but also plenty of water.
"But this water needs to be at the right time. Obviously, just before harvest is not a good time - that makes everything damp and you can't harvest.
"But the timing of the weather we have had so far has been perfect this year."
The distillery uses barley from a nearby farm, Frank Osenton Ltd.
Alan Osenton said: "Our spring barley harvest is going extremely well at the moment.
"We had a wet period earlier on which wasn't very good - too much rain too quickly - and then a dry spell which probably made it ripen a little fast, but generally it's looking pretty good."
Copper Rivet, which creates gin, whiskey, and vodka from its very own alcohol, is one of the only places in the UK to use crops grown in the same county.
But it's not just this Kent distillery which will be feeling the benefits of the weather - it is being seen all over the country, meaning better quality gin for everyone.
