“I caught the yoga bug. I don’t know what it is about yoga but I just love it. It’s great after a long day in the distillery.”
And after running a half marathon earlier in the year and signing up as part of a relay team for the Manchester marathon in April 2019, it seems she’s not bad on her feet either.
“I recently learned to ski in France, which was great fun. European ski resorts are so beautiful, I love travelling. In my last year at Bermondsey I flew out to India to help set up the first Indian craft gin distillery and, before working full-time, I did a lot of backpacking.”
The Bombay distillery sits in rural Hampshire, near the town of Laverstoke, which was a big change for the adopted Londoner.
“I moved to Winchester because I wanted to live on the main line to London to get back easily to see friends. I’ve even had to learn to drive so I can get to work.
“One of the big things I miss about London is being able to decide last minute to get a cheap theatre ticket on a Tuesday night or go to a different restaurant every other day.”
NEW FAMILY
Brock grew up in a close family and her parents still live in her childhood home, although she was probably forced to get along with her sister and brother considering they had no TV. But now that her brother lives in New Zealand and her sister is in Manchester, she has a new daily support network.
“Before Bombay I wasn’t used to working with people.
“When I studied for my PhD it was a very self-focused project and then at Bermondsey it was just me in a railway arch.
“But now at Bacardi I have a team of 15 distillers, I have bosses all around the world. So this is something I’ve had to get used to quickly but also it’s great to have such a big team around me giving support.”
A lot of gin distillers establish themselves as industry veterans because they never find a reason to leave, so we could be witnessing the early stages of a future legend.
“When I interviewed for the role I was told that, if I wanted, it could be a job for life, and why not?”
