A gin lover talks about how she inspired to make her niche cannabis-infused drink whilst on her travels in Asia.

Sally Wynter, 24, who lives in Watford, launched her brand MUHU in November this year and based her idea on the flavours and ingredients she found whilst travelling.

After her university degree in 2017, she decided to travel to countries such as Thailand and India which she described as a “whole other world.”

She said: “The first time I arrived in India it was in the middle of night and I was travelling on my own and I hadn’t been anywhere beyond the UK.

“I got into a cab and was on the motorway and there were cars everywhere and families beeping either side and sometimes on the roads there were elephants.

“It was just mental. After I got over the culture shock, I found Asia was an amazing place and I fell in love with the vibrant colours.

“It is very unfiltered so by comparison back home is sheltered and out there its crazy but amazing.”

Watford Observer:

MUHU was launched in November.

Miss Wynter said she always had a passion for cooking and became hooked on the flavours and spices in the food abroad.

She added: “I got into so many different flavours and spices especially with drinks such a lemon grass and I couldn’t find that when I came home.

“After a couple of months I realised all the flavours I was craving from Asia I couldn’t find even in London, in the terms of drinks it was really lacking.”

Spotting a gap in the market in December 2018 she decided to make a gin with flavours inspired by her trip.

She added: “Gin is my favourite drink so I had the idea to put in unique flavours. I looked at the brands on the market and a lot of them had rhubarb or strawberries, and I thought there was really an opportunity to renovate.”

Watford Observer:

The label designs for the MUHU bottle.

She then thought to infuse the drink with CBD, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis.

CBD is colourless and flavourless, so it does not impact the flavour of the spirit.

Whilst only freelancing she set herself a budget of £1300 to create her gin.

She stayed within her budget and said she would of been under at £1050 but she wasted £250 on an initial logo design that she didn't end up using.

Miss Wynter said this process usually can cost someone up to £50,000.

CBD, also known as Cannabidoil, is found in the Cannabis sativa plant. CBD is not psychoactive so it doesn’t affect the mind.

It has been reported CBD has been used to relieve pain, inflammation and anxiety.

Watford Observer:

Photo: Sally Wynter.

She added: “I’ve been using CBD in my own drinks for almost two years. It is an interesting natural extract and I found it helpful in a variety of ways.

“I was using it for my muscles and then I started putting it into my cocktails and it was a real mood booster.”

Miss Wynter admits there was difficulty trying to keep all her costs under budget and finding the right distillery to brew her gin.

She would do her own product testing at home to keep costs down and worked with a graphic designer online from Ukraine to come up with a label design.

She added: “This January I had this conversation about infusing CBD and the distillery said we could do the trials, but they needed a few thousand pounds and even then, they couldn’t agree the product would be what I wanted.

“I thought my idea was dead in the water but amazingly the smaller distillery who would put labels on the machine line said they would do it free of charge.”

Watford Observer:

Sally with her MUHU labels.

She also said making a product was a learning curve as she was going into a business which she had no experience or knowledge about.

After announcing her product in September she ran into problems with some of product components including label reels which were set up incorrectly which she said made them useless.

She added: “I had to teach myself everything from the ground up.

“When I started last year I didn’t realise how much work it was going to be, I had to learn every aspect of the business, whether it was creating a website or marketing.

“The amount of work was endless and it was easy to burn out.”

Watford Observer:

MUHU bottle. Photo: Luke Szubert.

Since her launch Miss Wynter has received positive feedback from customers and is hoping to take on investors in the new year.

She said: “The response has been great. People have come to me and say they never drink gin neat and now they have it on ice.

“I see people ordering three of four times and it is such an incredible feeling, from working on it with my laptop in my bedroom to people now drinking it.

“I was worried no one was going to like it, but feedback has been immense.”

Watford Observer:

Photo: Sally Wynter.

When asked about what advice she would give to aspiring business owners she said: “If you want to do something there is no big barrier in front you.

“Nothing is stopping you as long as you’re determined you can find you way. Even if you have no experience, pick up the phone and tell people your idea.

“You shouldn’t keep it secret because a network of people will help make your dream happen."