The Story of Good Old British Hayman’s
The ginealogy of Hayman’s dates back over 150 years, making the producers the only family of original English gin makers still distilling today. And here is why it survived and has been appreciated for so long…
How It Started
In 1863 the inventive pharmacist James Burrough, along with cordials and medicines, started producing gin in London. All the recipes that he came up with are still used to this day and preciously kept in old notebooks.
Once sales took off the in the UK, James’ son started exporting the gin to the USA and Canada under the Burrough name. So where does Hayman come from? Well, Marjorie Burrough married Neville Hayman who was known for producing Beefeater gin amongst others. Neville helped the company to survive WWII and his son, who took over after him, rescued it from being acquired by Whitbread (a large hospitality company that now owns Beefeater, Costa Coffee and many other brands).
The business changed its name to Hayman Distillers and from then on carried on producing gin following the original recipes in their traditional copper pot still “Marjorie” – named after Marjorie Hayman. The alcohol is blended with 10 botanicals, distilled and bottled in a small town just outside London where the family can ensure that excellent standards are always met. They have lived and breathed gin for generations – isn’t that the dream?
Hayman’s London Dry Gin
Hayman’s award-winning London Dry Gin is made with 10 trusted botanicals. These include the classic juniper, coriander, lemon peel and orange peel, as well as angelica, orris root, cinnamon, cassia bark, nutmeg and liquorice. The quantity is measured by hand and the perfect balance gives a fresh, crisp and elegant gin with a lively citrus finish. Pleasant notes of chocolate and pepper and a hint of liquorice come through on the palate when tasting it straight.
This gin has won lots of awards, most recently a Silver Outstanding Medal at the 2015 International Wine & Spirits Competition.
Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
If you want to make a classic cocktail, you need a classic Gin! Haymans saw the need to help cocktail makers revive old classics with a “new” gin based on the old style.
Production started in 2007 after numerous requests from gin enthusiasts and bartenders. Hayman’s follows a recipe from the 1870s for this original style of English Victorian gin.
Juniper and citrus are the hero flavours, with a rich, rounded taste and a beautifully smooth finish.
Recipes
The Perfect Hayman’s and Tonic
- 50ml of Hayman’s London Dry Gin
- Premium tonic water
- Lemon peel
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Fill half the glass with Hayman’s London Dry and half with tonic water.
- Garnish with a fresh lemon curl.
…And the perfect cocktail – Martinez
- 25ml Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
- 50ml Italian Red Vermouth
- 2 Dashes of Maraschino liqueur
- 1 Dash of orange bitters
- Stir all of the ingredients well in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a cold martini glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist.
If you’d like to be more adventurous and try the cocktail recipe check out the The Gin Martini/Martinez Box on TASTEcocktails and try using the Hayman’s Gin from your ILoveGin box with the ingredients provided. We are sure you’ll love it!
Recipes and photo credit: haymansgin.com
