Leamington distillery teams up with brewing company to create new gin

Two award-winning south Warwickshire drinks brands have partnered to create a new special edition gin.

Warwickshire Gin Company in Leamington and Purity Brewing Company in Great Alne have created the 40 per cent ABV Emperor Dry Hopped Gin.

It’s the latest project of the Warwickshire Gin Company, whose collection comes from a desire to capture a moment in history, developing flavours to fully represent the county’s story.

These include Leamington on Parade, inspired by the true story of three elephants brought over from Sri Lanka to Leamington by circus elephant trainer Sam Lockhart in the 1880s; and The Kingmaker – named after Richard Neville 16th Earl of Warwick and Peeping.

Dave Blick, who established Warwickshire Gin Company in 2018, said: “We first collaborated with Purity Brewing Co. during the Covid pandemic, at a time when we were selling other local produce on our website.

"We’re admirers of not just their beers, but also the company’s values, which are aligned with our own. We both include stories that inspire our drinks, making them bold and unique.

“When we were asked to help develop a hop-infused gin we jumped at the chance.

"We worked on several recipes with the hops and other botanicals that we thought would complement the Emperor.

"To add to the Roman theme we included the Italian exotic citrus, bergamot - which is a stunning fruit to use. Being able to bring Emperor Hop Dry Gin to life has been an exciting project.”

It’s a particularly special recipe for the Purity team as it’s made with a new English hop variety named in memory of the company’s late co-founder Jim Minkin who, outside of brewing, enjoyed a passion for Roman history.

Minkin established Purity, in Great Alne, in 2005 with Paul Hasley on a joint mission to ‘brew great beer without prejudice, with a conscience and a consistency and attention to detail.’

Paul Brazier, head of marketing at Purity, said: “Emperor hops resonated with Jim’s love for Roman history. In his time off he could be found wandering the local area looking for earthworks that would suggest Roman camps, buildings and roads.”

“Whilst experimenting with the wide variety of hops Purity use, it was decided Emperor hops in combination with the Mediterranean and ancient fruit Bergamot and Black Tea, deliver the best subtle citrus kick and complex flavour notes to create a unique, quality and exclusive handcrafted Gin.

“We are delighted to be working with Warwickshire Gin Company whose twin passions are high-quality craft gin production and a love of local history. Emperor Gin is completed with branding design that stays loyal to that history theme, but with a nod to the hoppy, Purity twist.”