Distillery Visit: Warner Edwards Gin

A couple of weeks ago saw me heading down the motorway with a group of gin loving bartenders.

We were on a road trip. 

We left a grey dull Manchester, to find ourselves mere minutes away from sunshine and blue skies – arriving a couple of hours later to scenes like these:

We were in Northamptonshire, in a little spot called Harrington to be precise. Home to the Warner Edwards distillery. 

Tom (Warner) and Sion (Edwards) met on their first day agricultural college and have been firm friends ever since. Sharing passions for a variety of things, including gin and rugby, they dreamed of setting up a company together. The dream was discussed and put on the back shelf a number of times, until eventually, dissatisfaction in their jobs led them to take the idea more seriously.

They then needed to decide what it should be. A number of ideas were discussed – instead of gin, I could have been writing about Warner Edwards as crisp manufacturers – but they saw the light, saw the spirit and started to research.

That’s the thing you learn when talking to Tom. There’s a passion, yes, and a love for what they do, but you also learn just how much work went into researching before they went ahead. From licensing, to distillates, distilling methods, to gin history. Everything was researched. Tom and Sion are steeped in gin.

Almost down to the wire, the distillery was going to be sited on Sion’s family farm over in Wales. We could have been talking about a Welsh gin. But Harrington’s central position in the country, thoughts of distribution and access, meant that it was Tom’s family farm that became home to Warner Edwards.

And it’s a gorgeous place. 

It also has it’s own spring – perfect for gin distillation. I know I’ve waffled on about water in a few posts now already, but access to fresh spring water with which to use in the process, is a good thing. It not only adds to the flavour and texture of the finished spirit, but it also makes it a little more your own product. It has a little more history, a little more character.

Even if we did have to meet a cow or two heading over to see the spring. 

Some more friendly and intrigued enough to say hello……

Others just curious. 

But enough cows. To the gin.

From their original experiments comes the Harrington Dry. It uses 11 botanicals in it’s creation – juniper, angelica root, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seed, dried elderflower, nutmeg, lemon and orange peel and a single secret ingredient. The distillation takes 10 hours and the high abv distillate is rested for  two weeks before being let down with the water from the spring.

I must admit, this is one of my favourite gins, and one I like to drink in a Martini or even neat with a cube of ice. The nutmeg and black pepper give it spicy dry notes, the angelica a hint of earthiness, the elderflower a hint of sweetness, with the citrus peels and coriander finishing it. What I love about drinking it with a little ice is as the ice melts, the dilution reveals more layers, perfumed notes from the elderflower come through, opening it up a little more. That said, it works incredibly well in a G&T.

As well as their Harrington Dry, there are three other gins to enjoy. 

The Elderflower Gin is a lightly sweet gin that uses hand picked elderflower in it’s production. The elderflower is handpicked, from both farms, the petals separated from the heads (having made my own elderflower gin, I know what a process this can be to get just right) and added to the Harrington Dry gin post distillation, when it is still at a high abv point (89%). The petals are left for 7 days to infuse, before being strained out, the resultant gin being let down with water and a little sugar. Both the sugar and the elderflower add sweetness, but it’s still not overly sugary, and I can recommend drinking it neat, in a G&T, or adding it to a glass of Prosecco for something a little special. 

Every gin from Warner Edwards seems to have it’s own story and perhaps the most intriguing is the Victoria Rhubarb Gin. 

Once upon a time rhubarb grown in the kitchen gardens of Buckingham Palace during the reign of Queen Victoria was sent to the Vice Regal Lodge in Dublin. This site eventually became the President’s House and now the rhubarb has made it’s way back to England, to be grown organically on Crown Estate land in Lincolnshire.  Once ready to harvest, it’s frozen and sent to Warner Edwards. 

Using their Harrington Dry Gin straight from the still (at high abv) as a base, they thaw the rhubarb, and use a cider press to squeeze the juice from the stalks. Instead of adding water to let the gin down, they use the rhubarb juice and balance the sharp flavour with a little sugar. 

The resulting gin is somewhat addictive. I can highly recommend this with Double Dutch Mixers Pomegranate and Basil tonic water. Even if you think you don’t like a G&T, I think you’ll like this one.

Their final gin (currently at least) is their Sloe Gin. Again using the freshly distilled gin at high abv, they add sloe berries and leave them quietly to macerate for one month. At the end of this period they remove the fruit, add sugar and spring water to bring the gin down to 30% abv.

The fruit isn’t wasted either. Once they’re strained, they are redistilled extract the alcohol they have absorbed and the intensely fruit flavoured alcohol is added to the gin. As you’d expect, the gin is layered, fruity, slightly nutty and rich. You still get a good hit of juniper, but the soft, sweet, liquid has a more syrupy texture and makes me want to pour it on ice cream and add fresh berries. 

As you’d expect from chaps who care so much about their product, everything else is done with the same care and attention that Head Distiller Oli Stokes gives their still, Curiosity. The bottling, labelling, even the wax tops are all done by hand before being boxed up and sent out. 

For me, it’s one of the first gins that joined my Gin Pokemon list, and I’ve loved learning that there’s a care and respect, and indeed story, that sits behind the gin in my glass. 

And having visited the farm, and heard the plans… I think you might want to keep an eye on them. There are intriguing plans ahead for the gin lover.  

With thanks to Drinks Enthusiast and the whole team at Warner Edwards for showing us around, answering our questions and feeding us gin. 

Also to the Tollemache Arms for being a bloody gorgeous pub and feeding us!