A family-run English gin distiller which has a blending and bottling plant at Witham in Essex is launching its own dedicated distillery.
The opening of the distillery marks 150 years since James Burrough, great grandfather of current chairman Christopher Hayman, bought his first still and started distilling gin.
The still is a traditional 450 litre hand-made copper pot one made in Germany, and is in keeping with those used by previous generations of the Hayman family.
It has been named ‘Marjorie’, after Christopher Hayman’s mother, who was the granddaughter of James Burrough and the person who introduced Christopher to the family business and to the gin industry. Marjorie died at a young age, and the name was chosen by Christopher in his mother’s memory.
Volumes at Hayman Distillers have grown considerably over the past few years which has allowed the company to bring distilling in-house, it said.
Christopher Hayman said they were “delighted” to be unveiling their own dedicated still.
“Had my mother been here today, I know she would have been very proud of the work we have put into opening the distillery,” he said.
“All Hayman’s gins are now distilled in Witham and will continue to be bottled there, as previously. We are very pleased to have our own dedicated still as it gives us much better control over the production. Our process remains the same, for example we steep the botanicals for a full day prior to distillation, which is what gives our gins their distinctive flavour.”
Hayman Distillers has also updated its packaging to emphasise its rich history as a family gin distiller dating back to 1863.
The new-look range features an updated logo, new labels and a new bottle design based on a bespoke family bottle from 1947 discovered in the brand’s archives.
The company is now run by the fifth generation of the Hayman family, James and Miranda Hayman, with Christopher Hayman as chairman. Hayman’s produces a range of six different styles from the gin family which follow the evolution and history of gin over the last 150 years. The new branding features across the core range of Hayman’s London Dry Gin, Hayman’s Old Tom Gin and Hayman’s Sloe Gin as well as Hayman’s Royal Dock Navy Strength. The rest of the range, including Hayman’s 1850 Reserve and Hayman’s Gin Liqueur will follow soon.
Hayman is a family company dating back to 1863. The original family company was bought by James Burrough, who is the great grandfather of chairman Christopher Hayman.
Christopher Hayman joined James Burrough Limited in 1969 and was responsible for the distillation and production of Beefeater until 1987. Although James Burrough Limited was sold to Whitbread in 1987, Hayman’s retained part of the business and Hayman Distillers continues the tradition of distilling and producing fine spirits.
Hayman’s Gin was previously distilled at Thames Distillers. Hayman’s has a 20% ownership and this will be retained.
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