Hot on the heals of the Game Of Throne Whiskey, another epic drama-inspired bottle offering is about to appear on the liquor store shelves. Yes, you guessed it, Downton Abbey Gin & Whisky will launch ahead of the premier of the new film next month.
The release of a new whisky and gin brand is sure to cause excitement both above and below stairs in the nation’s country houses.
The Downton Abbey range has been created by craft distillery Harrogate Tipple under license from the producers of the forthcoming film of the hugely successful ITV series.
Harrogate Tipple is based in the Ripley Castle Estate in North Yorkshire, the same county in which the show’s fictional country house is located. The show is largely shot on location at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, however.
Both gin and whisky will be produced in small batches and will be available in both UK and UK markets ahead of the film’s September premiere.
The spirits have been created by master distiller Tom Nichol, who developed Tanqueray Ten among other releases.
Steven Green, founder of Harrogate Tipple, said: “We are excited to bring Downton Abbey to life for fans of the series with a range of authentic, high-quality spirits that evokes the flavours and style of the show’s post-Edwardian era.
“We are the only distillery in the fictional Downton Abbey region, and we also have an ethos of super-local provenance and a ‘quality first’ approach to distilling that Tom’s half a century of experience brings to all our products.”
Both spirits use the local Harrogate spring water, while many of the gin’s botanicals and ingredients – among them ginger, lime and rosewater – have been obtained from the Ripley estate’s gardens and Victorian-era hothouse.
Harrogate Tipple obtains many of its botanicals from the gardens and Victorian hothouse of the 750-year old Ripley Castle Estate where the craft spirits distillery is based, which already produces the Harrogate Gin and Harrogate Rum range of small batch, hand crafted spirits.
Using botanicals and ingredients hand-selected to evoke the era of Downton, the premium gin with ginger, lime and rose water has been small batch distilled for export globally. Both the premium whisky and gin are made using Harrogate Spring Water, renowned for its quality and served in venues around the world.
Limited batches are currently being produced in 700ml and 750ml bottles for the UK and US markets, where leading New York importer MHW has been appointed as importer to secure stockists in the USA ahead of the movie launch.
“We’ve already secured stockists that will see the products available shortly in US major markets. The products are being hand distilled in small batches and bottled here in Yorkshire, with Yorkshire spring water and botanicals, and that makes this a really authentic Downton Abbey range,” added Mr Green.
