When Jonathan and his wife, Gill decided to start up a brand new distillery, a passion project just for them and their amazing family to run together, they wanted to make sure that they were taking what they’d learned from their first go around and applying it in a new way. Indeed, City of London Distillery made quite a name for itself as the craft gin industry boomed, winning awards all over the world. The success suited the perfectionist in Jonathan, and he worked hard to fine tune and expand the City of London Distillery range. In September 2018, his Six Bells Gin was even selected as our Gin of the Month! The time of Alfred the Great was one of great upheaval, and folk wisdom and religion played a huge role in binding the embattled Anglo-Saxons together and providing comfort and a sense of control. Herbal concoctions would have been used to heal physical and emotional hurts alike – not unlike a well-made G&T! A blanket of mystery and magic hung over the entire era, and Gill and Jonathan were keen to explore it further. Wessex Distillery intertwines respect for the rich, historical tapestry of English gin-making with a forward-thinking approach to their creations. While they hold firm to time-tested methodologies – adhering to the principle that if something isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it – they simultaneously weave in modern, innovative gin recipes to enthral a new generation of gin enthusiasts.

The Wessex logo features a Wyvern which is the symbol of Wessex and it wraps around the iconic Wessex Gin goblet . This gives a true feeling of heritage.The unique bottle shape is expertly made, taking inspiration from ancient potion bottles with cork stoppers and jewelled colours.They use a huge amount of sloe berries sourced from the English countryside. These berries are steeped with natural sugar allowing them to realise all their rich juices into our bespoke crafted Gin. One of the last kings of Wessex was Alfred, who seems to have been a fairly good chap. Not long after his reign, seemingly on the basis of much of his canny political manoeuvrings, Wessex expanded and became the dominant party in the newly unified English nation.

Tasting Notes: This summer-inspired gin has a floral tone that creates a striking depth of flavour. This is lightened with the refreshing citrus finish from the London dry botanicals.

Wessex is a family-run distillery based in the heart of the Surrey Hills. All their gins are created in the 240-litre copper pot still named Toby, after the family’s Grandma. The family create smooth, clean and flavoursome gins. To achieve this they have carefully chosen all their botanicals. They took great patience and care to create the perfect balance in their recipes, with numerous “tasting sessions” . It is a hard job, but someone has to do it! It took one incredible king to bring these kingdoms together and vanquish the Viking threat: Alfred the Great. An unlikely war hero, with crippling stomach problems but an unparalleled intellect, Alfred lived in a world where magic, mystery and medicine were all rolled into one. Our floral gin is distilled with a balanced recipe of fragrant botanicals to ensure subtle floral notes complement our traditional London dry gin. Surprisingly smooth, our method of distillation ensures the purest quality of gin to make the most of every single botanical. Created in our local copper still, our floral gin is made to be enjoyed under the sun in the English countryside.

As Jonathan explains: “This Old English text focuses on herbal remedies, and catalogues more than a hundred plants, their healing properties and how to use them. We’re using the Herbarium to help us find the Wessex twist for each of our gins.”

A tour of Wessex Distillery

Created in Surrey by Wessex Gin Master Distillers and presented in a stunning rainbow bottle, RESPECT Gin contains juniper, coriander, angelica, orange, and lemon, to create a smooth and well-balanced gin. Think traditional London Dry Gin with a refreshing citrus twist! After distillation the gin is directed downstairs to be bottled by one of the family. After having a successful first year selling the original ‘Alfred the Great Gin’ the range expanded to feature seven different gins! Including ‘Wyvern Classic Gin’ which has had a successful award season this year, winning Gold Outstanding at the International wines & Spirits Competition, as well as Gold at the Gin Masters and London Spirits Competition. What I’m saying is: come those new Dark Ages, we’ll need a leader to bring together the warring tribes. To begin the slow, painful process of reunification. On the strength of this gin, I have to say, I’d trust the people at Wessex Distillery to to a better job of that than our current representatives in Westminster.

As Jonathan says, “Alfred battled the Vikings throughout his entire reign, and this is reflected in the big thump of piney juniper.” It was intoxicating stuff. As Jonathan says, “With its fascinating history, myths and stories, the idea of Wessex caught the imagination.” Chris is very engaging and enthusiastic about all things gin and is caring about ensuring you end up with a gin that suits what you look for in a glass. The perfectly ripe Sicilian lemons are hand-peeled by one of the family and infused with vacuum distilled ginger as well as our core botanicals. We carefully extract the most delicate flavours in higher pressures but lower temperatures. Ensuring we get all the best flavour.

Wessex Gin Negroni

We value the history of gin making in England and will continue to use traditional methods to create excellent gin. “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!” Wessex Distillery is a family brand at heart. So we create gin we are proud to put our family name on. Arriving on an industrial estate on a dark night was a little weird, but we were met by Chris and his faithful and welcoming pooch. Wyvern’s Classic is their premium London Dry Gin. This is strong, fiery and full-bodied with a well-balanced mix of botanicals infused for 12 hours prior to distillation. The balance in botanicals in The Wyvern’s Gin is such that no one flavour overshadows the rest and you’re left with a clean gin. The time flew by, which is always a great sign of a fun evening and I’d highly recommend this experience to anyone and will definitely look to return with friends another time