It all started out in a former 1950s pig shed at Harewell House Farm in the heart of Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, from which Jane and Toby Whittaker launched their award winning Original Gin, ISWC silver medalist in 2016.

The success of their gin coupled with the space limitations of their original distillation area, now used for storage, bottling, and labelling, persuaded the duo to build a state of the art distillery, complete with a still, Jezebel, which was opened in 2019 and is open to the public. The extra space and enhanced facilities have enabled the Whittakers to expand their range to include a whisky and Whittaker’s Navy Strength Gin, a variant of their 42% original.

Their aim was to create a spirit which reflected the Yorkshire countryside in a bottle. Upon a traditional base of juniper, coriander, and angelica, they layer bilberries, aka whortleberries, which provide a sharpness while complimenting the juniper, the sweetness of hawthorne berries grown on the hedges of the Yorkshire countryside, and the spicy bitterness and balsamic qualities of bog myrtle, used in mediaeval times as an alternative to hops in brewing. To complete the roll call they add fresh lemon peel garden thyme which is freshly picked from the Whittaker’s garden on the day of distillation and sits in the gin basket just above the still. Naturally, fresh spring water is used in the distillation process.

The Navy Strength version, with an ABV of 57%, comes from the same distillation as the Original but is the very last cut of the heart, giving it a different and more intense flavour profile. It is Original with the volume turned up to at least eleven and my concerns that the juniper would be drowned by the local botanicals were soon assuaged. The spirit, clear in the bottle but which louches in the glass as the natural oils are released by the tonic, has a very herbaceous feel about it and this is the initial sensation, but the peppery juniper, ably assisted by the zesty lemon, fights back to produce a very rounded, complex spirit with a difference.

What took my eye when I was browsing for a Navy Strength gin was the marvellous illustration taken from a Thomas Bewick wood carving of a hare on the front label of the bottle. Although Bewick had no particular association with the area, he was a Northumbrian by birth, he nevertheless was a countryman at heart and, I guess, there are hares in the countryside around the Whittaker’s distillery. There might not be a direct relevance to the product, but, as a fan of Bewick’s work, I could not resist.

The bottle itself uses clear circular glass with a rounded shoulder and a medium sized neck leading to a wooden cap with an artificial stopper. Aside from Bewick’s hare, the labelling is crisp, clear, informative, and legible against a white background. It is a product that has been thought about and created with passion and a welcome addition to my shelf of Navy Strength gins.

Until the next time, cheers!