Gin as it was originally made
Gin as it was originally made

Hayman's make gin as it was originally made image 1

Hayman's make gin as it was originally made

The Hayman family were the first London distillers to use citrus as a botanical, and the family, now the 4th and 5th generations, still use the same 160-year-old family recipe to distil their London dry gin in London.

All Hayman's gins use the same ten botanicals; it's just the intensity of each botanical which changes between each specific gin recipe. For example, Hayman's Old Tom uses almost twice as much juniper as its London dry. The ten botanicals are:

  1. Juniper Berries from Bulgaria or Macedonia
  2. Coriander seed from Bulgaria
  3. Nutmeg from India
  4. Cinnamon from Madagascar
  5. Orange Peel from Spain
  6. Angelica root from Belgium or France
  7. Orris root from Italy
  8. Cassia bark from China
  9. Liquorice from Sri Lanka
  10. Lemon peel from Spain
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The family also still make their gin the way their forefathers originally made it, including their two-day process – steep on the first day and distil on the second. These traditional methods are paired with state-of-the-art equipment, including Hayman's 450-litre Carl copper hybrid pot still, named Marjorie after Marjorie Burrough, Christopher Hayman's mother. Installed in 2013, this still, with its optional botanical chamber and rectifying column, is element-heated and boasts six plates and a pre-condenser. This versatile still allows the Hayman family to experiment as well as reproduce recipes from the family archives.

Hayman's make gin as it was originally made image 1

Hayman Distillers (Hayman Ltd)

Status: Operational
Visitor Policy: Visitors welcome throughout the year
Tel: +44 (0)20 8673 0485
Website: Hayman Distillers (Hayman Ltd)
Address: 8 Weir Road, Balham, London, SW12 0GT
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