Spitfire Heritage gin celebrates the lady pilots

A new small batch, single estate gin, created by master distiller John Walters, will launch in the UK in late spring under the Spitfire Heritage brand.

Brought to market by a team led by the founder of The Spitfire Heritage Trust, the gin is as authentic as its namesake. It is already finding favour with leading quality retailers – Wine Rack is the first to stock nationwide - and UK and international supplier Hammonds of Knutsford have placed an order.

The new spirit is one of only three single estate gins distilled in the UK.  A fusion of juniper, two types of orange, almonds and borage (for courage) alongside coriander, rosemary (for remembrance), star anise and rose petals it presents an aromatic and refreshing drink.

Spitfire Heritage Gin, a 1930s botanical gin, celebrates the young lady pilots of the ATA who kept Britain’s airbases supplied with Spitfires, often dodging predatory German Messerschmitts in the process.  These women flew unarmed, in dangerous skies - and were known to carry a snifter of gin as part of their kit.

Together with his entrepreneur-wife Sarah and the couple’s business partner Denise France, Ian Hewitt sits at the helm of Spitfire Heritage Gin. He says: “The Spitfire is much more than a vintage aircraft. It is a great British icon that symbolises the coming together of all the nations of the Commonwealth in defence of our common human values and freedoms that transcend culture, religion and gender: our freedom to live and love and drink gin with whomsoever we choose.”

Wine Rack’s head of retail operations, Haydn Hicks says: “A fantastic product and a great story that sells itself within the British psyche. An iconic brand that I believe will set new precedents in the industry.”

22 May 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor