Hayman’s

The Gin is produced using a two-day process where the botanicals are soaked in neutral grain alcohol for a whole day. This allows the natural flavours to come to the fore. According to the family recipe, Hayman's London Dry Gin uses the ten botanicals juniper, coriander, lemon and orange peel, angelica root, cinnamon, cassia bark, liquorice, nutmeg and violet root.

In addition to the classic London Dry Gin, the distillery has other Gins in its portfolio, such as Hayman's Old Tom Gin. This is also still produced according to the original recipe. As in the 18th century, the distillery refines this Gin with sweet sugar. 

With Hayman's Sloe Gin, wildly harvested sloes are added to the London Dry Gin. Here, too, the traditional process is followed, which takes three to four months. The Gin is then blended with natural sugar.

The Navy Strength Royal Dock Gin is bottled at the traditional Navy strength of 57% ABV and is particularly suitable for a traditional Gimlet. This cocktail originally involved mixing the sailors' daily portion of Gin with the lime ration provided to combat scurvy as early as the 17th century, which of course made the sour lime juice much tastier.

Another Gin in Hayman's range is the Gently Rested Gin, which rests for three weeks in old Scotch Whisky casks. The wood is said to bring out the herbal aromas and enhance the peppery note.

Following a family tradition, the Gin stills bear the names of the women in the family: Marjorie, Karin and Miranda. Marjorie is named after the granddaughter of James Burrough and mother of Christopher Hayman and comprises 450 litres. The 1,000 litres still Karin carries the name of Christopher's wife and the 140 litres still that of Christopher's daughter Miranda.

The copper stills allow for even and efficient heat distribution and remove unwanted flavours and aromas. In this way, they ensure a balanced and smooth Gin.

In 1863, the London apothecary James Burrough opened a small distillery in Cale Street in Chelsea, where he experimented with different Gin recipes. At the time, Old Tom Gin was very popular in London. However, Burrough was busy developing a drier style of Gin, now known as London Dry Gin. James was the great-grandfather of Christopher Hayman, whose family has been involved in Gin production ever since and now ranks as the longest established Gin distilling family in England.

In 1987, the family business was sold to the Whitebread Spirits Group. However, Christopher reacquired parts of the company to continue the Hayman family tradition. As Master Distiller, he can still often be found at the distillery.

The current headquarters of Hayman's are in Balham in southwest London, just a few kilometres from the original distillery in Chelsea. Today, Christopher's children James and Miranda are the 5th generation to run Hayman's.