Plymouth Gin 1L

Plymouth Gin has been distilled since 1793 at the Black Friars Distillery on Plymouth's historic Barbican waterfront, the oldest working distillery in England. Local tradition holds that the building once housed a Dominican monastery, giving the distillery its name, and that the Pilgrim Fathers spent their final night in England there before boarding the Mayflower in 1620. The business traded for generations as Coates & Co. before passing through several corporate owners and finally taking the Plymouth Gin name in 2004, ahead of Pernod Ricard's acquisition in 2008.

The gin is distilled from seven botanicals, including juniper, coriander seed, sweet orange peel, green cardamom, angelica root, and orris root, combined with soft Dartmoor water and pure grain spirit. Distillation still takes place in two copper pot stills known as the Copper Lady and the Copper Gentleman, a process largely unchanged in over a century and a half. The style once carried its own protected geographic status, tying the name legally to production within Plymouth's city walls.

Fuller-bodied and earthier than a typical London Dry, it offers softer juniper alongside citrus and warm spice, without any pronounced bitterness. Its history as a Royal Navy staple lives on in the Pink Gin and the classic Gimlet, both built around Plymouth's rounder profile, and it pairs comfortably with West Country cheeses or a plate of grilled langoustines.