York Gin is proud of the steps it has already taken and is looking to build on the massive rise in online sales it saw in lockdown around the country in the months to come, says PR and marketing manager Simon Henry.
Can you tell us about how York Gin came about?
The first bottles of York Gin London Dry appeared in 2018 after a group of friends (including one of York’s most well-known pub landlords) decided it was time for the city to have its own gin. Conversations in The Swan, one of York’s most famous and award-winning independent pubs, centred around making a gin that would make the city proud.
The York Gin directors and the distillery and marketing team
From the outset, the founders were clear they didn’t want to create just another gin. They also wanted York Gin to capture some of the city’s incredible 2,000 years of history. Hence the company motto, ‘History in the Tasting’.
The founders were also clear that the company would be as sustainable as possible – having as light an impact on the planet as possible. So the guiding principles of the York Gin Company have always been:
- only to create gins of the highest quality
- to treat the planet, our people, our business partners and our customers with the utmost care and respect
- to be inspired by our city’s and gin’s long and incredible histories – hence our motto ‘History in the Tasting’
- to treat the planet, our people, our business partners and our customers with the utmost care and respect
- to make York proud of us
- to have as much fun as possible
And we reckon we’re doing pretty well, three years in.
It’s great to see an idea like that actually happen – what was the driving force that made it all come together?
The driving force was a real passion for our city, a desire to be a major part of this second ‘Gin Craze’ and to build a great team with complementary skills and the same vision. Three members of the team had extensive experience in the licensed trade, one had a passion and expertise for distilling, the fifth had a background in brand, marketing – and an obsession with gin. Tragically we lost one of the team, Jon Farrow, as we were preparing to launch in 2017. Jon was part-owner of one of York’s top pubs as well as being our financial brains. After a period of grief, we picked ourselves up – and knowing Jon would have wanted us to carry on was a massive driver behind us redoubling our efforts. Jon’s children and other family members are a big part of the York Gin story as we enter our fourth year.
Can you set out what you wanted to do that was different from other distilleries when you started out?
York Gin is a brand that wants to have fun as well as make a quality gin – like publishing a book of gin jokes
We wanted to make gin that was truly brilliant, as sustainably as possible. Although we were serious on these two points, we also wanted York Gin to be great fun. The brand doesn’t take itself too seriously – we sponsored York’s most Christmassy Pet last year, we’ve published a book of the world’s best gin jokes and our pet cats and dogs appear in our marketing.
What sort of gins were you looking to make and how that has developed?
We set out with the intention of making a London Dry gin that would compete with the very best in the world. We were clear we wanted that gin to be a classic, using only traditional botanicals and made using techniques, perfected over centuries of English gin-making. We were clear that ‘History in the Tasting’ was not just a motto. We genuinely launched thinking that we would have one gin for the foreseeable. And then on Day One, the pubs said: ‘Where’s your fruit gin?’ So that spurred the development of York Gin Roman Fruit (based on York’s Roman origins from 71D), and so on. So we now have a range of six.
You have a number of flavoured and specialist gins – how do you decide what styles of gin to make and then research to see which ones work?
York Gin specialises in making a range of different flavoured and fruit gins – like its Romain Fruit
As mentioned above, the spur for the Roman Fruit gin was the immediate demand for a fruit gin immediately after we launched our London Dry. We took the view that it should be full-strength and unsweetened – a real gin. And that the fruit should have definite links to Ancient Rome.
As part of our research, we enlisted the help of Classical Antiquity Twitter. Notably, Dame Professor Mary Beard, the UK’s most famous Roman scholar, came to our aid with lots of tips and help (including checking our Latin motto for the gin – ‘Veni, Vidi, Bibi’ – ‘I came, I saw, I drank’). We found references to strawberries and blackberries and apples in the ancient sources, Virgil, Ovid and Pliny the Elder. And a reference to hibiscus in Roman tablets found on a sunken ship provided the spur to colour it a deep imperial red.
The Navy Strength York Gin Outlaw, inspired by the city’s villains, Guy Fawkes, Dick Turpin and ‘Yorkshire Witch’, Mary Bateman, came from a conversation about what we should do with the ‘feints’ – or parts of the distillation process that didn’t quite make it into the London Dry. We found that distilling this gin a second time and diluting it to the stronger 57% ABV created a wonderful flavour profile and was incredibly smooth, despite the over-proof strength. As we warn on the bottle: ‘Stronger flavours, more alcohol – drink with ice, tonic … and care.’
Old Tom has come together thanks to Michelin star chef Andrew Pern
York Gin Old Tom was an obvious gin for us to try, given the vital part it plays in the history of gin. We knew that we would need a professional kitchen to make the sugar syrup. And when you need a good kitchen, the best person to ask is a Michelin-starred one – in our case, Andrew Pern’s The Star Inn, Harome. We discussed the history of Old Tom with him and he and his team came up with an incredible mixture of locally foraged herbs plus the Yorkshire Rose and more traditional ingredients. It seems to win gold whenever it enters a competition – so we think we may have made the right choice with Andrew.
York Gin Grey Lady was the result of York Theatre Royal wanting to mark an anniversary with a gin honouring its resident ghost, the Grey Lady from the city’s medieval past. We used Earl Grey and blue pea flower to give it a distinctive profile and a haunting blue-grey hue. We’ve continued to make this gin simply because so many people love the extra citrus from the bergamot in the Earl Grey – and its mesmerising colour.
Finally, the Chocolate & Orange idea came before Christmas 2020. We’d done a limited run of coca gin previously, but we wanted to see if the mix of chocolate and orange would work – as the Terry’s Chocolate Orange was invented in York in 1932 and made here for decades. It took our master distiller Harry Cooke several months to perfect the process, but this unsweetened dry gin is a definite nod to the Chocolate Orange.
How have you built a market and distribution for your gins?
Until the pandemic hit, most of our custom came from the bars, pubs, hotels and restaurants in York and the surrounding area. Over the past decade or so, York has become a go-to city for foodies. Its reputation for excellent pubs goes back centuries. So the demand for our gins was there – especially when we started winning international gold medals.
York Gin could not have found a more traditional part of York to have its shop
In 2019, we opened our shop in the picturesque Tudor Sir Thomas Herbert’s House right opposite York’s most famous street, Shambles. This increased our market – especially with tourists. An estimated 6.9 million people visited York per year, pre-pandemic. Since the pandemic struck, our online business has increased tenfold.
In terms of distribution, we deliver locally ourselves in our emission-free, electric vehicles. We use Royal Mail and other couriers for our UK-wide delivery.
Do you work with any regional distributors?
We work with a number of merchant and distributors including House of Townend, Tate Smith, Yorkshire Vintners as well as national listings with Master of Malt and Enotria&Coe.
Which channels of the trade do you mostly sell your gins in and is that changing?
We are shifting some of our focus to wholesalers even though we continue to have excellent direct relationships with lots of York business. Our website sales have become far more important to us – and we are working to keep and grow this channel as the economy opens up.
How did you respond to covid and the lockdown?
We had to become essentially an online customer-facing business virtually overnight. Previously, the vast majority of our business was to trade. Now we had to cater to customers directly. As well as selling directly, we had also done online tastings – these have been popular, though with re-opening we are seeing demand taper off.
The York Gin distillery works to as sustainable work practices as it can
During lockdown we have spent lots of time and effort making our business more sustainable. This is coming to fruition with our new bottles now made in Yorkshire rather than France, our neutral grain spirit is made in Yorkshire from grain grown on Yorkshire farms and much of our packaging is now made in Yorkshire. We have also developed our first gin and tonic cans – a classic G&T and a ‘Berry Fizz’ G&T made with natural fruit flavours. Both launch in early June.
What lessons have you learnt doing DTC over the last year?
We’ve learned that we needed some marketing help – our limits of understanding Google and Facebook advertising have become pretty obvious. We also learned that we have some fantastic people working for York Gin who helped us to change direction seamlessly from an almost purely trade supplier to supplying thousands of pounds of orders to consumers – even up to Christmas we were able to fulfil every order on time and with our handwritten notes!
What is the best way to advertise and promote your DTC offer and what lessons you learnt there?
York Gin has used its social media following to push its direct to consumer offer
We have a reasonable social media following of around 35,000. So we remind these followers of our online shop – but we find greater engagement comes when we’re not directly asking people to buy. We have also employed a digital marketing agency to help us with our online marketing. We have learned that we don’t know all the answers – and that younger people can really help when it comes to the intricacies of advertsing on Google, Facebook, etc.
You are introducing cans – how is that going to work and what is the thinking behind it?
The thinking behind a York G&T in a can was that we thought there would be a market for it – if it was of sufficiently high standard and if it was branded and packaged very well. So we have spent a long time working with a specialist UK company, ensuring that the G&T meets our exacting requirements. It really had to be as good a product as our gins – otherwise it wouldn’t launch. After a great deal of effort, frequent frustration and lots of tastings, we have come up with a pair of G&Ts we are absolutely delighted to put our name to. We have also worked with a designer who is among the best in the field. He’s done a magnificent job. And we could not be happier with the final result.
What other plans do you have in terms of new styles flavours and formats?
We set out with the intention of making a top quality London Dry gin. Three years on, we have a range of six gins (five have won golds at top international spirits competitions), we’ve opened a shop, and are planning a second, we are launching cans, we have a range of merchandise, and so on and so on. So we are happy to consider new challenges. At the moment, we are busy with new gift packs (bottle and glasses, etc) where we see some potential growth. For the moment, having six permanent gins is keeping us busy!
What do you think of the overall gin market – is there still room for innovation and if so where and what is most successful?
There is definitely room for more innovation. The beauty of the gin trade at the moment is that weird and wonderful new gins are appearing all the time.
Sustainability is a key part of your story – can you explain some of the steps you have taken and plan to take?
All the packaging and materials used in the production is recycled as part of York Gin’s sustainability drive
From day one our distillery has been powered by 100% green energy which comes from sustainable sources. Our vehicles are emission-free and electric – powered at the distillery by the same green energy. We recycle all our glass and cardboard and recyclable plastic waste.
Our bottles and packaging are 100% plastic free – with the stoppers made from cork and wood and the seals made from paper. Our bottles are now made in Leeds and our labels are made in Bradford. Previously the bottles came form France. So this is a massive win for our carbon footprint.
Our neutral grain spirit is made in North Yorkshire and is all grown on Yorkshire farms.
Where do you hope the business can be in five years time?
When we set up York Gin, our ambition was to make gin that would make our city proud. We wanted to see if it was possible to create a viable company in York that was inspired by our city’s history and that made amazing products. We also, importantly, wanted it to be as much fun as possible. We are still having lots of fun, we are making gins that are making an impression nationally and internationally. As long as we continue to enjoy ourselves, we are happy to expand and develop across the UK and overseas.
Anything else to say?
Please come to York. If you love eating, drinking, mooching, ghosts, messing about on the river, history (especially but by no means only Vikings), walking on city walls, cats, castles, cathedrals, chocolate, relaxing – or some very fine gin, it’s the place for you.
- You can find out more about York Gin here.
- York Gin is distributed nationally by The Buyer partner, Enotria & Coe.
