Masons Gin

Masons Gin (also known as Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin) is a gin based alcoholic drink distilled by the Mason family in North Yorkshire, England. The brand has won many awards and accolades despite only being set up in 2013. It had a distillery and shop in Aiskew, North Yorkshire, which was moved to a new site in Leeming Bar, after a fire.

Masons Yorkshire Gin
TypeGin
ManufacturerMasons Yorkshire Gin
Introduced2013
Alcohol by volume42%
ColourClear
IngredientsAlmond oil, bay, cardamom, coriander, fennel, juniper, lemon peel, lime peel, orange peel, Szechuan pepper
VariantsSee list
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Karl and Cathy Mason created the brand in 2012 and launched their first gin a year later on World Gin Day, 13 June 2013.[1] Originally the business was located in Bedale Hall for the offices with the stills situated in Cambridge.[2][3] The business expanded and moved into one site at Aiskew which was formerly a mechanics workshop. Known as Yorkshire Dry Gin, the gin is distilled in a traditional dry gin method using a copper alembic still,[4] with all the botanicals (herbs, fruit and spices) present in the still. This process is known as the London Dry Gin method. The company also uses Harrogate Spring Water in its gins.[3]

Initially they started out with 120 bottles from the first still in 2013.[5] In 2018, the company produced over 250,000 bottles of gin and vodka from its Aiskew distillery and recorded a £3 million turnover.[6]

On 2 April 2019, one of the gin stills exploded and caused a fire in the distillery. Whilst everyone was evacuated safely and no injuries were reported, the fire caused extensive damage to the distillery.[7][8][9] Whilst the directors of the company secured office space in Bedale Hall, their gin products have been bottled at a "food-grade premises" nearby. They confirmed that they were looking for a brand new location rather than returning to the old distillery at Aiskew.[10] A new distillery has been installed at a location on the Leeming Bar industrial estate, which should be open by early 2020.[11]

Products

Gins
  • Original[12]
  • Lavender[13]
  • Tea - a gin flavoured with Yorkshire Tea,[4] also known as a G and Tea[1]
  • Slow Distilled Sloe - this gin actually distills the sloe berries, as opposed to the traditional method of infusing them in gin[14][15]
  • Steve's Apple - distilled with apples picked from an orchard in Thornton Watlass[14]
  • Peppered Pear[16]
  • G12 - only available through one supermarket (so called because it has 12 botanicals in it)[17]
  • G12 Grapefruit & mandarin[18]
  • Smouldering Heights - a smoky gin infused with beech-smoked and peat-smoked malt, heather and Szechuan pepper. The gin was largely conceived after the distillery was subject to a fire.[10]

Others

Discontinued products
  • Apple gin - created as a special edition for the 160th anniversary of The Great Yorkshire Show in 2018. The gin was flavoured with apple blossoms from the Great Yorkshire Showground.[20]
  • Barrel Blended gin - a venture using barrels from the nearby Theakston Brewery.[4]

Awards

At the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Masons were awarded gold for the Original Dry Yorkshire Gin and their Yorkshire Vodka. The Lavender gin won silver and their Tea gin won a bronze award.[21]

By 2018, Masons had won over 50 international awards for their gins, their original blend was voted the best contemporary gin in 2017.[20] The Original and Lavender gins won gold at the World Gin awards in 2018.[22]

In 2019 Masons received several awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Lavender Gin won gold, the Original Gin won silver and their Peppered Pear and G12 Botanically Rich Dry Gin took the bronze awards.[23]

At the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2019, Masons Yorkshire Gin Tea Edition won the Gold Award, one of eight such awards given out to gins from across the world.[24]

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References
  1. Gleeson, Janet (3 June 2015). "Everything stops for tea and gin". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via Newsbank.
  2. Barnard, Ashley (5 April 2019). "Gin distillery fire: Business as usual as support floods in for Masons Yorkshire Gin". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. Gordon, Maxine (14 June 2014). "Masons have gin-making off to a T". York Press. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via Newsbank.
  4. Snowden, Ros (27 March 2018). "Profile: The spirit of adventure taking Mason's Gin around the world". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. Needham, Jenny (4 January 2018). "Jenny Needham meets a North Yorkshire couple who are expertly crafting gin". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via Newsbank.
  6. "Yorkshire food and drink entrepreneurs to inspire next big things' at York conference". The Yorkshire Post. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via Newsbank.
  7. "Major blaze damages gin distillery". BBC News. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  8. French, Phoebe (3 April 2019). "Masons Gin distillery damaged in fire after still explodes". The Drinks Business. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  9. "Gin still 'explodes' at distillery causing major fire; residents urged to keep their windows closed, owners speak of shock". The Northern Echo. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  10. Scott, Jim (20 June 2019). "'It shows how we've overcome the disaster' - Drink launched after distillery destroyed". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  11. Scott, Jim (15 November 2019). "Fire-hit gin firm to open new site". Darlington & Stockton Times (46–2019). p. 5. ISSN 2516-5348.
  12. Wilson-Barrett, Alex (8 August 2018). "19 Of The Best Yorkshire Gins". theyorkshirepress.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  13. Fenn, Violet (9 June 2018). "World Gin Day: The best summer gins for every occasion". Metro. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  14. "Masons Gin limited editions return for the festive season". barmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  15. St Leger, Henry. "The 6 best gins you've never heard of". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  16. "Gold Medal – Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin / The Original – World Gin awards 2018". www.worldginawards.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  17. Bellwood, Owen (24 October 2018). "Masons unveils Aldi-exclusive gin". thespiritsbusiness.com. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  18. "Masons Yorkshire Gin Launch the Next Edition in the G12 Gin Range". Life Up North. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  19. "Shop". masonsyorkshiregin.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  20. Gleeson, Janet (20 July 2018). "New gin adds special flavour". Darlington & Stockton Times (29–2018). p. 69. ISSN 2516-5348.
  21. Gleeson, Janet (10 May 2017). "That's the spirit – gin distillery strikes gold in global competition". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 April 2019 – via Newsbank.
  22. Chapman, Hannah, ed. (18 January 2019). "New head of distillery for popular gin firm". Darlington & Stockton Times (03–2019). p. 61. ISSN 2516-5348.
  23. Barnett, Ben, ed. (6 April 2019). "Food & Produce: [Awards] Masons Yorkshire Gin". The Yorkshire Post. Country Week. p. 18. ISSN 0963-1496.
  24. Scott, Jim (9 August 2019). "Yorkshire gin firm wins international gold award". Darlington & Stockton Times (32–2019). p. 77. ISSN 2516-5348.

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