Ex-Tanqueray distiller turns his hand to Downton Abbey spirit range

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 15 August, 2019

The release of a new whisky and gin brand is sure to cause excitement both above and below stairs in the nation’s country houses.

The Downton Abbey range has been created by craft distillery Harrogate Tipple under license from the producers of the forthcoming film of the hugely successful ITV series.

Harrogate Tipple is based in the Ripley Castle Estate in North Yorkshire, the same county in which the show’s fictional country house is located. The show is largely shot on location at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, however.

Both gin and whisky will be produced in small batches and will be available in both UK and UK markets ahead of the film’s September premiere.

The spirits have been created by master distiller Tom Nichol, who developed Tanqueray Ten among other releases.

Steven Green, founder of Harrogate Tipple, said: “We are excited to bring Downton Abbey to life for fans of the series with a range of authentic, high-quality spirits that evokes the flavours and style of the show’s post-Edwardian era.

“We are the only distillery in the fictional Downton Abbey region, and we also have an ethos of super-local provenance and a ‘quality first’ approach to distilling that Tom’s half a century of experience brings to all our products.”

Both spirits use the local Harrogate spring water, while many of the gin’s botanicals and ingredients – among them ginger, lime and rosewater – have been obtained from the Ripley estate’s gardens and Victorian-era hothouse.

Both gin and whisky have an abv of 43%.

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