NEW FLAVOUR
California Dreamgin' is here...
This gin celebrates California’s role in the establishment of the hippie movement while allowing us to create a very clever joke out of nothing more than an apostrophe. It is a compassionate, plant-based product certified by the Vegan Society and is based on mushrooms, since mushrooms are a vital source of protein for those who have recognised that meat is murder.
SHOP HEREOur Gin
Small batch gin created by two men in a cold shed in Wiltshire
Some of the words not used on this website:
Deconstructed, Artisanal, Mouthfeel, Crafted, Quaffable, Curated, Authentic, Gutsy, Drenched, Piquant, Succulent, Aviation, Heritage.
Chris B
Great aid for skiing
Took a bottle of Asian Parsnip on a recent skiing trip. Greatly enjoyed by all and definitely helps with skiing performance
Theo
The power of the parsnip!
An absolutely fantastic gin! It is extremely flavourful and works very well in a negroni which is one of my favourite cocktails. Would happily buy again and again and again.
Daniel H
An Exemplary Gin
Simply gorgeous, best enjoyed in the company of friends! (or strangers, depending on availability)
Kevin
Thank you!
Thank you for this wonderful gin. I truly feel like I'm having a drink at my local pub in Richmond during a rainy day, and I've never even been to the UK.
Shania
Delicate Flavor
The surprisingly complex taste and texture of this gin was a welcome change. Even though I am primarily a whiskey consumer, appreciated all the delicate flavor and aromas this gin provided that was unlike any other spirit I have ever tasted before.
Amanda
Guiltless Hedonism
My husband and I did not drink gin - now, we drink gin. No tonic desired. Thank you Mr. May for yet another avenue of guiltless hedonism.
Our Story
Many people in many places have helped us in our quest for world domination by gin. Here are some who are willing to admit to their involvement.
September 2020
The Royal Oak, Wiltshire
James bought half a pub in Wiltshire, England. “It seems like a really bad idea on the face of it. The real reason is that it is the only pub within walking distance of our house, and if it closed down I wouldn’t have a pub close by, and country life would be pointless. So, I felt like I had to do it.” Flushed with the success of the pub (it was immediately closed by covid regulations), he thought it might be good to make some gin to serve to the customers, even though there were none.
Wiltshire, May 2021
Hugh is the Willy Wonka of gin flavours (at least we think that’s what the bloke the Transit van shouted). His ‘nano-distillery’ is in Downton, Wiltshire, about half an hour from James’ pub. It is convenient, which almost compensates for its official status as the coldest building in England. Hugh has worked with James to create all of our recipes so far. This has involved a great deal of standing about in thick coats and ‘testing samples’.
Somerset, May 2021
Gus used to run a TV production company, worked with James on his Driving Theory Test app, has an office that was once a cheese loft and knew nothing about selling alcohol, despite a legendary familiarity with it. He was the obvious candidate to help build the gin business. Despite occupation by Gus and his dog, there’s still something faintly cheesy about the operation.
Cornwall, May 2021
Vicky designed the James Gin branding - based on a confused brief about medicine bottles and Haynes Manuals. When she’s not designing stuff, she photographs wildlife, including this extremely rare rainbow sea slug which she found under a rock. She is now much better known for this than for designing our branding.
Northamptonshire, August 2021
Working with a team of eager volunteers (paid in gin) we had no idea how to label the first bottles. Luckily, Mark - who rebuilds very old cars for a living - designed The Labelizer for us. All rights reserved, etc.
August 2021
We decided to make a limited edition of 1,000 litres of Asian Parsnip to see if anyone would buy it. We forgot that the bottles are 700ml, so that meant 1428 numbered bottles for James to sign. These sold within 24 hours so we decided to make some more. James refused to sign any more bottles so the original 1428 are very popular with collectors, especially the ones from the council who take away your recycling bags.
Barbados, March 2022
With interest from around the world, we decided to change our strategy from ‘Make a Few Bottles’ to ‘World Domination by Gin’. Sarah joined us to help build our grown-up websites and digital marketing systems. At the time, she was living on a beach in Barbados but realised she would have to move back to the UK. She chose Manchester, to maintain the hedonistic and sun-drenched existence she was used to.
Sussex and Dubai, March 2022
Lucy and Mattie are our teenage social media and YouTube managers lol. Being absurdly young OMG they understand Instametrics and whatevs, because reasons. Lucy doesn’t like cheese and communicates entirely with the word ‘awesome’. Mattie runs the operation from a beach somewhere in a desert in Dubai wtf.
Florida, May 2022
To quench the apparently insatiable thirst of Americans, we managed to navigate a way through the hilarious US liquor laws and launched James Gin in the US, where it again sold out almost immediately. James Gin is now available in 40 states
Arlington, VA, January 2022
Mick McGuirk -an American customer - wrote: “If you ever decide to release a Navy Strength edition of Asian Parsnip, the world of gin will never be the same”. So we did, and the world of gin is still the same.
May 2022
Thanks Mick.
July 2022
In our quest for World Domination by Gin, and working with distributors in Berlin, we launched the James Gin Global website once our papers were in order. James Gin is now available in 41 countries in addition to the UK and US.
Kent, July 2022
Seb helped us to make American Mustard at his distillery in Kent. This involved processing tonnes of real dill pickles and the finest French mustard seed, for which he had to invent the world’s first pickle and mustard gin filtration facility (patent pending).
November 2022
All was going well until the TTB (just one of many obscure US liquor compliance authorities) decided that we couldn’t call American Mustard Gin ‘American Mustard’ because customers might be misled into thinking it was, er, mustard, and put it on their hot dogs. So we decided on an anagram to make it all perfectly clear. In retrospect, ‘Ramstud’ actually sounds more American. It will also be the name of a forthcoming GM pick-up.
Essex, May 2023
Matt used to work with Diageo and Hayman’s Gin - so he actually knows about this business…which is frankly a relief. He’s now working with us to build our retail and wholesale distribution in the UK.
*Although he is dashing, this is not actually Matt.
Wales, July 2023
Paul used to run a hotel and thought it might be fun to make some gin - an idea that sounds faintly familiar. He makes and bottles London Drizzle. He also sometimes does work for another gin business based in the US and run by a Canadian pretending to be an American, called Bryan.
October 2023
“Thank you for this wonderful gin. I truly feel like I'm having a drink at my local pub in Richmond during a rainy day, and I've never even been to the UK." Kevin
We’ve Bagged Some Awards
We’ve won some awards for our gin and we’re very proud of them.We’ve even collected some at an awards ceremony where we drunk a great deal and listened, dumbstruck, to a Four Tops tribute band.But how to display our awards, since trophy cabinets are as tasteless as Aviation Gin? We decided to recycle James’ soon-to-be-retired man bag. Uniquely tasteful, globally inspired and hand-crafted. Like our gin.
EPISODE 1
Our First Experiment
Ever since I was given some as a baby, I've been fascinated by the taste of gin. Watch how we made our very own.
View more episodesFAQ
Here are some of the questions that people ask us all the time and we can't be bothered to answer by email.
Should I put American Mustard on my hot dog?
You can if you want but we wouldn’t recommend it. It would be like electing….oh, hang on...
Is your gin better than Clarkson's lager?
Obviously. Lager is for louts.
Why are all your cocktail recipes in metric measurements?
Because only three countries in the world don’t use the metric system - Liberia, Myanmar and the USA.We don’t sell our gin in Liberia and Myanmar, and as for the USA you can’t even get gallons right so what’s the point?
Why didn't you call your gin Captain Sloe?
Because it wouldn't be funny.
What is it with people who were once on the telly or in a film or something that they think they can now make a gin or a cheese or a sustainable plant-based chutney and the rest of us should flock to buy it?
Thank you for your enquiry. We are experiencing an unusually high volume of enquiries at present. Why not chat to us on line? Maybe later.
Why did you make James Gin look like a bottle of medicine?
Because it is.
The label on my bottle is slightly on the piss. How come? I thought your distillery was controlled by computers?
Here at James Gin we realise that precision is crucial to producing a drink to the consistent standard you have come to expect from us. But we are also artists, and realise that perfection can destroy character and truth. The occasional on-the-cock label is our gentle reminder to you that this is ultimately the work of humans, with all their beautiful flaws. (GUS have a word with that lot at the distillery about this will you? It’s only putting a label on, for God’s sake)
My mate has a bottle of James gin where the cork is the same diameter as the top of the bottle, but on mine it’s about 4mm smaller all round. Care to explain?
Seriously? Is that it? There is a global economic crisis. Inflation is out of control in many parts of the world. We are living with the constant threat of war and possibly under the shadow of The Bomb. There is starvation, there is pandemic, there is a new album by James Blunt. But no. The cork is not quite the same diameter as the top of the bottle. We suggest you pour a stiff measure of JG and have a good hard look at yourself in the mirror.
Is it true that James gin has already won numerous awards on various continents and scored more consistently high buyer ratings than almost any other gin currently on sale, despite being the work of amateurs and hobbyists with no previous experience of distillation, except Hugh, obviously?
Yes.
Can I refill my empty James Gin bottles with Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation gin? I’ve got loads of that stuff kicking around, but I don’t want my mates to know.
We cannot recommend this. Aviation Gin, pretending to be American, is imperial and will not fit in the modern metric James Gin bottles without coming loose and potentially causing injury or death.
Why isn’t the cork the same diameter as the top of the bottle?
Your enquiry is important to us and we know that you have a choice. Please try again later.