Greenall's Gin is a brand of

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

that dates back to 1761, and which is distilled by the distillers G&J Distillers, formerly G&J Greenall’s, in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. Originally founded by Thomas Dakin, the distillers are now part of the Quintessential Brands group. The company claims to be England's oldest gin distillery.

History

Thomas Dakin built his distillery on Bridge Street in

in 1760, although poor grain crops that year meant that he did not distil his first gin until the following year. Thomas Dakin and his descendants continued to own and operate the distillery until 1860, when it was leased to Gilbert and John Greenall, who also owned Greenall's Brewery in nearby St Helens. In 1960 the distillery moved to a larger adjacent site, but much of this was destroyed in a fire in 2005. Three years later the distillery moved to a site in Birchwood, Warrington where Greenall's is still produced today. In the meantime, Greenall's Brewery had become Greenall Whitley & Co Limited. The company ceased brewing in 1991 to concentrate on running pubs and hotels, and subsequently became the

De Vere Group De Vere is a hotels and leisure business, which until the 1990s was a brewing company known as Greenall's. It used to be listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History Greenall's Brewery was founded ...

. They sold Greenall's Gin for £7 million in a private equity-backed

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

in 2011, and the same year the Quintessential Brands group was founded and took over. At that time the distillery produced more than 50 per cent of the UK's own label gin and vodka, including products for

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

and

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

, as well as

Bombay Sapphire Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin that is distilled by the Bombay Spirits Company, a subsidiary company of Bacardi, at Laverstoke Mill in the village of Laverstoke in the English county of Hampshire. The brand was first launched in 1986 by Engli ...

for

Bacardi Bacardi Limited ( , , ) is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facund ...

. In 2013 Bacardi transferred production of Bombay Sapphire to their own newly created distillery at

Laverstoke Laverstoke ( ) is a village in north west Hampshire, England. The On the other side of the River Test there is the settlement at Freefolk which is included in the Laverstock census return. In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. As part of this transfer, two of Greenall's stills were moved to Laverstoke.

References

{{Gin distilleries in the United Kingdom 1760 establishments Companies based in Warrington English distilled drinks Gins Greenall family