González Byass

González Byass is one of Spain’s most well-known sherry bodegas. Their origins can be traced to 1835 when it was founded by Manuel María González Angel, who was subsequently joined by his English agent, Robert Blake Byass.

The González Byass wine story began in Jerez in 1835, when young entrepreneur Manuel María González started out as a wine trader.

Rapid success led him into wine production, helped by his uncle José Ángel, known affectionately as Tio Pepe, after whom he named his first solera.

Today the family owns 14 wineries, producing premium wines and spirits in Spain, Chile, and Mexico, where they are fully committed to preserving the natural environment for the generations to come.

London No 1 is the original blue gin, conceived by two masters of the industry: Charles Maxwell and Martin Gill.  Years ahead of their time they recognised that colour and flavour in gin elevates the experience.

Martin’s heritage in the tea and spice world meant he could transfer his deep understanding of blending herbs and spices into developing a much more complex premium gin than most on the market by using powerful flavours like Bergamot.  In developing The London No 1 with Charles Maxwell (a 7th generation distiller), he used a unique blend of 12 botanicals.

Inspired by the heritage of London Style gins that used to create a striking ‘blue haze’ in their distillation process, they set about creating a unique blue gin.  Like many spirits, getting the exacting colour took time before settling on the captivating shade of pale blue created by a delicate alkaline colouring.

In 2010 the brand was sold to Gonzalez Byass but today is still distilled under the watchful eye of Charles Maxwell at Thames Distillers in the ‘Tom Thumb’ still.