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Plymouth Gin

Soon after Coates & Co began in 1793, Plymouth Gin became a firm favourite in the numerous countries it was shipped to.

The gin drinking of the Royal Navy considerably enhanced gin’s prestige as it climbed the ladder of respectability in Victorian times.

By 1850 Coates & Co were supplying over 1000 barrels of ‘navy strength’ 57% abv gin a year to the Royal Navy.

They were fond of mixing it with Angostura bitters or lime for ‘medicinal’ purposes.

Thanks to the British Royal Navy taking it on ships all over the world, it was to become the world’s largest volume brand of gin with 1,000 cases a week going to New York alone by the 1900’s.

In 1896 the first ever recipe for a Dry Martini specified Plymouth Gin (in Stuart’s Fancy Drinks and How to Mix Them) and by the 1930’s Plymouth Gin was the star of the cocktail era.

It is the only gin still around today to be named in numerous recipes in the renowned Savoy Cocktail Book – still the bible of mixology.

Established:1793
Address:Black Friars Distillery
60 Southside Street
The Barbican
Plymouth
PL1 2LQ
United Kingdom
Telephone:+44 (0)1752 665 292
Website:https://www.plymouthgin.com
Email:info@plymouthdistillery.com

Plymouth Gin Brands

Plymouth gin bottle

Plymouth London Dry Gin

Plymouth Gin continues to be made according to the original artisanal method and recipe on the same historic site. The gin is batch-made using a single copper pot-still originally installed in the distillery during the Victorian era in 1855, represented by the copper cap on every bottle of Plymouth. Its artisanal production methods, complex flavour profile and smooth texture have…

Plymouth Navy Strength

When gunpowder goes bang, the ’proof’ of the alcohol strength is at least 100 proof (114 US proof) or 57% alcohol by volume. Therefore, gunpowder was used as the test for ’proving’ there was the expected level of alcohol in the clear liquid. Plymouth Gin Navy Strength first went to sea in 1793 with the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy…

Plymouth Sloe gin

A eureka moment came when it was discovered that by soaking Blackthorn fruit in gin and adding sugar, a very agreeable drink was produced: Sloe Gin was born! Plymouth Sloe Gin is based on an 1883 recipe and has since become an important part in various classic cocktails, notably the Sloe Gin fizz. Sloe berries are slowly and gently steeped…

Further information

Plymouth Gin Distillery

The building dates back to the early 1400s, with the most intact part of the distillery, the Refectory Room - a medieval hall with a fine hull-shaped timber roof built in 1431, being one of the oldest buildings in Plymouth. It is thus protected as a national monument and is one of the city's most precious heritages. The Distillery was…
Sean Harrison – Plymouth Gin

Sean Harrison – Plymouth Gin

Reinventing Plymouth gin: how former Naval officer helped steer a new course for historic brand Despite being a gin with a 200-year history, Plymouth Gin had to reinvent itself back in the 1990s to help the spirit out of the doldrums. At the same time, former Royal Navy officer Sean Harrison had to learn how to make the hallowed liquid…