Plymouth rocks home

By Dave Broom

WE WERE 1,500 feet above Dorchester when Charles Rolls took his hands off the controls and said: "Okay, you take over."

Charles, I should explain, is managing director of Plymouth Gin (0171-250 0381) and he owns what is probably the smallest plane in the world. We were on our way to have a look at his new baby, England's oldest gin distillery.

I then realised what an appropriate way this was to get to the distillery. Plymouth gin is a light aircraft compared to the 747s of Gordon's and Beefeater. But it is not just a rich man's plaything - if Rolls has his way it will soon be seen as one of England's top premium gins.

The distillery is in the Barbican, the oldest part of Plymouth. Originally a monastery, it was also where the Pilgrim Fathers spent their last night in England. In 1793, the Coates family bought it and turned it into a gin distillery. Gin and the sea go together - one reason why distilleries sprang up in London and Plymouth was because this was where the spices (botanicals) which are used to flavour the spirit were unloaded.

The maritime connection stood the brand in good stead when naval officers made gin their preferred drink. It meant that Plymouth not only became the gin of choice in the Royal Navy (and therefore the only brand to use when making a pink gin), but that the officers acted as unpaid reps for the brand. By the end of the last century, Plymouth claimed to be the largest-selling gin in the USA.

So why haven't we heard of it? Well, the firm's luck has been so wretched that you wonder whether one of those Naval reps killed an albatross. When the Coates family sold out, it passed through the hands of Schenley, then Whitbread and then Allied, with volume dropping all the time. The quality was downgraded, the strength was cut, the label cheapened.

But this happened to many other famous old brands. What makes Plymouth a special case?

Put simply, it's different. Why? Who knows? It might be the use of pure Dartmoor water, it might be the unusual shape of the still. It's certainly to do with the way that the seven botanicals are combined.

What is certain is that, of all British gins, Plymouth has the richest texture. It combines an intense bouquet of heather surrounded by citrus blossom, with a complex range of delicate flavours. It's not what you normally expect from a gin.

Now back in private hands, with new packaging and restored to its original strength, it's ready to take off. The top end of the gin market is performing well. Barmen now know how to mix a gin & tonic. The Martini is back in fashion, and Plymouth was the gin named in the first recorded recipe for the Martini.

Plymouth is an essential addition to any bar which has already recognised that Beefeater and Tanqueray are a cut above the rest. Chocks away! n