Page 67 - Adrenaline DEC
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W.E. ARE FAMILY
GIN THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
My name is Craig Blake-Jones and I drink Gin. I’m not really a beer drinker, I love my wines, but when it comes to spirits or a long cold refreshing drink, make mine a double Gin and tonic. So the current fashion for small batch gins is great for me, the different
flavours and botanicals that are being blended in – even the different mixers, all mean there is plenty of variety to try.
So when I was invited to a farm just east of Silverstone to try some gins from distiller Warner Edwards I cleared my diary. John met us there and is already shooting when Chris and I arrive in the small picturesque village of Harrington in Northamptonshire at Falls Farm where we are greeted outside his 200 year-old barn by Tom Warner. Tom has spent his life in farming so when the prospect of running the family farm became reality Tom, his now wife, and some friends sat down to think of a business they could start. As with any creative process this involved large amounts of alcohol... the answer was in front of them, in their glasses... they would use Falls Farm and all the natural assets it had to create artisan gins.
Warner Edwards was born. As was their mantra W.E. are Warner Edwards, great friends, innovative distillers and creators of award winning artisan gins. Their goal was to save the world from mediocre gin. Chris and I can’t wait to get into the Tack Room Bar and sample these delights, but we think we’d better find out all about Warner Edwards first. The farm land (and the village) are said to stand on rock and water, with an abundance of natural springs across Falls Farm, the top fields of the farm are a recognised national heritage monument and were once the park and gardens of a Medieval Manor House. There is a spring just 300 metres away from the distillery that supplies the water for the gin, so the Warner Edwards product is steeped in provenance.
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