The Making of the Joules x Warner’s Apple & Pear Gin

Warner’s: The Gin To Our Tonic

As two like-minded brands, both inspired by nature and deep rural roots, we’re so proud to be partnering with Warner’s to mark our 30^th anniversary.  We simply couldn’t believe our luck to learn that the wonderful Warner’s team, led by husband and wife, Tom & Tina, is based on a beautiful family farm just down the road from our Market Harborough HQ.

Founded in 2012 with a dream to save the world from mediocre gin and reconnect people to what’s real and truly matters in life, Warner’s is all about dirty hands, full hearts and a deep love of the land. The team are fiercely local and all their gins are distilled in the village of Harrington, just ten minutes from their HQ, with water from their spring. They grow many of their own botanicals on Falls Farm, and collect fresh honey from their beehives. 

Embodying all things local, British and dear to our heart, we couldn’t think of a more perfect partner to craft and distil our first gin.  We can’t wait to see where this joint adventure takes us.

The Perfect Pairing of Flavours

With Warner’s award-winning expertise, we feel we’ve brought together a perfect balance of flavours that make our Apple & Pear gin as ideal in a classic G&T as in a fancy cocktail.

For gin aficionados, here are the tasting notes:

Nose: Pear and fresh elderflower, with black pepper and macadamia.

Taste: Cardamom spice with lychee and juniper.

Finish: Fresh, sweet orchard fruits.

Jeremy Stephens, Warner’s Distilling & Technical Director, explains:

“It’s very clean, rounded and balanced for a pleasant, smooth drinking experience, yet packed with fresh-picked fruits and botanicals. Depending on your sensitivity, you might pick up the warming spices, fragrant floral or sweetness of the fruit. It delivers a different drinking experience with every pour.

“We’re also really proud that no man-made flavours are used in the production of Warner’s gin. Everything we do is uncompromisingly real; there is nothing artificial and the flowers and plants are all handpicked.  Even the water comes from a spring on our farm.

“We don’t over process our ingredients and try to retain as much flavour as possible, which is what gives the Joules x Warner’s Apple & Pear Gin its fun and distinctive yellow colour.”

Gin-spired By Nature

Our very first limited-edition gin is inspired by sun-filled country walks and great British flavours. It has been crafted to embody the wealth of the countryside, with pure apple and pear juice in every bottle, along with hand-picked elderflower.

As two countryside loving brands, it was obvious to us to look to the land for gin-spiration and it’s not hard to be inspired by the beautiful shires that surround both the Joules HQ in Market Harborough and Warner’s Distillery at Falls Farm, Northamptonshire.

Tom Warner explains how their gin is crafted by nature: “My mother, who sadly passed away in 2014, was a gardener and a wonderful cook. When she died, I found it really cathartic being in the garden and continuing her work.

“After lots of experimenting with dried herbs, which is standard in the gin world as it gives consistency of flavour throughout the year, I suddenly had a lightbulb moment – why not try to distil with fresh herbs?

“After that we decided to build a botanical garden for recipe development.  It makes such a difference to be able to grab an ingredient, sniff it and play with it in the growing and distilling process.

“We’re now on a mission to become self-sufficient in botanicals and to distil fresh. It’s a road less travelled in the industry, because it’s hard work, but it creates such a beautifully vibrant concentration of fresh flowers and gives us a really unique point of difference. We now have about five acres of botanicals, including 400 elderflower trees. The elderflower for our Joules Apple & Pear Gin has been hand-harvested from our local hedgerows, and those on our farm.”

Distilling The Essence Of Autumn

Gin-venting our unique and seasonal Apple & Pear flavour required thinking outside the bottle. At the heartbeat of the process is the two bespoke copper stills, Curiosity and Satisfaction, based at the stunning Warner’s Distillery.

Tom Warner explains the distillation process: “Copper absorbs excess acid, so makes our gin softer and smoother.  We start by boiling spring water from the farm with 96% pure alcohol, before adding the botanical backbones of every gin: juniper and coriander.

“From there it’s a case of questioning and experimenting with flavours in small batches. For the Joules gin, we looked to the farm. We’ve tried to encapsulate all the seasonal flavours of autumn.”

The Perfect Serve

As the golden autumn evenings creep in, why not give your drink a seasonal twist…

All drinks serve one person.

The classic serve

Ingredients:

• 40ml Joules’ limited edition Apple and Pear Gin
• 2 Fresh blackberries or 1 slice fresh apple
• 120ml Tonic water

Simply mix together with ice and top with your choice of apple or blackberries. Simple!

A Bottle Too Beautiful To Throw Away

As a reminder of our heritage, we’ve chosen to decorate our bottle with our original and ever-popular Cambridge print. Learn more about how we revamped the print for our 30^th anniversary here.

This print has been a firm favourite for the past three decades and we love spotting it when we’re out and about. Like all our prints, it is hand-drawn by our talented designers and has adorned many of our items, from wellies to wallets. We’re proud as punch of our prints and to see it become a family favourite has been the cherry on the cake.

When it came to the bottle design, both Joules and Warner’s knew we wanted to create something special that could be enjoyed for years to come.  We love things that are good for our countryside and the truth is that our bottles are simply too beautiful to throw away.

To solve this, we’ve come up with a few ideas of how to re-use them. Their sturdy structure and pretty print mean our bottle would be perfect repurposed as a:

• Candle holder
• Filled with fairy lights
• Soap dispenser
• Flower vase