Langley's Old Tom Gin

Langley’s Distillery has one of the richest histories in the gin distilling world, and so it’s namesake gin, Langley’s No. 8 has been given the strenuous task of living up to such a world renowned title.

Established in 1902, Langley’s Distillery was founded by a group of local publicans who wanted to earn a buck or two with the onset of the gin wave. The small community built the stills themselves and raised the distillery from the ground up. This was to be taken over in 1955 by the W. H. Palmer Group Ltd. The Palmers’ main purpose was not set on distillation but rather to do with chemical compounding. It was only in about 1920 when they bought over this distillery, which had been lying dormant for a few years, that they tested the water with distilling and found that there was no turning back; the gin tide had pulled them in. Today Langley’s is run by Adam Wallis Palmer, the great, great grandson of the original founder of the Palmer group, having kept the company within the family since its very establishment – even through all of its expansion. When you walk around the distillery today, you can uncover six stills, including what is claimed to be the UK’s oldest working copper pot still. Langley’s No. 8 is made in ‘Constance’, a 4,000 Litre copper pot still which was created in about 1917 by the oldest distillery engineering establishment in the world, John-Dore. Named after the Master Distiller Rob Dorsett’s late mother, Connie, it was this still that Mark and Mark choose for their gin to macerate in.

Langley’s Old Tom is the first new product since the launch three years ago of the acclaimed and multiple award-winning Langley’s No.8 gin. Old Tom is a style originally popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Old Tom offers a more intense yet slightly sweeter taste than a classic London Dry Gin, however, it’s not as sweet as a Dutch Jenever.

Tasting Notes

Orange peel (with a touch of juicy tangerine thrown in the mix too), nutmeg and sweet juniper which makes it well-suited for using in cocktails like the Tom Collins or the Martinez.

Style:

Old Tom

Key Botanicals:

Macedonian juniper berries, Sri Lankan ground nutmeg, coriander seeds from Bulgaria, sweet orange and sweet lemon peel from Spain and cassia bark from Indonesia, Madagascan vanilla.

Perfect Serve:

Tom Collins cocktail. Light/Sicilian lemon tonic garnished with lemon slices.