Hayman's Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin

750ml bottle

57% abv

• Bright and robust gin with peppery notes
• The family supplied this gin to the British Royal Navy from 1863
• Bottled at "Navy Strength;" flavor does not wither in dilution
• Enjoy with tonic, in a gimlet, or tiki cocktails
• The Haymans are London's longest-standing gin-producing family

The Hayman family and its forebears have supplied this very same bright and robust gin to both the British Admiralty and trade from 1863. The family delivered to the Royal Dock of Deptford, the largest of the three Admiralty Victualling Yards. Bottled at “Navy Strength,” 100 proof by weight equating to 114 by volume, Royal Dock delivers flavor with efficiency where other gins wither in dilution, such as at outdoor patios or poolside. Enjoy with tonic or in a Gimlet with lime, sugar and ice. From the 10 Hayman’s botanicals, Royal Dock emphasizes angelica and coriander for pepperiness, and licorice root for a creamy texture.

When incorporating Royal Dock into drinks, shift focus from its higher proof to the flavor profile. In a Royal Dock and tonic, notice how the peppery notes of the gin harmonize with the tonic. Those same dry spice notes complement cocktails that emphasize sweet notes, like a Gimlet. Talking Tiki may evoke images of rum barrels, but Tiki’s history includes the British Royal Navy and gin. Make a superior Singapore Sling, Royal Hawaiian, Saturn, or Tradewinds with Royal Dock. The higher proof adds structure and minimizes the effect of dilution.

An original in their category, the Hayman family is the oldest gin-distilling family in London, having started their work in 1863. Company founder James Burrough was the great-great-grandfather of the current chairpersons, Miranda Hayman and James Hayman. Burrough was a true pioneer in the history of gin, innovating both process and profile. Not long after the Single Bottle Act of 1861, which allowed gin to be sold in bottles, Burrough set out to develop cleaner and more expressive profiles made possible with glass packaging. He employed a more expansive set of botanicals than his predecessors, and drew accolades as the first to employ citrus. The resulting profiles set a new standard that, for many drinks enthusiasts, remain benchmarks for traditional English gin.

From the earliest days, Burrough produced a variety of gin styles. There was a navy-strength gin that was procured by the Admiralty at the Royal Dock on the Thames. Highly prized was his Old Tom gin, the leading style of the Victorian era. A counterpoint to this was his ‘Black Cat’, a London Dry style. A variation on this London Dry was ‘Olde Chelsey’, named for the distillery’s location. Decades later, his company gained recognition overseas with a different London dry gin named to honor the palace guard. At the dawn of the cocktail revival in the early 2000s, the family once again drew accolades with the reintroduction of their Old Tom recipe.

All of Hayman’s historic gins maintain the same production methods and recipes from their inception over 150 years ago. The defining production methods of Hayman’s Gin include: use of three small copper-pot stills; 24-hour maceration of botanicals, for true concentration; and the use of 10 core classic botanicals in varying proportions depending upon style. As a group, Hayman’s Gins have the depth, balance, and rich juniper core to provide the ideal base for the complete canon of gin cocktails.