Hayman's Royal Dock of Deptford - Navy Strength Gin 750ml
Hayman's Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin comes from Hayman Distillers, the oldest gin-distilling family in London, tracing back to founder James Burrough in 1863. Burrough, later famous for creating Beefeater Gin, pioneered a cleaner, more expressive style of English gin following the Single Bottle Act of 1861, and is remembered as the first distiller to lean heavily on citrus in his recipes. Five generations later, Christopher Hayman revived the family name, and the company is now led by Miranda Hayman and James Hayman, Burrough's great-great-grandchildren.
Royal Dock takes its name from the Royal Dock of Deptford, established in 1513 by Henry VIII and home to the Royal Navy's Victualling Board for four centuries. The Hayman family began supplying gin to the British Admiralty there in 1863, bottled at what became known as Navy Strength, roughly 57 percent alcohol by volume, strong enough that gunpowder would reportedly still ignite even if splashed with the spirit. The gin is distilled from a recipe pulled directly from the family's nineteenth-century archives, using ten classic botanicals, juniper, coriander, lemon and orange peel, angelica root, cinnamon, orris root, licorice, and nutmeg, macerated for twenty-four hours in small copper pot stills.
The result is bright and bracing without tipping into harshness, built on a balanced core of juniper, coriander, and citrus. Angelica and coriander push forward a peppery edge, while licorice root lends a smooth, almost creamy texture that tempers the higher proof. The finish stays clean and spice-forward, with the added strength delivering more concentrated flavor rather than simple heat.