Gordon's Gin - History

History

Gordon's London Dry Gin was developed by Alexander Gordon, a Londoner of Scottish descent. He opened a distillery in the Southwark area in 1769, later moving in 1786 to Clerkenwell. The Special London Dry Gin he developed proved successful, and its recipe remains unchanged to this day. Triple-distilled, the gin contains juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, liquorice, orris root, orange and lemon peel.

In 1898 Gordon & Co. amalgamated with Charles Tanqueray & Co. to form Tanqueray Gordon & Co. All production moved to the Gordon's Goswell Road site.

In 1904 the distinctive square-faced, green bottle for the home market is introduced. In 1906 Gordon's Sloe gin went into production. The earliest evidence in recipe books for the production of Gordon's Special Old Tom is in 1921.

In 1922 Tanqueray Gordon & Co. was acquired by the Distillers Company. In 1924 Gordon's began production of a 'Ready-to-Serve' Shaker Cocktail range, each in an individual shaker bottle, capturing the spirit of the Jazz Age. The Shaker range comprises 50/50, Martini, Dry Martini, Perfect and Piccadilly. Following the successful launch of this range, Gordon's added the Manhattan, San Martin, Dry San Martin and Bronx.

In 1925 Gordon's was awarded its first Royal Warrant by King George V. In 1929 Gordon's first introduce Orange gin, subsequently awarded the Royal Warrant to HRH Prince of Wales. In 1930 Gordon's increased the Shaker Cocktail range further with the introduction of Rose, Paradise and Gimlet. In 1931 Gordon's first introduce Lemon gin, also awarded the Royal Warrant to HRH Prince of Wales.

In 1934 Gordon's opened its first distillery in the USA, at Linden, New Jersey.

By 1962 at least it was the world's highest selling gin.

In 1984 British production was moved to Basildon in Essex. In 1998 production was moved to Fife in Scotland, where it remains to this day.