Yorkshire luxury gin firm offers the Dales in a bottle

A company born and bred in Yorkshire is ready to welcome the return of the hospitality industry, after diversifying and thriving in personal on-line sales during the Covid lockdown.
Ad Feature by Taplin and Mageean
Published 15th Jul 2020, 10:32 BST
Updated 15th Jul 2020, 10:33 BST
The signature ginThe signature gin
The signature gin

Taplin and Mageean’s ultra-premium gins bottle the best of Yorkshire, and its flavours reflect the beautiful Dales they call home.

It’s a provenance to be proud of – but so is their 18-month success story, a tale of resilience and community spirit shown during these trying times.

Lockdown meant the loss of almost all of their hospitality business – but swift work in the early stages this year saw them energise their online sales side, bringing this remarkable taste of Wensleydale to every door in Yorkshire, and beyond. Sales quickly grew to almost match the original hospitality trade, which is now set to resume alongside the thriving home market.

Many of the botanicals and ingredients are locally sourcedMany of the botanicals and ingredients are locally sourced
Many of the botanicals and ingredients are locally sourced

Gin Train Experience

It’s not the first time the firm has turned a negative into a positive, with imagination and creative flexibility. When they opened in 2018 the licence for their beautiful rural distillery, occupying a 200-year-old building at Leyburn Station on the heritage line through the Dales, didn’t come through in time for their launch party. However, the law allows alcohol to be sold on a moving train, even with no licence, and so the now iconic Taplin and Mageean Gin Train Experience began.

Now a regular pre and soon-to-be post-Covid spectacular, it allows connoisseurs of all things Yorkshire to soak up the views as they enjoy a taste of the premium spirit, itself layered with subtle botanicals to give a taste that reflects the towering fells and the sweeping valleys of the region.

The brand markets itself as Yorkshire in a bottle, and it is not wrong; distilled in Wensleydale, using a centuries-old traditional process in locally-built copper stills, the water is from Yorkshire, most of the botanicals are from Yorkshire, and the label which subtley incorporates a bird synonymous with the fells (the Curlew) shouts its heritage and provenance loud and proud … and why not?

Age-old processes help make this Yorkshire premium productAge-old processes help make this Yorkshire premium product
Age-old processes help make this Yorkshire premium product

It quite rightly sets itself up alongside some of Wensleydale’s long-established premium brands, and is unabashedly aiming high.

“We have a passion for the region, a passion for gin. We wanted to develop a premium product, one for Yorkshire to be proud of,” said co-owner Chris Young.

And the spirit itself is distilled from the heart of the process, with the head and the tail thrown away. That doesn’t make for a cheap product, but it does make for a superbly balanced, finely tuned one with depth and quality.

Award-winning

That’s not gone unnoticed. Their signature gin won a prestigious award at the San Francisco Spirit Awards in 2019, while its three stablemates – Elderflower Orchard, Spiced Orange and Peach and Basil – maintain this high standard, sharing the commitment to breathtaking, complex flavours, and robust, wild juniper-based gins.

“Each gin is made with a recipe that allows the taste to evolve when sipped, with the different botanicals used presenting on the taste buds at different times,” said founder and co-owner Chris Taplin.

“Each also uses the best grain neutral spirit, the best botanicals, and optimal soak times so that flavours can be layered,” explained Taplin. “The best gins — like good stories — have a beginning, a middle, and an end, each combining to create a unique taste journey that in the case of Taplin and Mageean encapsulates the essence of the Yorkshire Dales.”

“During the trial process for all our gins, we start by plotting an intensity vs time graph for each botanical. This allows the overall sequence of flavours to be orchestrated before inception. We then meticulously trial different botanical combinations to work towards the target creation.”

NHS support

As well as proudly waving the flag for Yorkshire, Taplin and Mageean was determined to do its bit during the Covid pandemic. With capacity to diversify, they moved into production of hand sanitiser. And while it is available commercially, they were determined to give it away free for frontline use in the NHS and care sectors, and continue to do so.

Young added: “We are embedded in the community of Yorkshire, it’s in everything we do. We have a real passion for Yorkshire, and wanted to give something back.”

The idea behind this latest Yorkshire icon grew from the people themselves. Chris Taplin owns the Stonehouse Hotel, a country house hotel at Hawes. His customers regularly asked for a recommendation for a spirit that was not only from the region, but embodied everything that’s great about it … and they set out to create an ultra-premium brand synonymous with God’s Own Country.

Try it for yourself; discover more about #thegin at https://taplinmageean.co.uk/taplin-mageean/#thegin and follow them on social media @taplinandmageean

Please drink wisely, be #drinkaware