The Spirit of Archangel
We are continuing a venerable monastic tradition of brewing and distilling with a mixture of work and prayer, ‘Ora et labora ’ that stretches back well over a thousand years and during the working day we observe the monastic hours of Lauds and Vespers. Norfolk is a county where the Church has deep roots. The gothic arches, hammer beam rooves and soaring towers bear witness to a spectacular past when Norfolk was one of the richest counties in England, both economically and spiritually. The landscape remains dominated by these beautiful monuments to faith and the Archangel Distillery is just a hundred yards or so from St Peter’s, Dunton.
Even our spirits are finished with Walsingham Water, helping us to create a truly ‘heavenly gin’.
Distilled and Bottled in Norfolk
Our gin is made entirely in Norfolk, not imported and relabelled. Norfolk is the home of farming. It was here that great characters like ‘Turnip Townsend’ and ‘Coke of Norfolk’ first pioneered the farming methods that formed the English countryside as we know it today. Our distillery is part of a working farm which has been lovingly nurtured in the family for over sixty years. We believe in quality, small scale production that uses the best of local produce with local labour and small scale, handcrafted products.
Archangel Gin Botanicals
Archangel is a rich, complex gin bursting with exciting flavours. On the nose, the juniper, some of which is locally grown, floods through; the verbena and orange peel add a light, zesty fragrance to the top notes with rooty botanicals including sea-buckthorn breaking through at the finish. The gin is full bodied, deliciously smooth, and mixes gloriously with tonic. When used in cocktails it adds great sophistication and depth. Served cold, straight from the freezer, with just a curl of orange zest it makes a truly remarkable digestif after a sumptuous dinner.
Local Sourcing
Our enthusiasm for locally sourced ingredients, including juniper, verbena and sea-buckthorn is part of our ethos and a deep commitment to the beautiful county in which we live and work.
Every batch of Archangel Gin contains local juniper in varying quantities, harvested from bushes originally planted fifteen years ago. In 2016, we planted an additional 200 juniper and 50 sea-buckthorn bushes, ensuring that our locally grown content will continue to rise over the coming years.