The Whitley family has been distilling alcohol since 1762. John James Whitley was the CEO of Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd, which manufactures a number of different alcohols in England. Founded in 2017, the brand JJ Whitley is named after John James. The brand is owned by Halewood Artisanal Spirits, headquartered in London. Vodka is also made under the name JJ Whitley and is produced in Russia, near St. Petersburg, where there is a distillery owned by Halewood. The raw material used in gin, made from wheat, is also manufactured in Russia, but gins are still produced in Liverpool, which also has a distillery owned by Halewood. Due to the war in Ukraine, Halewood is closing the production in Russia and relocating JJ Whitley’s production entirely to the UK. Whitley’s product family and Halewood portfolio also includes another gin, Whitley Neil, which is the creation of John James Neil, a grand-child of John James Whitley.
Eight different herbs and spices have been used in JJ Whitley London Dry Gin; orange and lemon peel, juniper berry, angelica root, coriander, licorice root, orris root and cassia bark. Bottled in a stylish 70cl bottle, JJ Whitley is for sale at a fairly affordable price of 14€.
JJ Whitley has a classic London-style gin nose. Juniper berries, citrus, coriander, a little spices. The taste is very smooth, a bit sweet and quite light. The taste is very similar to the smell. There is citrus and juniper, a bit of coriander and it is slightly spicy. Due to its smoothness and sweetness, it is very easy to sip neat. It fits well on the dining table as a cooled schnapps. In cocktails, it works well like all the other London dry style gins in the same price range, like Beefeater and Gordon’s. JJ Whitley is a very balanced and traditional London Dry gin. There’s nothing to bother you, but the spiciness is pretty light and you don’t get any strong herbal cocktail from it. A good and affordable product for lovers of traditional London type gins. It is also very good for those who prefer to enjoy gin neat.
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