HAMPTON COURT GIN: LORD OF MISRULE

The next chapter in Hampton Court Gin’s story is about to begin… It all started when Simon Marjoram’s business stopped overnight with Lockdown, his marketing agency had clients in stadium sport, drinks and travel. “I had offices in Hampton Court and have walked my dogs along the towpath for over 20 years.” It was on one of these walks, passing the Palace, that the concept for a fantastic new gin came to Simon. “With my background in Drinks Marketing we were always looking to build a narrative around the brand, with Hampton Court Gin the brand story is endless in its inspiration.”

Hampton Court Gin combines aromatic botanicals with modern distillation techniques, and rich historical storytelling. Their first creation was The Six Wives with six distinctive botanicals, which would be found in the kitchen garden during Henry VIII’s reign, or imported to add flavour to his legendary feasts.

“Over the summer we have been at a number of shows and festivals and the response to the Six Wives has been phenomenal” says Simon Marjoram, Hampton Court Gin’s enthusiastic founder. “Everyone genuinely loves the taste. I was determined that our gin would be smooth and not hit the back of your throat like some gins do, so we distill it 22 times, resulting in a delicate and rounded gin.

We were delighted that, in our first few weeks of trading, we were awarded a silver medal in the Global Gin Masters awards, fantastic to have a seal of approval from the real experts!”

“It’s been a very educational year, during the many months of historical research I  came across the intriguing story of Lord of Misrule.”

Every Christmas Henry VIII and his Nobles would appoint a Lord Of Misrule, deliberately chosen from the lower classes, which meant that for the 12 days of Christmas the position of King and servant would be reversed. His title gave him complete authority over the Court’s raucous feasts and opulent masquerades, culminating in the Feast of Fools. He would be master of Mischief and Mayhem, in charge of games and entertainment, even the King would have to bow to his authority.

The Lord of Misrule’s botanicals are inspired by those that would have featured in the Tudor festive feasting; quince, nutmeg, cinnamon, mulberry, ginger, grains of paradise, cubeb berries and honey.

Simon says, “I thought it could be great fun to replicate this tradition now and set about developing a gin that was playful and contradictory in taste, to reflect the mischievous and naughtiness of the Lords of Misrule in the past. The QR code on the bottle links though to our website where you can buy our gin, and we are developing a section with suggestions on how to appoint a Lord of Misrule at a festive gathering, and ideas for fun games and forfeits that can be played, coming soon, ready for the festive season.”

Lord of Misrule is a unique and unusual Christmas gift, perfect for the host of a festive gathering, a present for Christmas Day, or simply to be enjoyed by yourself. The beautiful hand drawn label demonstrates the same skill and creative fl air that goes into creating the small-batch, lovingly hand-crafted 42% English Gin inside the bottle.

Lord of Misrule is available to pre-order now from hamptoncourtgin.com.

Hampton Court Gin
hamptoncourtgin.com

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