Reverend Hubert Winter Gin Liqueur - 50cl, 27% ABV | Premium Alcoholic Drink Made with Natural Real Fruit | A Gin Liqueur Handmade in the UK | Perfect with Prosecco | Ideal for Gifts & Parties

Product Information

Many years later, the Reverend’s Great Grandson, Thomas Lester found his own passion for crafting liqueurs after taking inspiration from his honeymoon to the Amalfi coast. He began experimenting at home using locally foraged ingredients and shared the fruits of his labour at family gatherings. During one such event, Thomas’ aunt shared a beaten-up WWI hip flask along with the original recipe for Reverend Hubert’s Winter Gin Liqueur.

Whilst the gin category might be fit for bursting, the sight of a winter gin liqueur is rare indeed which makes the story behind the Reverend Hubert even more fascinating. If you are sitting comfortably then let me begin… His gin drinks were of course a roaring success and eventually became Keighley’s worst kept secret. The brief was very much to bring out the cheeky, glint in his eye, friendly, warm personality of Reverend Hubert. Look closely and you can see a halo around only half his head, to signify he was a man of cloth, but who also knew how to have a good time at the same time.We even ground our own spices. It was an incredible number of man hours, and we are still learning how to make it now, still adjusting and adapting.”

I am so proud of what we are doing. It feels like we have created a new category, but then I think there is plenty of room for a category between vermouth and gin. A mixable liqueur that you can use to replace a spirit, a gin in different recipes,” he explains. And while we could offer you a painstakingly stirred Old Fashioned, or a glass of port alongside the cheeseboard, we think there’s also space for an unapologetically sweet liqueur.The Reverend Hubert Bell Lester (1868 -1929) was a charming and caring man who also enjoyed a good party, and in 1904 produced a popular winter gin liqueur that he shared amongst army comrades and the congregation of his local church in Nottinghamshire. He says even the peeling of one lemon, or orange had to be done in a certain way. “You have to use a peeler so that you only just get the top layer of lemon skin. We also discovered that we needed a tiny layer of pith from the orange as it adds an essential bit of balancing tannin to the drink.” All of this took place in October 2019 when it was too late to actually get into trade to hit the winter spirits and liqueur market. Hubert joined the Church locally and as his popularity grew, he became Reverend of Keighley, assembling a large, but also diverse and fragmented congregation of followers. The challenge of uniting this diverse community and raising money to support those in need of help seemed insurmountable. The ultimate digestif, it’s safe to say liqueurs have moved on since Baileys first burst onto the market (although if that’s your tipple of choice, no shade). These days, sweet can co-exist with sophisticated — you just need to be savvy about the brands you invest in.

As well as Master of Malt they have forged close ties with Whisky Exchange, Cambridge Wine, Fortnum & Mason, Noel Young Wines, and most recently, Marks and Spencer, amongst others. I began making batches of Reverend Hubert’s Winter Gin Liqueur, which I sold to other parents on the school rugby touch lines and a few local pubs and restaurants. Sales went berserk and word of mouth created interest for weddings, parties and gifts. The momentum meant 4am starts, dozens of kilner jars, bulk buying bottles and Waitrose carrier bags, full of oranges, lemons and gin. It was chaos - but also fantastic fun.THE PERFECT GIFT: The Reverend Hubert Winter Gin Liqueur makes an ideal gift for Christmas. It’s also perfect to serve to family and friends on special occasions and get togethers during the colder months.

We are constantly trying to improve it. It’s great that it started off as a home made drink, but filtering and fining of something so full of ground spices and raisiny shrub was a real headache . So we spent a great deal of time working out how to use filtration systems and bentonite fining.” Then he had a brilliant idea. Why not put his passion for gin to good use by creating a high-quality gin-based drink to help bring together his diverse community, as well as others, to buy and enjoy which could in turn raise money? It has enjoyed some peaks in sales – particularly after Olly Smith recommended it on Saturday Kitchen, which went on to sell 1,200 bottles in just two hours. Lester says he first came across the Reverend’s winter gin liqueur when he was given an old “smashed up WW1 hipflask with a barely legible label” by his aunt for his eighteenth birthday that happened to contain his winter liqueur and “a recipe of sorts”. “Here began the lesson,” says Lester.

Liqueur: Reverend Hubert Winter Gin | 500ML

He had already gotten the bug for having a go at homemade liqueurs when he was inspired to have a go at making limoncello from fine vodka and Amalfi lemons after going to the region on Honeymoon.