Castle Hill, gin and tea? Can there be a better lockdown combination than that?

Huddersfield now has its own Castle Hill Gin, thanks to entrepreneur Tom Clark. And what could be better than a gin which combines the flavours of most people’s other favourite drink, tea?

Tom, 35, of Honley, has just launched Castle Hill Gin and has made two flavours Lady Grey Gin and a London Dry Gin.

For the uninitiated Lady Grey is a black tea similar to Earl Grey but with the citrus flavours of lemon and orange.

There are many gin distillers around and a whole host of craft gins and flavour combinations but Lady Grey Tea is unusual and tastes distinctly like…tea!

“Lady Grey is a true tea gin and it’s really smooth and elegant,” said Tom. “There’s a couple of Earl Grey gins out there but I’ve not come across a Lady Grey and that seems to have captured the attention of the gin retailers.”

Castle Hill London Dry Gin

Tom decided to launch his gin distillery last year when his two escape room businesses in Huddersfield and Derby had to close due to the pandemic.

A former University of Huddersfield student he lived in Almondbury for a while and developed a love for the wild beauty of Castle Hill.

When he decided to launch a gin brand he wanted to be distinctly Huddersfield but thought the name ‘Huddersfield Gin’ would be too restrictive and localised.

Instead he looked to the skyline and came upon Castle Hill Gin as the perfect Huddersfield brand that would also work well elsewhere.

When he was looking for flavours he teamed up with T&Cake in Almondbury for their delicious Lady Grey Tea and also opted to make a classic London Dry Gin which would be more familiar to gin drinkers.

“I made the two flavours as I thought the London Dry Gin would be a safer bet and that’s what we’ve found,” said Tom.

“We’ve made our first batches of 140 bottles and the larger 70cl bottles of London Dry have sold out while the smaller 20cl versions of the Lady Grey have proved popular with people keen to try it first.”

Tom, who has a three-year-old son Wilbur with wife Rebecca, is selling the 70cl bottles online for £38.95 and they are also on the shelves in several specialist shops and retail outlets around Huddersfield.

What has surprised Tom is the power of the Castle Hill name. “A lot of people get in touch saying how much they love Castle Hill,” said Tom.

Gin anyone?

“People send me photos and I never realised how much Castle Hill means to so many people.

“What we’ve had is people sending bottles of Castle Hill Gin to Huddersfield ex-pats in Australia and New Zealand as a reminder of home.”

Gin is a competitive business but Tom believes he has a strong brand and a unique flavour in Lady Grey Tea which will make him stand out.

He’s now about to embark on his second batch and is also researching flavours for a new fruit gin.

For more see www.castlehillgin.com