Halewood International
Halewood International is a global distiller and distributor of premium artisanal spirits.
| Founded | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Founder | John Edward Halewood |
| Products | Premium artisanal spirits, including Whitley Neill Gin, JJ Whitley Vodka , Dead Man’s Fingers Rum, Crabbie whisky, The Pogues Irish whiskey |
| Owner | The Estate of the late John Edward Halewood |
Number of employees | c.900 |
| Website | www |
Structure
Currently, there are twelve Halewood distilleries across the UK, at the following locations:
- Liverpool (x 2 distilleries)
- Edinburgh (x 2 distilleries)
- The Bankhall Distillery, Blackpool
- Aber Falls, North Wales
- The Bristol & Bath Rum Distillery, Bristol
- London (x 2 distilleries)
- Yattendon, Berkshire
Halewood also operates distilleries in:
- Australia
- Russia
- South Africa
Finally, the company brews at the Hawkshead brewery in the Lake District in England.
The Halewood Group has six operations outside the UK in Australia, China, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.
Products
- Whitley Neill Gin
- JJ Whitley Vodka
- JJ Whitley Gin
- Dead Man's Fingers Spiced Rum
- Crabbie whisky
- The Pogues Irish whiskey
- Vestal vodka
- Marylebone Gin
- City of London Gin
- Aber Falls Gin and liqueurs
- Liverpool Gin
- Gelston's Irish Whiskey
- Sadler's Peaky Blinder spirits and beer
- American Eagle bourbon
- (Minus) -33
- Hawkshead beer
History
John Halewood
In 1978 John Halewood created his company, selling Bulgarian wines from his garage, and launched his first product - Club Royal (sherry). In 1987 he purchased Hall & Bramley and Lamb and Watt, amalgamating their products into his existing portfolio. In 1990 he formed a Joint Venture in Romania just after the fall of the Berlin Wall and followed up with an acquisition of Red Square Vodka in 1991, which he reconfigured into the new Ready to Drink market with Red Square Ice. In 1994, after witnessing the success of Lambrusco Italian wine he launched Lambrini sparkling perry which quickly became the company's largest selling product.
As an entrepreneur, John saw opportunities very early on in the market, his brilliant move was Crabbie's, when he purchased the ginger wine brand from Glenmorangie in 2002 and then created the alcoholic ginger beer, which was an entirely new category in 2009. Subsequently, the company has taken the Crabbie brand back to its roots and has build a whisky distillery in Edinburgh.
In 2009 John purchased Whitley Neill Gin from Johnny Neill, prior to the start of the “gin revolution”, Johnny was appointed as a Brand Ambassador to maintain brand provenance and brand advocacy.
John Halewood passed away in October 2011, his legacy leaving the largest independent producer and distributor of alcoholic products by volume in the UK.
Today
In a little over 40 years, Halewood Wines and Spirits has grown from a start-up company to become one of the UK's largest independent premium artisanal spirits distillers, with a turnover of more than £335 million, selling approximately 10 million cases each year and exporting to 90 countries. Over the past three years, the business has invested significantly in its artisanal distilleries and now distils at 13 different locations around the world.
Major Brands
Whitley Neill
Whitley Neill was created by Johnny Neill, a direct descendant of eight generations of distillers. It is a multi-award-winning gin range handcrafted at 43% ABV, which includes Whitley Neill Rhubarb and Ginger, UK's No. 1 Premium Gin brand, as well as other leading flavoured gin variants such as – Raspberry, Blood Orange, Parma Violet, Blackberry, Gooseberry and the variant that started the brand, Whitley Neill Original dry gin. The brand is distributed in over 50 countries globally.
JJ Whitley
The Whitley and Neill families have been involved in the creation of fine spirits since 1762, using the very best ingredients from around the world.
The family were well known for cultivating their gardens and searching the hedgerows for thrilling new flavours, indigenous to the countryside. The JJ Whitley gin range is a small batch distilled at 38%, which is inspired by the English countryside.
From mid-2020, the JJ Whitley Vodka range has been distilled at the company's Russian distillery in St Petersburg. In addition to JJ Whitley Artisanal Vodka, other variants include Watermelon & Lime, Pink Cherry, Blood Orange and Vanilla.
Dead Man's Fingers
First created at the Rum & Crab Shack at St. Ives, Cornwall, England in 2015, Dead Man's Fingers rum is a balanced blend of Caribbean rum and spices designed for versatility in long drinks and cocktails. It is one of the fastest growing rum brands in the UK and is also growing rapidly in many countries including Russia, China and Australia.
The range includes – the original Spiced Rum, Coffee Rum, Coconut Rum, Pineapple Rum, Mango Rum, Hazelnut Rum, Passionfruit Rum, Lime Rum, Raspberry Rum and one of the world's first CBD infused rums – Hemp Rum.
Crabbie Whisky
John Crabbie & Co is one of the oldest names in Scottish distilling with its founder, John Crabbie, being a pioneer during the 19th century. He was one of the first to independently bottle whisky and developed the idea of blending whiskies to improve quality and consistency.
The company has invested in two distilleries in Edinburgh: The Chain Pier distillery (opened 2018) and The Bonnington Distillery (opened in late 2019), which is the new home for John Crabbie & Co.
The company was the first to produce single malt whisky in Edinburgh for nearly 100 years, starting at The Chain Pier Distillery in October 2018, with production following at Bonnington in late 2019. Whilst this whisky is maturing, the company are hand selecting and bottling the finest casks of malt whisky from across Scotland, just as John Crabbie did 200 years previously.
The Pogues Irish Whiskey
A collaboration between the band, The Pogues and Halewood Wines & Spirits led to the creation of The Pogues Irish Whiskey. The shared aim of the partnership was to create an Irish whiskey that encapsulated the ‘rule breaking’ nature of both parties, with an exceptionally smooth and easy-drinking, but also very versatile new whiskey.
Both Halewood, and Frank McHardy, a renowned whiskey expert with 50 years’ experience (and a ‘Whisky Hall of Fame’ recipient) were both fully engaged to use their skills to perfect the blended variant. The Pogues Whiskey is distilled in Cork and aged in American Bourbon Oak and has recently won multiple gold awards at the San Francisco World Spirits awards.