Our Gin Journey

"If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you are."

1495 is not only the date from which this grape based gin originates. It also coincides with the beginning of the French Renaissance - an era we celebrate. At Maison Villevert, the grape is at the heart of everything we do. Instinctively, we felt a strong desire to bring this extraordinary story to life, and we look forward to sharing it with you.

Discovered in a self-published collection of household food and drinks recipes, one of the oldest gin recipes on record forms the basis of our most ambitious project to date - GIN 1495. The recipe, located within the Sloane Manuscripts, passed into the collection of the British Museum in London after the death of Sir Hans Sloane in 1753, a wealthy and well connected medical doctor, serving as court physician to Queen Anne, King George I and King George II. Using a grape distilate as its foundation, the recipe dates back to 1495 and is an important record in the evolution of gin, from a medicinal product to a recreational spirit.

We handpicked a selection of spirit historians, writers and mixologists to verify the accuracy of the 1495 recipe. Dave Wondrich, Gary Regan, Dave Broom and Philip Duff reviewed the original manuscript at the British Library in London, before travelling to Holland to visit the Jenever Museum in Schiedam to track the development, production and evolution of gin. Their journey ended at Villevert (EWG Headquarters) near Cognac, France.

The panel then both replicated the original recipe (Gin 1495 - Verbatim) and created a modern interpretation (Gin 1495 - Interpretatio) with Jean-Sebastien Robicquet, oenologist, master distiller and founder of EWG Spirits & Wine.

The Limited Edition GIN 1495 pack consists of the two variants; the original 1495 original recipe and the modern interpretation. Each aspect of production takes place in the grounds of Villevert, the 16th century family estate, which is home to the company headquarters. Maison Villevert has a 500 year history, steeped in winemaking and distilling, and this is the latest chapter.

Founded in 2001 by Jean Sebastien Robicquet, on the outskirts of Cognac in the heart of the Charente region, EWG Spirits & Wine stands on the crossroads of tradition and innovation. Vines, wine and long-standing traditions inspire us. Craftsmanship and commitment to quality guide our product development. The GIN 1495 project allows us to bring to life the rich history that has shaped the development of gin as we know it, and the cultural heritage that produced it.

"By taking this recipe apart and refreshing it for our modern era, we will learn so much more about the long and circuitous journey the spirit has taken through the centuries. GIN 1495 is the fundamental expression of our business.
It represents a search for knowledge, an insistence on quality, and a reliance on the skills that we draw from our heritage.
We see the birth of gin, with a wine based spirit, in 1495 and its rebirth today in 2014."