Samuel Gelston’s to Strike Gold with New Campaign
Samuel Gelston’s is bringing some gilded glamour to the UK this season with a series of exciting collaborations that explore the golden roots of its Irish Whiskey.
Image – Vince Thurkettle
Award-winning Belfast-based mixologist Emily Doherty and leading gold prospector Vince Thurkettle will be fronting the new Gelston’s Gold Rush campaign, which will unveil gold inspired cocktail recipes, a gold panning event in the home of the brand and an exploration into Ireland’s prospecting past.
Wild gold expert and jewellery maker Mark Bell will also be on hand to add some seasonal sparkle by creating a showstopping gold bottle of Samuel Gelston’s whiskey, which will be revealed in a festive competition this December.
Established in Belfast in the 1830s, Samuel Gelston’s was purchased by daring young Irishman Harry Neill in 1869 who made his fortune in Australia’s spectacular 1851 Gold Rush. Upon returning to Belfast, Harry used his new-found wealth to rebuild the Gelston’s business and export his ‘liquid gold’ for the world to enjoy.
Vince explains:
“I love all the gold rush stories and have prospected out in Australia in the area where the 1850s gold rush took place, and Harry made his fortune. I have recovered gold and treasure from a tragic shipwreck from that time, the ‘Royal Charter’ which was bringing gold miners and their families home – and carried about 150 million Euros worth of gold. If Harry had been on that ship we wouldn’t now have these fabulous whiskeys.
“Whiskey and gold, two key ingredients to all the great gold rushes – I am so pleased that they are being brought together again, and absolutely delighted to be a part of this Gelston’s adventure.”
Established in Belfast in the 1830s, and purchased by Harry Neill in 1869, the Samuel Gelston’s brand is synonymous with sourcing, bonding and blending some of the finest single malt and pot still whiskey from across Ireland. It has remained in the Neill family for five generations and is currently owned by Harry’s great, great grandson Johnny Neill.
Samuel Gelston’s Blended Irish Whiskey, is made from a blend of locally sourced Irish malted barley and grain that is triple distilled for smoothness, then matured in the finest quality ex-bourbon oak casks.
The combination of triple distillation, in addition to the finest ingredients and cask ageing, creates an elegantly smooth yet expressive whiskey with rich flavours that can be savoured neat, over ice or mixed into a long refreshing drink.
Sitting alongside its award-winning range of whiskies the Irish whiskey brand earlier this year introduced Samuel Gelston’s Irish Cream Liqueur – a decadent gift for chocolate lovers, since the finest Irish whiskey, smooth rich cream and luscious chocolate have been expertly blended to create their indulgent new expression.
Samuel Gelston’s Irish Cream Liqueur, bottled at 17% ABV, flavours of milk chocolate and vibrant vanilla are underpinned by smooth, rich Irish whiskey. With a delicate spiced finish, this versatile liqueur can be enjoyed chilled on its own, in coffee and hot chocolate, in a variety of cocktails, or as a delicious dessert ingredient.
Mixologist Emily looked to the past to re-create The Gelston’s Gold Rush – a classic cocktail for today’s whiskey enthusiasts
She explains:
“My inspiration behind this drink was to take the classic ‘gold rush’ cocktail and put a modern twist on it. Hot honey is something that became very popular this year and there is a good reason, you get the sweetness and floral notes coming from the honey with the light spice and black pepper from the chilli. The other ingredients in this cocktail are the type of ingredients you see in a Margarita but they work incredibly well with whiskey, the orange juice opens up the sweet notes in the spirit and the salt rim balances out the sweetness.”
The Gelston’s Gold Rush
- 50ml Samuel Gelston’s Blended Irish whiskey
- 20ml Lime juice
- 30ml Fresh orange juice
- 10ml Hot honey *
- Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into an iced punch or rocks glass, with a salt rim, and a burnt orange slice as garnish.
*To make the hot honey, pick your favourite honey and add two hot chillies, or add in two teaspoons of dried chilli flakes, leave for two days then strain.
Samuel Gelston’s Spiced Star
Emily’s inspiration behind this drink is the iconic golden star on the Gelston’s bottle. And with the festive season fast approaching, she created this drink to enjoy on a cold winter’s day.
She explains: “Samuel Gelstons Irish Cream Liqueur is a warm hug in a glass, it’s smooth, creamy and sweet – perfect with hot coffee and spiced brown sugar syrup.”
- 50ml Samuel Gelstons Irish Cream Liqueur
- 10ml Spiced brown sugar syrup *
- 60ml Americano coffee
- Double cream to top
- Pour all ingredients into a steamed Irish coffee glass and layer your thick cream on top with a spoon. Garnish with the star anise.
*To make your own spiced syrup mix one cup of brown sugar and one cup of hot water with your favourite spices, Emily’s are cinnamon, cloves and star anise.
Ireland has a glittering history when it comes to gold. Prospector Vince Thurkettle reveals:
- The Irish took part in all of the world’s great gold rushes. Two of the very few Irish adventurers who came home rich, are Gelston’s Harry Neill and Micheal MacGowan – who took eight years to walk to the Yukon gold rush, struck gold and bought a farm when he returned home.
- Ireland may be called the ‘Emerald Isle’, but it is certainly a ‘Golden Isle’. Natural gold has been found across the whole island, from ancient times right up to the present day.
- More Bronze Age hoards of gold items have been found in Ireland than anywhere else in Europe. A horde of 150 golden objects, weighing over 5 kg, were found in County Clare in 1854. Whilst the golden bog of Cullen was an absolute treasure trove of Bronze Age objects – tragically almost all of which were melted down for bullion.
- The Great Irish Gold Rush started in 1795 near Avoca, in the Wicklow mountains south of Dublin! But it is unlikely that this location was known to the Bronze Age people as over 9,000 ounces of gold was found, including large nuggets, in relatively easily worked ground. One of these huge nuggets has survived as it was made into a snuffbox for King George III.
- Croagh Patrick the holy mountain in County Mayo is known to be riddled with gold veins. Could this be why the mountain became sacred in ancient times? The mountain is much-loved and respected, attempts to mine it in the 1980s were soon stopped by the local people.
- There is currently huge interest in finding and recovering natural Irish gold. The hobby of recreational gold panning is becoming increasingly popular, and several gold mining companies are working hard to develop commercial mines in Ireland.
About Samuel Gelston’s
Gelston’s Irish Whiskey has won 35 prestigious industry accolades across its portfolio since 2018, including Double Golds at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Best in Class (Ireland) at the London Spirits Competition.
Samuel Gelston’s Old Irish whiskey was founded in 1830 by Samuel Gelston. It was a time when Irish whiskey was famous around the world.
Samuel, a wine and whiskey merchant from Belfast, made it his mission to source, blend and bottle the best Irish whiskey from across Ireland. At the time there were 88 licensed distilleries on the island, and Samuel selected the very highest quality liquids for each bottle.
In 1869, upon Samuel’s death, the business was bought by Harry J. Neill. Harry had previously left Ireland’s shores with his younger brother Percival in order to make their fortunes in the Australian Gold rush of 1851. Having set up and subsequently sold his successful provisions business in Melbourne & Geelong, Harry returned to Belfast and purchased Gelston’s. His brother travelled on to New Zealand to set up Messrs Neill & Co in Dunedin in 1882.
Harry was the son of a Belfast merchant and French wine importer and was passionate about whiskey – indeed his grandfather and great grandfather had been whiskey distillers in Comber from the 1730s and 1760’s. He therefore continued their and Samuel Gelston’s legacy of sourcing, blending and bottling the very finest whiskeys, and developed the Gelston’s Irish whiskey brand around the world.
However, the Irish Whiskey landscape faced serious challenges as it entered the 20th century, and the combined effects of World War I, the Irish War for Independence and finally Prohibition, resulted in the near collapse of the Irish Whiskey industry – which, in turn, led to the demise of Samuel Gelston’s Irish Whiskey.
The brand remained with the Neill family, and five generations on it has now been brought back to life by Harry’s great great grandson, Johnny Neill. Johnny and well-known master distiller Frank McHardy made it their mission to journey across Ireland again to source, bottle and blend the best liquids they could find and Samuel Gelston’s Old Irish Whiskey was reborn.
The current collection includes Samuel Gelston’s Single Malt, Single Pot Still, 5 Year Old Single Malt, 10 Year Old Single Malt, 15 Year Old Single Malt, 26 Year Old Single Malt.
Cousins, Johnny & Sam Neill, descendants of Harry and Percival have joined forces on the latest launch that marries Johnny’s Irish Whiskey with Sam’s Pinot Noir New Zealand Wine Casks.
This exciting brand is back doing what it did best.
Contact details:
Address:
Halewood Artisanal Spirits
First Floor, Tennyson House,
159 – 165 Great Portland Street,
LONDON, W1W 5PA
Telephone: +44 (0)151 480 8800 (Customer services)
Email: info@hjneill.com
Internet: https://samuelgelstons.com
Facebook: @SamuelGelstons
Instagram: @samuelgelstons
References:
- https://samuelgelstons.com
- https://halewood-int.com/
- Press release from Burt Greener Communications
Images:
- https://samuelgelstons.com
- (Other images kindly provided through Burt Greener Communications)