What does your dad really want on Father’s Day? My gin says Lancashire uni graduate James May!

The former Top Gear and The Grand Tour star, 62, launched his own premium spirits brand back in 2021, called James Gin.

It came about when James, who studied music at Lancaster University and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2010, met the ‘Willy Wonka of gin making’, Master Distiller Hugh Anderson of Downtown Distillery near the pub that James co-owns, the Royal Oak Swallowcliffe in Wiltshire.

A partnership was forged over a love of gin and they decided to take James’ idea of a gin distilled from parsnips and turn it into reality.

Bristol born James, known for his sharp wit, love of fine drinks, and occasionally chaotic adventures, went on to create a gin collection that’s far from ordinary and he urges you to snap it up just in time for Father’s Day (Sunday, June 15).

James said: “Think about it. What does your dad really want on Father’s Day? Socks? A jumper? A Ferrari? He deserves more than the socks and less than the Ferrari. So buy him a bottle of my gin instead. It’s a happy compromise all round and we’ve sold 100,000 bottles so far - so it must be good. And if he drinks enough of it he’ll forget about the Ferrari anyway.”

So what gins are on offer?

The TV presentre has taken inspiration from his global travels (often at other people’s expense), a touch of cookery experimentation and the love of a really cracking G&T to create James Gin: the Gin of the People.

The James Gin collection now includes four unique flavours:

• Asian Parsnip - I had an idea for a gin that is very British, using parsnip - which reminds me of dampness - combined with the spicy sparkle of the Asian spices found in Indian food. So we created the unimaginatively named Asian Parsnip - celebrating both the homely flavour of that most English of root vegetables and the gastric stimulus of spices from India.
• London Drizzle - Gin is traditionally called London Dry - but I live there and usually it isn’t. So I wanted to make a gin that would invoke that unique petrichor smell that comes from light rain hitting the pavement on a warm day. I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like that smell.
• California Dreamgin' - Our gin has proved particularly popular in California - so we decided to create a flavour that celebrates two staples of the hippie movement that originated there, namely mushrooms and patchouli, man. The flavour is light, fruity and peppery with a hint of apricot.
• Asian Parsnip Navy Strength - An American customer said that if we made a Navy Strength version of Asian Parsnip, ‘the world of gin would never be the same’. So, obviously we did and he was right.

Where can I buy the products?

You can buy them directly from the James Gin wesbite where you can also use the store locator to find other stockists.

In the UK, there are currently 250 stores selling James Gin, including Waitrose branches.

Some more background on James Gin

What initially started out as a bit of fun went from 0 to 60 in record time and has turned into a gin-fuelled monster: an initial run of 1420 bottles sold out instantly, and now James Gin is available in over 40 countries worldwide and earlier this year hit 1 million subscribers across social media and Youtube.

Generally, the global gin sector has been forecast to reach a whopping US$22.73 billion by 2030*, driven by premium craft, innovative flavours, and mixology trends.

James Gin reckons that consumers are no longer settling for the same-old gin, they’re craving innovation, exploring new flavour profiles and looking for the next big thing.

A spokesperson for the brand said: “James Gin is at the heart of that movement—bold, unexpected, and packed with personality.

“With a loyal fanbase that continues to grow, James has cultivated a community of gin lovers who appreciate the unique flavours and no-nonsense attitude in every bottle.

“This is a gin brand that’s clearly got people talking, and they’re not stopping anytime soon.”