Northumbria Spirit Ltd., Heddon-On-The-Wall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, UK.

Three gentlemen founded Northumbria Spirit Ltd in 2007: Andy Haddon, John Boyle and Jim Golightly.

Andy is the creative source behind the idea. He came across the little known history of a bootlegger and moonshiner Jack Cain and thought it would be good idea to see spirits produced in this area of the UK again. He floated these musings in a pub with two other fellow imbibers and the resulting deliberations started to work at becoming reality.

John Boyle retired in 1999 and set up his own brewery in 2000 with business partner Robin Leighton (who sadly died in 2005). Producing local Real Ale proved to be a popular success and today Wylam Brewery www.wylambrewery.co.uk has numerous award winning beers to its name. By 2006 they had outgrown their existing production facilities and moved to new premises on a farm owned by…Jim Golightly.

Jim, an ex-British Army Paratrooper, lives on a farm in Heddon-On-The-Wall. One of his pastimes is making Sloe Gin, and other fruit liqueurs, using recipes handed down from his great-grandfather. The farm is the base for Northumbria Spirit’s production facilities and interestingly, it is also believed to be one of the sites (or nearby) used by Jack Cain to produce illegal spirits.

In the 19th century Thomas Sharp, the Archdeacon of Northumberland, said about the local people: “They were fond of strong liquors, which exhilarate the spirits, and by a temporary madness, vary the uniform circulation of thought”. Northumbria Spirit products are made as a celebration of independent spirits wherever they are found, of those people who over the ages have dared to think a bit differently and at times have made the impossible a reality. They feel this passion is as strong today as it was in the time of Jack Cain and hope their products will stimulate and inspire you to think a little differently. To this end their marketing slogan is “Guaranteed to vary the uniform circulation of thought”.

Jack Cain’s.

Jack Cain’s

Jack Cain's Damson

Jack Cain's Sloe