Mason's Of Yorkshire Tea Gin

Mason's of Yorkshire Tea Gin is a tea-infused gin from Mason's Distillery in Bedale, North Yorkshire, where the house style merges traditional juniper-forward London Dry technique with the region's centuries-old tea-blending heritage. The distillery steeps Yorkshire Tea—a robust black blend with Assam and African leaf—directly into the botanical maceration, which lends a tannic backbone and malty warmth without sweetness. The result is a gin that reads dry on the palate, with the tea acting as a structural element rather than a novelty flavor, and the citrus peel and warming baking spice rounding out the profile. Lincoln Park drinkers looking for gin with actual textural complexity rather than marketing gloss should pay attention here. Karl and Cathy Mason founded the distillery in 2013 in a renovated workshop outside Bedale, a market town in the Yorkshire Dales, and the tea component is sourced from Taylors of Harrogate, the family-run tea company that has operated in Yorkshire since 1886. The gin is vapor-infused in a custom copper pot still named Josephine, with botanicals including juniper from Macedonia, coriander seed, angelica root, orris, and hand-peeled citrus. The tea is steeped at a specific temperature and time to extract tannin and body without bitterness, then blended post-distillation. Each batch is hand-labeled and bottled at the distillery, and the house ethos leans on slow production and minimal intervention rather than column-still volume. The nose opens with classic juniper and lemon zest, followed by a savory, almost Earl Grey-like tea note that's more malt and toast than bergamot. On the palate, the gin is dry and medium-bodied, with a round citrus brightness up front, then a building wave of black tea tannin, coriander spice, and a peppery warmth on the finish that lingers longer than most London Dry gins. It works beautifully in a gin and tonic with a high-quality tonic water and a twist of lemon—nothing more—or in a Martini where the tea adds grip and length. Pair it with smoked salmon, aged cheddar, or anything with a bit of salt and fat to balance the tannin. Mason's of Yorkshire Tea Gin is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, for local Chicago delivery, or for nationwide shipping.