Sipping Highclere Castle Gin with Adam von Gootkin

Adam von Gootkin brought his family legacy into the next generation by co-founding Onyx Spirits Co., an award-winning craft distillery offering America’s first ultra-premium moonshine and New England’s first whiskey. In 2015, his nationally released book Living Proof: Onyx Moonshine’s Journey to Revive the American Spirit, chronicled his unique approach to traditional business principles. After successfully building Connecticut’s first distillery in over 100years, Adam’s next venture would take him from the Connecticut coast to the rolling grasslands of the English countryside and to one of the most famous homes in the world. Partnering with the Godson to Queen Elizabeth II, the 8th Earl & Countess of Carnarvon, the owners of Highclere Castle (known to millions of fans around the world as the home in the award-winning tv series and motion picture, Downton Abbey). In 2017, Adam co-founded the Highclere Castle Cigars Company, produced with world-renowned cigar blender Nicholas Melillo in Nicaragua. The cigar went on to win many awards, with the brand rapidly expanding throughout the US, UK and mainland Europe. Highclere Castle Spirits joined the budding empire the following year, in keeping with Adam’s vision to create a global portfolio of hyper-authentic prestige brands with deep roots. In 2019, the award- winning Highclere Gin became the first of a super-premium line of spirits made from the oats and botanicals grown on Highclere Castle Estate, specifically, lavender planted by the Bishops of Winchester in the 9th century.