Samuel Gulliver & Co is a bottler of fine English whisky, often taking gently peated whisky and popping it into different casks. This iteration of the brand was launched back in 2018, but the question on your mind is probably: who is Samuel Gulliver, and did he have any famous travels to speak of?
Well, Samuel Gulliver was a drinks man by trade. In 1747 he established a wine and spirits business in The White Horse, Banbury, Oxfordshire with an extensive portfolio that also included liqueurs, cordials, and aerated waters. But his name did serve as an inspiration for Jonathan Swift, who borrowed it for his classic Gulliver’s Travels.
By the late-1800s, the Gulliver business boasted 20 shops in London’s West End, with warehouses in Leith and 7 Argyll Street, London – now the site of The London Palladium. But things took a turn for the worse in the 20th century and with the premature death of Fred Gulliver in 1944, another Samuel Gulliver gambled most of the business away until it declined to just an Aylesbury operation with a warehouse and wine bar. In 1957, it closed too, with the London shops later becoming part of Victoria Wine.
The current Samuel Gulliver & Co is a revival instigated by Stuart Gulliver, eight generations after Samuel first set up shop. The brand is named after him to honour that long, 200-year history, and the ambition is to create a diverse range of spirits much like he did back in 1747. That year is why the flagship whisky is called Gulliver’s 47, by the way.
Samuel Gulliver & Co is also The Official Whisky of England Rugby.