There are craft gins, and then there are craft gins with a story worth telling. Jackford Gin belongs firmly in the second category. The Stafford family have been farming in County Wexford for three hundred years — potato growers with deep roots in the soil of Enniscorthy — and Jackford is the distillation of that history, quite literally.
The Potato-Based Difference
Most Irish gins use a grain-based neutral spirit as their base. Jackford uses 100% potato spirit — distilled from potatoes grown on the Stafford family farm. The difference is tangible in the glass: a fuller, creamier mouthfeel than grain-based gins, with a smoothness that carries the botanicals rather than competing with them.
Fourteen botanicals go into the blend alongside the obligatory juniper: rosemary, liquorice root, angelica, black peppercorns, orris root, cassia bark, basil, gooseberries, and bitter orange among them. The result is complex but not fussy — a gin that rewards both a good tonic and a proper Martini.
The Strawberry Variant
Jackford also produces a Strawberry Gin that uses the potato base to carry local Wexford strawberries — one of the county’s most celebrated agricultural products — into something that tastes of summer without tipping into sweetness. The creamy base balances the fruit beautifully.
A potato gin from a family that has grown potatoes in Wexford for three hundred years. The provenance doesn’t get more honest than that.
Where to Find It
Jackford is available through a growing number of Irish and international retailers, including the Celtic Whiskey Shop, Master of Malt, and Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford. It’s also available directly through the Stafford Irish Spirits website.
Jackford Irish Potato Gin — Stafford Irish Spirits Co.
🌐 staffordirishspirits.com
📸 jackfordspirits.com
