A spirits firm formed by three brothers, has released a special gin honouring their aunt who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

Brothers Simon, Rupert, and George Duke, who are owners of La Quinta, Hadleigh, went into the spirits industry two years ago with the aim of creating upmarket, super premium spirits.

G & I Spirit Group Limited, named after parents, George and Ida Duke, is based in Hadleigh.

After successfully releasing flavoured tequilas, and premium vodka, the Dukes decided to move onto gin.

Five months on and “Jillions Gin” was born.

Rupert Duke explained the inspiration behind it.

He said: “Our Auntie Margie - Margaret Jillion - worked on cracking the German Enigma code with everybody at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

“She was then the first woman to get into MI5.

“She was a realy strong woman. We wanted to do something for our mum (who was Margaret’s sister) and we were hunting through old stuff when my daughter, Gina, came across Auntie Margie’s ration card.

“We thought it would be a great tribute to our Auntie Margie – who died of breast cancer in the late 1970s – to name the gin, Jillions Gin.

“And with the help of our graphic designer, we used Auntie Margie’s ration card for the label on the bottle.

“Also. our grandma was a suffragette so empowering women was the route we wanted to take with this, and to celebrate that.”

The brothers ensure they are meticulous when creating the recipes with their distillers and plan to release some new gin flavours in the run up to Christmas.

The recipes were finalised last week.

Rupert added: “It’s unbelievable how the slightest difference in a mixture can change the whole recipe.

“It’s not easy.

“We can’t believe how well things are going. Our 88 Vodka has just won a Masters Award in the Spirit Business and Drinks Business Magazines in the Super Premium section.”

For more information please visit www.gi-spiritgroup.co.uk