The Inspiration
Sir David Hempleman-Adams is a British mountaineer and balloonist who has achieved numerous records in the field of aviation and exploration. His interest in adventure started at school, aged 13, when he took part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. On being taken to the Black mountains in South Wales and seeing the mist and amazing views he loved every minute and the rest, as they say, is history.
Explorers Grand Slam Gin is inspired by David, the first person to walk to the geographical and magnetic North and South Pole and climb the highest summit on all seven continents.
Explorers Grand Slam Gin, the Inspirational Spirit, is inspired by - Sir David Hempleman-Adams, who completed the first Explorers Grand Slam by walking to the geographical and magnetic North and South Pole and climbing the highest summit
on all seven continents.
Adventures to Date
Sir David Hempleman-Adams completed the Explorers Grand Slam between 1980 and 1998 in the following order.
1980 - Denali, Alaska, USA, North America - 1981 - Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa -1984 - Magnetic North Pole - 1993 - Everest, Nepal, Asia - 1994 - Elbrus, Russia, Europe - 1994 - Vinson - Antarctica - 1995 - Aconcagua, Argentina, South America - 1995 - Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, Australasia - 1996 - Magnetic and Geomagnetic South Pole - 1998 - Geomagnetic North Pole.
In addition he has completed so many other adventures it is hard to list them all so below are just a few!
1984 - Successfully completed a solo expedition to the Magnetic North Pole without dogs, snow mobiles or air supplies.
1992 - Led the first team to walk unsupported to the Geomagnetic North Pole. This was described in the book A Race Against Time.
1996 - Completed a solo unsupported expedition to the South Pole, sailed to the South Magnetic Pole and led a team of novices to ski to the Magnetic North Pole. The book Toughing it Out describes David's first 20 years of adventuring.
1998 – Completed the Explorers Grand Slam having walked to the geographical and magnetic North and South Pole and climbed the highest summit on all seven continents.
2000 - Became the first man to fly a balloon over the North Pole, a trip that emulated the ill-fated attempt by Salomon August Andrée, a Swede, to fly to the North Pole in the 19th century and which he also described in a book called At The Mercy of the Wind.
2003 - Became the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an
open wicker basket Rozière balloon. The journey was from New
Brunswick, Canada to north of Blackpool, UK.
2004 - he and co-pilot Lorne White flew a single engine Cessna from Cape Columbia in the north of Canada to Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, covering 11,060 miles and arriving on 23 July after 12 days.
2005 -Staged the world's "highest" formal dinner party. Hempleman-Adams, Alan Veal, and fellow adventurer Bear Grylls ascended to 24,262 feet in a hot air balloon. Grylls and Veal, wearing formal attire, then climbed down to a dinner table suspended 40 feet below the balloon and dined on asparagus, salmon, and summer fruits, and finally parachuted down to earth.
2007 – Broke the quarter-century old world small sized hot air
balloon altitude record, by ascending to 9,906 meters over Alberta, Canada; beating the previous record of 9,537 metres set by Carol Davis in New Mexico.
2007 - Crossed the Atlantic in the smallest helium balloon to break the record for that particular class of balloon flying this distance. His aim was to land the balloon in Ireland but he was blown over to England by strong winds.
2009 - Broke the endurance record for a flight using the smallest man-carrying helium balloon. He flew 200 miles from Butler, Missouri, to Cherokee, Oklahoma, in 14 hours and 15 minutes using the class AA-01 balloon. The previous record was an eight hours and 12 minutes flight undertaken by American Coy Foster in March 1983.
2008 - Along with co-pilot Jon Mason won the 52nd Gordon Bennett Cup, having flown a helium balloon from Albuquerque, New Mexico eventually landing over 1000 miles later near Madison, Wisconsin. They are the first British team to win the coveted prize in 102 years.
2011 - Led the Iceland Everest Expedition on the North Side of Everest. £1.2 Million was raised for their chosen charity.
2011- Along with co-pilot Jon Mason, David won the Americas
Challenge Balloon race and in doing so set a new duration record for the race. They are the only British team to win both the Gordon Bennett Balloon Race and Americas Challenge.
2016 - Skippered the first British yacht to sail around the Arctic
Ocean in one summer season, anticlockwise.
2019 - Sailed from London to New York in aid of St John ambulance.
Future Adventures
2025 – David is attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open basket hydrogen balloon in the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer balloon with two long-time friends, American balloon manufacturer Bert Padelt, 62, and 72-year-old Swiss scientist and entrepreneur Dr Frederik Paulsen.
Awards
David has received the following awards and honours.
1995 - MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours
1998 - OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Arctic Exploration.
2000 - The Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.
2004 - The Explorers Medal by The Explorers Club at their Centennial Dinner.
2007 - Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the New Year Honours[17] in recognition of his service to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme.
2008 - Freeman of the City of London .
2013 - Polar Medal and bar by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the UK in the field of polar research.
2016 - Knight of Justice of the Order of St John.
2017 - Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order(KCVO) in the New Year Honours, both in recognition of his service to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme.
2022 - The Royal Geographical Society Founder's medal for enabling science through expeditions, and inspiring younger generations of geographers.
2023 - The Polar Medal and second bar by King Charles 111 for his work in the Arctic and Antarctic up to 2022.
Explorers Grand Slam Gin
Explorers Grand Slam Gin, the Inspirational Spirit, is inspired by - Sir David Hempleman-Adams.
Explorers Grand Slam Gin
The Inspirational Spirit
Gin has a long association with adventure, especially on water. As far back as 1829 Booth’s Gin was the sponsor of the adventurer John Ross, who took his ship, Victory, to the Arctic.
In the 19th Century the British Navy found themselves traveling across the world to destinations where unfortunately malaria was prevalent. They brought quinine to help prevent the disease and as it tasted awful, Indian Tonic Water was used to make it palatable. Gin accompanied the sailors on these voyages, being in fashion at the time and making a better cargo than beer, as the latter quickly spoiled. Eventually the two liquids were combined to form what is now the classic gin cocktails. Limes were added due to their anti-scurvy properties, thus birthing the term limey, a name for sailors.
It therefore appears appropriate for gin to be the perfect spirit to celebrate the adventures of Sir David Hempleman-Adams.
Explorers Grands Slam Gin Gin is made in small batches, at the Hepple Spirits Distillery , whose own brand celebrate their wild Northumberland heritage.
Created on the classical foundations of juniper and coriander It embraces its inspirational back story with its unique flavour coming from the botanicals found in each of the seven continents on which Sir David Hempleman-Adams climbed the highest summits.
The gins unique flavours come from the botanicals included from across the continents including Juniper, Coriander, Thyme and Orris from Europe, Angelica from North America, Liquorice from Africa, Cassia Bark Cardamon and Bay Leaf and from Asia, Batak Pepper from Australasia, Lemon and Orange from South America, Sea Salt from the Antarctic.
Together they produce a fragrant, aromatic, and slightly peppery spicy
gin with citrus notes, a truly Inspirational Spirit, capsulating its adventurous origins.
