Fiona and Hamish McNeill of Bashall Spirits with their award winning Damson and Elderberry Gin An 18th Century recipe from a family cook book helped to inspire a Ribble Valley firm to a global award. Fiona McNeill and Hamish Allan launched Bashall Spirits in 2019 just months before the country was thrown into a full lockdown. The inspiration for Bashall Spirits gins came from two handwritten recipe books passed down for generations in Fiona’s family, who lived on the Bashall Eaves family estate. The oldest book was created by Anne Taylor, Fiona’s Great Aunt in 1750 and was handwritten. The second was written by Fiona’s Great Grandmother Jennet Worsley around the middle of the nineteenth century.