Sir James Agnew was one of Hobart’s most prominent citizens in the second half of the nineteenth century. As president of the Tasmanian Racing Club he took an active interest in horse racing. He was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887. His existence in Tasmania coincided with the planting of the Blackthorn bushes from which the sloes for this gin were picked. Sir James Agnew is the great, great, great grandfather of Michael Agnew, who with his wife Fiona are the founders of Waverley Distillery.