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Chase launches a Great British gin

William Chase, who eight years ago created Chase Vodka from potatoes grown on the family farm in Herefordshire, now says he aims to restore gin to its former glory across Britain with the introduction of Williams Great British Extra Dry Gin – or “GB Gin” for short.

Williams GB Gin was added to the Chase portfolio following a request from the Spanish market, where Williams Elegant Crisp Gin at 48% ABV and made using Chase apple-based vodka, is experiencing great success as a luxury item, creating an opening for an everyday alternative.

GB Gin was launched to the Spanish market in Spring 2012, and released to the UK market this month.

“GB Gin is the first single estate English gin to be created in over 200 years. Our first challenge as distillers was to create the world’s best vodka – Chase Vodka. And now we have used that as the base for the world’s finest dry gin.

"This is a very, very fine gin so that you can sip it neat but it’s also perfect for creating a well-balanced gin and tonic or a sweet martini,” says founder William Chase.

Gin is enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the UK which, according to William Chase, is all about consumers drinking less but being more discerning about quality. It is believed that consumers of premium quality vodkas are now driving the increased sale of gin in the UK. Gin sales have increasing by 11.6% to 304,750 cases over the last year, according to IWSR figures. UK gin now makes up 7.9% of the home gin sector.

“Bartenders in Britain have fallen in love with gin again,” he adds. “Also, traditionally it was women who drank gin, but now more and more men are drinking it. Discerning customers are developing a love for the flavour of gin in cocktails over vodka.”

The style of gin is a London dry gin with an infusion 10 botanicals including juniper buds and berries, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almond, coriander, cardamom, cloves, liquorish and lemon.

“On the nose, you experience dry juniper with zesty citrus. Juniper, dark chocolate and citrus zest is upfront on the palate, followed by warm spicy notes in cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.”

Williams Great British Extra Dry Gin is 40% ABV and priced at £28/70cl. Available from Speciality Drinks, The Whiskey Exchange, Corks Out, Vodka Emporium, drinkshop.com

About Chase Distillery
Chase Distillery is a family run single estate distillery, approximately 30 miles North West of Cheltenham. The distillery is housed in a converted hop kiln barn amongst 1000 acres of rolling fields of potatoes, apple orchards and Herefordshire cattle.
The genuine quality of Chase Distillery’s products comes from the home grown ingredients and artisan methods used to make them.

William Chase’s journey into making vodka began in 2004 when he discovered potato vodka and how different it is from the usual grain variety and he was convinced he could do better because he could grow, mash and distil his potatoes on his farm to create a genuine quality product with true pedigree and provenance. After selling his multinational crisp business, Tyrrells, he sourced the very best handcrafted equipment consisting of a large copper pot still and a one of a kind 70 foot rectification column (the tallest one in Europe) and built his own distillery by converting an old hop kiln barn located on his farm about 30miles north west of Cheltenham.

The distillation process Chase uses is very traditional in its approach and one which early 1900s vodka distillers would be familiar with. The process is rather laborious but allows for total control of the quality of the products. All products are bottled & labelled by hand at the distillery.

The first bottle of Chase English Potato Vodka was launched on April Fools’ Day 2008 and took two years in the making. It was the first and still remains the only English potato vodka in the world. It’s made from potatoes grown on William’s farm in Herefordshire - varieties Lady Claire and Lady Rosetta. It takes 16 tonnes of potatoes to make 1000 litres of pure spirit (96%ABV). The distillery can even tell you which potato field your bottle of vodka comes from. They also encourage a sense of eco-spirit by using the waste potatoes and peelings to help feed their Herefordshire cattle and the stillage to help irrigate the fields. Each bottle has less than one drink mile because the potatoes and grown, mashed and distilled on site.

Chase vodka has a smooth and creamy taste. It is designed to be drunk neat, usually straight from the freezer, but it can be drunk at room temperature to enable you to taste all of the subtle aromas. The liqueurs are made with the Chase Vodka giving them a genuine luxury and velvety finish.

Williams Gin ‘the world’s most complicated’ is fast catching up with its older sibling, being the second core product to be released, and having already achieved similar listings. Its uniqueness comes from the fact it is made from apples by turning apples into cider, cider into vodka and that vodka into gin. Not only this, the apples are grown (organically) on Chase’s farm to give you a gin with true provenance, perfect for the discerning connoisseurs or for the ultimate British Gin and Tonic. Williams Chase gin is elegant and crisp with juniper and green fruits upfront, followed by warm spices and earthy undertones.

Chase Marmalade Vodka is clear with a slight golden hue. It exudes zesty oranges aromas and has a naturally rich bitter-sweet flavour and a warm velvety mouth feel. It makes for a luxurious Breakfast Martini or is refreshing simply sipped neat over ice.
For more information visit www.chasedistillery.co.uk