Kevin's 'Gin-spiration'

So this week I felt all ‘Gin-spirational’ and wanted to open a few eyes in regard to William Chase and his Pink Gin, in this blog I will go over a few researched facts and towards the end I have created a delicious cocktail easy enough to make at home.

Williams’s story

He grew up in Herefordshire and feels very lucky to have been brought up in such a beautiful part of the world. He had been farming potatoes for 20 years, mostly supplying supermarkets as a commodity, which left William feeling detached, without any feedback from the end customer. With the continual price pressure from the supermarkets as well, William realised he had to change direction. ‘I wanted to remain in farming and produce a great tasting product we could all make from potatoes’

Now it’s no surprise that from potato farming to become fully pledged vodka, gin, crisp & wine maker that William knows his stuff, something that resonates with me is the fact he started right at the bottom of the ladder. Farming potatoes for 20 years gave William the knowledge and the working man’s background that gives me all the confidence in the world that he knows his stuff!

Williams Timeline

In 2002 Tyrrell’s crisps had been born, due to supermarkets pressure and William's nature to change direction

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In 2004, William decided to look into producing Vodka

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In 2008, April fools day he harvested his first batch of potatoes for his Vodka and produced his first batch in June 2008

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 In 2010 William used his base spirit (Vodka) and infused it with botanicals producing his first Gin

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As of 2016, the Chase Distillery forms part of the Williams Chase brand. Maison Williams Chase wines are cultivated at the Château Constantin (previously called Château Constantin-Chevalier) in the French Provence region

So as you can see, 'Mr potato' farmer grew an entire empire due to unfortunate bullying from our large supermarkets who are still pushing the boundaries of many a local farmer in 2017. Most notably William has also moved into wine which I will blog about in the very near future as there are some exceptional plonk's readily available in our shop.   

I have created something with our William Chase Pink Grapefruit Gin for you to try at home.

The Clover Club, now this is usually made with regular Gin however I felt the introduction of the Pink Grapefruit gives it an edge.

Ingredients: William Chase Pink Grapefruit Gin 50ml, 6 fresh Raspberries, 30ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 20 ml of 1 to 1 sugar syrup & 20 ml of egg white.

To start place your raspberries into you mixing tin and gently press them with a rolling pin or a muddler, add the remaining ingredients and shake with one cube of ice, this acts as  whisk in your tin and helps to provide a fluffy foam, add a further scoop of ice and shake hard for 3-5 seconds allowing the cocktail to chill to the correct temperature, If the tin has frosted on the outside this is a good indicator that the cocktail is ready. Grab a sieve and pass the mixture through into your desired vessel, a coupe fits this cocktail well as the surface area is large enough to enjoy the fresh scent of the raspberries. Sit back and enjoy!

Cheers, Kevin