There are many reasons why supporting local is important in any given year, but, this year, it’s vital for the survival of our beloved village and town high streets, which have had to weather the full force of Covid restrictions. Local economy aside, there’s something rather magical about buying from a smaller independent retailer who can offer you something ‘off of the beaten track.’ Many families will be having a very different time this Christmas and for those who will be separated from their nearest and dearest, sending them a gift that is local through and through not only shows thought, but is a way to impart a little bit of ‘you’ and your county to them.
So, with that in mind, I thought it a good time to remind those looking for an alcoholic gift (even if it is to yourself) that we make our own successful products at Vineyards: Sherborne ‘G’ Gin, Baked Apple Sherborne Gin, ‘The Bean Shot’ Espresso spirit, and an Amaretto. Our journey into distilling began in 2018, when we hired the mobile still ‘Ginny’ from the awesome people at ‘Still on the Move’.
What we didn’t know at the time was how well our choice of botanicals were going to go down with the gin-loving community of Dorset! Let’s just say that quite a few of us felt ‘ginspired’. We were lucky enough to get praise from Taste Award judges who claimed it was ‘Gin as it should be’ and placed us 1st in a local Dorset Gin tasting against some of the big boys.
Fast forward a couple of years and we are absolutely delighted to have ‘G’, Sherborne’s first gin, as a permanent product on Vineyards’ shelves. The journey of making this happen was exciting and full of local support. Let’s just say the folk of Sherborne know how to get ‘into the spirit’!
We have to give a HUGE thank you to Bob and Vicky from Liberty Fields who have helped us to get our gin on our shelves. As much as we would love to have a copper still permanently out the front of Vineyards, we are not sure that we could get away with making the town smell of juniper 24/7 (Hogarth springs to mind here!) So, Liberty Fields have really helped us out here and we are chuffed for a local Dorset company to be on board with bringing our Gin baby to market. We’ve also used Wyke Print for the printing of our labels designed by local illustrator Matt Murphy and Richard Budd Photography to capture the fun, so it really is a Dorset affair!
The Baked Apple variation on our flagship original gin followed shortly after and is great at this time of year as an alternative to Sloe Gin, or in a Winter Negroni. Most recently, we have collaborated with Bean Shot Coffee in Sherborne and now have our very own espresso spirit made only with natural sugars making it lower in sugar than most mainstream slimline tonics. Finally, a collaboration with E18hteen Distillery in North Petherton means we have a mighty fine Amaretto which is natural in colour and made using almonds, not apricot kernels like most on the market.
Any of our products would be perfect to ‘celebrate home’ this year. Get in contact to hear the full low down on each product, it’s one of our favourite things to talk about. We delivery nationally too.
Take care, stay safe this Christmas and keep it local.