Chalgrove Artisan Distillery’s award-winning gin is flying off the shelves, but if you haven’t put your order in yet don’t panic, because we have some to give away in our fantastic competition – guaranteed to lift your spirits during these testing times!
The luxury, artisan distillery’s multi award-winning gin, made in the heart of Oxfordshire, all started off in a garden shed in South Oxfordshire.
To enter the competition all you have to do is follow us, tag us, like, and share the relevant gin posts on social media
And yet, last year the flagship OX44 gin won gold and silver at The London Spirits Competition, and is now joined by OX2 Pink Gin and OX1 Gin.
And while this is a challenging time for many companies, for Chalgrove Artisan Distillery the future looks bright.
Because Bob and Jenny Clark and their son Ben, have just secured new premises to relocate the distillery from their back garden in Chalgrove, where this successful business began just two years ago.
As orders come in thick and fast, Bob told us they are excited about their future: “Although these are testing times, they are exciting times for us. Having found our new premises in Chalgrove, we will be launching our new Gin Kiosk there to sell and promote local produce, as we are keen fans of supporting small and local businesses.”
“It is the adrenalin and the passion for our products that drives us to succeed.”
Other plans include tours of the new distillery for gin enthusiasts to learn about the processes involved in creating award winning gins.
Bob and Ben are teachers by trade, so keen to explore the possibilities of setting up one of Oxfordshire’s first gin schools for people to attend and create their very own Oxfordshire Gin.
They discovered very quickly that Jenny, the gin creator, has quite a talent for creating great gin recipes
Bob added “We are constantly thinking outside the box in terms of how to continue our brand development and drive sales – which is certainly challenging at the best of times. However this is what we thrive on. It is the adrenalin and the passion for our products that drives us to succeed.”
Master distiller Bob has been making wine and brewing beer for about 40 years. When his wife, Jenny was made redundant a few years ago she wanted to explore something very different, and as passionate gin fans decided to create a great gin. In January 2018 they started trading.
They discovered very quickly that Jenny, the gin creator, has quite a talent and decided to enter their OX44 Gin into the London Spirits Competition, last spring. They won Best Gin in the UK, and second Best Gin in the World, being pipped at the post by a South African distillery by one point.
Bob added: “There were around 700 entrants from 50 countries there, so winning was an incredible feat. What made this even sweeter was that it was our first year of trading, so to receive such positive feedback was overwhelming.”
The team then decided to venture further afield and entered the US Spirits Rating, winning a silver medal overall – the “taste” of their gin being awarded a 95/100 – one of the highest in the competition.
A global retailer then approached the team and both Bob and Jenny recently visited NYC to discuss potential collaborations.
They have recently launched their newest addition to their range OX3 Gin, distilled using their traditional processes and focal botanics of apples, figs and cloves.
Recently Bob, Jenny and Ben also purchased a new, larger still which will be called ‘Betsy’ after their granddaughter, to help increase capacity for the increasing demand.
But while it all looks very rosy, what is the future for small businesses like CAD? Bob told us: “We are fortunate that we are not reliant on this as a living. Both myself and Jenny, along with our children who support us in this venture, have day jobs. This puts us in a stronger position than other distilleries out there. We are confident that ours will be one of the lucky ones to come out the other side. We also believe that if you have a quality product it will stand the test of time, and we are confident in our range of OX Gins.”
If you haven’t had the chance to experience the taste of CAD gin yet, do not despair. We have two sets of miniature gin collections to give away in our fantastic competition. To enter all you have to do is follow us, tag us, like and share on social media. We will choose the two lucky winners at random. The closing date for entries is Friday April 10 at midnight. The publisher’s decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into. There is no cash alternative. You must be 18 to enter. Full terms and conditions can be found at http://551.326.mywebsitetransfer.com/ox-in-a-box-competition-terms-and-conditions/
In the meantime, to order any CAD gin go to: www.chalgroveartisandistillery.com
