Gin family go closer to home for ‘world’s most beautiful bottle’
A FAMILY which makes gin using ingredients from Macclesfield Forest has teamed up with a historic pottery company to create their new bottle.
Karl and Lindsay Bond, with the help of daughter Hattie, make Forest Gin from their premises in Langley using ingredients from the woodland nearby.
They have seen success selling the gin in specially designed German Stoneware bottles through the likes of Harvey Nichols, The Conran Shop and Virgin Trains.
The stoneware bottle proved to be a great success and has become a bit of a collector’s item but the family always intended to use locally sourced materials where possible.
So when the opportunity to work with Wade Ceramics pottery company in Stoke-onTrent came about, they jumped at the chance. They have teamed up to produce the new bottle.
Karl says it’s part of the family wanting to support traditional makers and use producers near to them.
He said: “The new bottle is a collaboration with the famous Stokeon-Trent potter to produce the only commercially available English porcelain gin bottle.
“Much of the process is done by hand within Wade’s factory in Stoke-on-Trent, right down to the application of the amazing papercut weasel design by the artist Suzy Taylor.
“We have always been very proud of the original bottle, but the chance to change to Staffordshire porcelain was just too good to miss.
“Everyone at Wade has been so helpful with the process, and to see the finished product is amazing.
“We truly believe that this is the world’s most beautiful gin bottle and just hope that our customers agree with us.”
The new bottle is a bespoke design and a unique shape, something that Karl describes as a ‘rounded octagon’.
Lindsay Bond said: “Wade were set up as a small business back in 1810, providing bottles for the breweries of the time.
“For us to connect our family business with theirs feels really special, and it would be amazing if Forest Gin was still being produced in 100 years time.”
Forest Gin is still made by Karl and Lindsay in tiny batches of around 80 bottles at a time with each one of the new bottles having the batch number written on by hand.