Nottingham Post

Lockdown Gin’s now up for a top national award

‘INCREDIBLE FIRST YEAR’ FOR COUPLE’S LOCKDOWN VENTURE

- By LYNETTE PINCHESS lynette.pinchess@reachplc.com @Lynettepin­chess

A COUPLE who turned their love of gin into a business during lockdown are in the running for an award celebratin­g the UK’S best new tipple.

Cheryl Stretton and Rory Thorpe had been “tinkering” with locally foraged botanicals at home in Ruddington but took it a step further when unable to work during the pandemic.

They progressed to obtaining a licence for a five-litre copper still in their kitchen and then opened their own distillery – the Ruddy Fine Distillery – near their home in Ruddington Lane.

Their limited-edition £16-a-bottle Lockdown Gin has been shortliste­d at The Grocer New Product Awards 2021 in the alcoholic drinks category.

It is up against major brands including Opihr’s Gin and Tonic with a twist of orange and 1881’s Tiffin Gin.

Regarded as the number one event of its kind for food and drink, the awards recognise and applaud extraordin­ary innovation in the UK food and drink sector. Previous finalists have included nationwide brands such as Sipsmith’s Gin and Westons Cider.

When Rory’s day job in the events industry took a dip due to the pandemic, they accelerate­d their plans to open the distillery as a going concern.

Mum-of-four Cheryl, who runs a garden design business, said: “Our Lockdown Gin is very special to us and for it to be recognised as a finalist in The Grocer’s New Product Awards for best new alcoholic drink is phenomenal.”

Key ingredient­s include crab and Bramley apples, bay leaves, nettle and raspberry leaves and lavender.

They also produce London Dry Gin and Summer Berries Pink Gin. All the flavours are still meticulous­ly developed in their kitchen at home, before being produced in batches of just 350 bottles at a time.

Cheryl added: “To create it we foraged botanicals not only from the village, but several came from our garden, during the three national lockdowns.

“This blend of ingredient­s has made for a hugely exciting and unusual gin, which has proved really popular and makes a great addition to our existing range of handcrafte­d gins, all made at our Ruddington distillery.”

Created by Ruddington artist, Katie Derry, the bottle’s back label shows a treasure map of the village. An “X” marks the spot where their flavours are developed in their kitchen, which can be seen through the clear centre of the front label.

Rory said: “It’s been an incredible first year for us, selling over 5,000 bottles in under 12 months. We’ve been overwhelme­d with demand for all our gins and the large bottles of Lockdown Gin sold out in less than 30 days.

“We have now got to wait for nature to take its course and ripen up the crab apples before we can start a new batch.”

Following three days of extensive judging, the panel of nine industry experts whittled down the huge number of entries to the elite few that made the 2021 shortlist.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Hilton Bankside in London on Tuesday, November 16.

 ??  ?? Rory Thorpe and Cheryl Stretton drink to the success of their Lockdown Gin News
Rory Thorpe and Cheryl Stretton drink to the success of their Lockdown Gin News

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