OUR Nantwich Gin Journey
Cheshire Botanicals Site | Spring 2018
We are Cheshire Botanicals, a family run craft spirits business based in Nantwich, CW5. This is the story behind our business and the creation of Nantwich Gin.
Our story began back in the mid-2010s when the U.K. reached its "gin boom" era. Craft gins and distilleries were launching across the country and we noticed that Nantwich was lacking its very own gin.
Fast forward to 2020 and the Covid-19 lockdowns presented us with a 'now or never' moment. Founding Director Holly hid herself away in the agricultural shed-become-distillery at the end of the garden. Over six months later and we agreed on the final recipe for our London dry Nantwich Gin.
We are a family run business of three, with strong links to Nantwich town. Dr Paul (born and bred 'Dabber') is a horticultural consultant, with extensive experience in vertical farming and hydroponics - so when it comes to botanical advice, we're in good hands! Deb is a full-time Matron in the NHS, specialising in cancer services. Holly's background is in photography and writing, aiding all of the in-house marketing and product creation.
We are based in Broomhall in the Nantwich countryside, on a once-working farm. Our little distillery backs out onto fields where we can harvest rose hips in the late summer for our gins. The site is full of wildlife - all-sorts of birds nest around the site: from barn owls, lapwings and buzzards to blue tits, wrens and swallows. We are also very privileged to have spotted hares, hedgehogs and foxes living locally!
Registered Nantwich Distillery | 2020
Team Nantwich Gin | Summer 2022
Our Wonderful Louis | 2022
We are also joined by our "distillery cats", who are rescues from RSPCA Stapeley Grange. We had the lovely Louis (photographed, sadly no longer with us) who liked to photo-bomb all of our product shoots. We also have Thor, and more recently, the botanically-inspired Bramley and Pepper. Our cats feature on our labels - have you spotted them all?
We are inspired by our wonderful hometown and driven by the strong community. Our goal is to produce meaningful, creative and delicious gins that encapsulate the true spirit of Nantwich town. Each of our products nods to a story from local history - from 1545 Nantwich-born botanist John Gerard to 1733 Sweet Briar Hall resident Joseph Priestley's discovery of oxygen and the carbonation process. It's the lesser-known stories we love to delve into. (Please have a look at our 'Nantwich Stories' section here on our site!) We hope to keep re-telling these stories through our products and content online.
Nantwich Gin at The Cheshire Cat, 2021
The Nantwich Gin Range | 2023
The label for Nantwich Gin was originally designed by Stoke-on-Trent artist Jiri Borsky. Taking inspiration from the town, Jiri created a fusion of Nantwich's famous black and white Tudor architecture. The fantastic local Chris Hopson from Paper Anchor Designs then digitalised the image and finalised the label that many know and love.
Our range of gins share the same base label, yet each tells a different story. We 'sweat the small stuff' and ensure there are subtle details within each label that represent key parts of Nantwich history.
Although Nantwich Gin was born here, our initial Crowdfunder rewards produced on our iStill and Dabber's Gin being aged here on-site in CW5, we have not yet reached our goal of expanding our site and equipment to accommodate for all production. Until we reach the next stage of our journey, we will continue to work in partnership with Paper Mill, who are based well within 30 miles of our site. The fantastic team there helps us with upscaled distillations and bottling. By working with another small business, we support them and they can continue to facilitate other brands and start-ups. It's small business symbiosis at its best - we are small, but mighty together! (Read more about our set up here and our post about the #ActuallyMadeIn campaign here).
The Team at The Cheshire Show 2023
Nantwich Artisan Market | 2024
We are exceptionally proud to be producing the Nantwich Gin range in honour of our town, and we would not be here without the support of our fantastic customers, stockists, friends and family. Thank you to all who have supported us so far, from our very first Crowdfunding campaign to today. We are excited to continue trading online, at events such as The Cheshire and Nantwich Shows, food festivals and lots of local markets. We can't wait to see you at the next event!
Please follow our social media pages on: @NantwichGin and @CheshireBotanicals for news and updates as we grow. Cheers!