HAVE YOUR SAY AND BE PART OF THE DISTILLERY
We are currently hosting a competition whereby you can let us know your thoughts on our branding and how we are doing so far. There is a chance to enter a prize draw to win 2 complimentary Distillery tour tickets and a bottle of spirit. Hurry though, the prize draw closes 28 February.
Follow this link: www.surveyhero.com/c/77fcc199
Welcome to our third newsletter and to those who have joined us recently as well as our existing readership, thank you for all your support. You are part of the growing Maidstone Distillery community and we are delighted to have you by our side. With the first signs of Spring in the air there is lots to be positive about.
Our Brand
We are very grateful to all those who have taken part in our survey so far and for the quality of responses. We want to make every effort to get to know you and what you want from this Distillery. Our vision is that through our branding we will represent the community, our heritage, our unique story and the quality of our products. We are delighted to let everyone know that after a lot of searching we have employed the services of Zest, a creative agency in Kent. Zest have a great reputation, they have thrown themselves into our ideas and we have no doubt will help take our branding to the next level.
Our Spirits
Our initial spirit development has got us very excited. It has always been an intention of the Distillery to make a range of spirits, and certainly for our main ones they will each have a unique and inspiring story, together with their own unique label design. Our first spirits will include two distinct gins and a vodka. The first gin will have very strong links to our heritage, it will be a London Dry recipe and represents the quintessence of the category. Nothing apart from water can be added after the distillation ensuring a carefully crafted spirit. Expect a classic mix of botanicals used as far back as the 18th Century and bottled at the strength of George Bishop’s original Maidstone Gin, all this but with a modern twist. This Gin will be bold and delightful in flavour, fantastic in cocktails as well as the well loved G&T. The other gin and vodka are totally different, but just as exciting, more to follow soon.
Our Premises
What’s new? Unfortunately we cannot release any more information about our intended premises as our planning consultation is still taking place with the Local Authority. What we are trying to do is quite ambitious but not un-realistic and we have to make sure we can do all the things we have planned with the correct approvals. We are now not expecting this consultation to have concluded until April. We have however met with several different interior designers and space planners. All of them have very exciting and passionate ideas about how we can make the most of our space. Although it is modest in size we do not want to compromise on our vision, and we are determined to create a talking point and an immersive visitor experience.
We have also been in discussions with the HMRC with regard to our licenses, in effect they are more than happy with our business plan and now need to inspect the premises with the spirit still in situ. After a recent conversation with our local inspector we have learnt this is the final hurdle and whilst still an important one, the application is being supported positively, which is great news.
Founding Member’s Club
Our Founding Member’s Club is shaping up really well, we are working hard finalising its content and the T&Cs, so thanks for your patience. We will update you in due course, but it is most likely to be released when we have our premises confirmed. Rest assured it will be worth the wait and we will work hard to make sure no one misses out. For those of you who have just joined there is more information in our January newsletter.
More ways to get involved
One of the very special benefits of belonging to our Founding Member’s Club is that you will get early bird access and discounts to the many exciting and varied events we will be offering. From joining our tasting panels, to our opening night, from joining in with our bottling line, to our spirit releases, our Founding Members will have special access and benefits.
Our story and social media
It’s our best intention to keep you up to date and interested via our social media, but our newsletter is the best way to stay informed. Remember you can check out previous issues of our newsletter on our Website blog. For those of you who are as fascinated as we are by our distilling history we have put together a special article which we hope will appear in a popular local paper soon. It is our aim to be curators of this special legacy and to make sure it is available for all to share.
Thanks once again for coming along on our journey. Please help spread the word of Maidstone Distillery and feel free to contact us at any time.
Maidstone Distillery
There’s Pride In Our Spirit.