Stockport Gin receive international awards, business awards nominations and expand their range with the launch of their very own Pink Edition Gin
On 22nd March this year, just 5 months ago, Stockport’s very own Gin was launched by husband and wife team Paul and Cheryl Sharrocks. Little did they know at the time how popular their gin would be or where it would take them.
They launched with their original gin, a citrus forward London Dry Gin which in July, only 4 months after launching, achieved a Bronze Medal Award at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.
Paul says, “We were absolutely delighted with this award. We get lots of feedback from people who have tried our Gin saying how much they love it which obviously means a great deal to us, but to be recognised on an international level by experts in the industry was a real boost and something we are very proud of.”
Not only that but the couple have also been shortlisted in the Most Promising Young Business category for the Stockport Business Awards. The awards night is being held in October at Stockport Town Hall, the very place where Stockport Gin launched back in March, which is when they will find out who the winner of the award will be.
Paul says, “Just to be shortlisted for an award like this after only a short space of time in business means a great deal to us. Similar to the IWSC award, to have all our hard work recognised by business experts makes it all worthwhile. We are shortlisted alongside some equally excellent young businesses who are both also worthy of being on the shortlist, whatever happens on the night we are very proud to be a part of it and celebrate our achievements so far.”
Given the success of the original gin, the couple have gone on to add further sizes to their original gin – 20cl and 5cl bottles, and have also launched two more styles. The first was the Giant Leap Edition Gin, another London Dy Gin using the same botanicals as the original style but made with a twist of lime. This is a limited-edition gin launched in conjunction with Totally Stockport to help promote the Stockport Frogs Art Trail.
Stockport Gin Pink Edition is the third style of gin available from the small batch craft gin company. Stockport Gin Pink Edition is made with natural flavours, it starts with the same base Gin as the London Dry and is then infused with Strawberries, Raspberries and Pomegranate to give it fruitful flavours and a pink shade.
First released for sale at the Cheadle Makers Market on 3rd August, the Pink Edition Gin is already onto its 4th batch due to how popular it has been.
Cheryl says, “We always knew we wanted to launch a Pink Gin but we never imagined it would be this soon and be so popular so quickly! When we met people at our events and market stalls in the months after we first launched, the question we got asked the most was ‘Do you do a Pink Gin’ so we knew we had to perfect the flavours and launch as soon as we could.”
As with the original Stockport Gin, the Pink Edition is available in 3 sizes - 70cl, 20cl and 5cl bottles and along with the original and Giant Leap Edition gins, is available to buy from the Stockport Gin website and located in a number of stockists in and around Stockport and further afield including pubs, bars, restaurants and shops.
However, the couple aren’t stopping there. Cheryl says, “We know how successful and popular our Gins have become in the area, but our ambitions are to take the gin all over the UK and promote the town as much as we can. We already seen sales via our website from all over the UK and we are now partnered with an online retailer who can offer worldwide shipping and are making repeat orders showing that there is a demand for Stockport Gin from all corners of the globe!”
Last week, the couple placed a post on their social media platforms as they now look to partner with a local charity for the next 12 months who they can help promote and support through donations. Paul says, “We receive a number of requests a week for charity donations, all from very worthwhile causes, but unfortunately we aren’t in a position to help them all due to the financial constraints of being still a new small business. In order to give something back to the community though, we came up with the idea to select one local charity to partner with for the next 12 months. This way we can get the maximum benefit from charitable work and maximise the help we can provide back to the community. We have asked the pubic for recommendations for us to consider and select from and so far the response has been incredible!”
The couple plan to announce who their chosen charity will be and their plans to work with them soon and ask for any further recommendations to be sent to them as soon as possible. All they ask is that the charities to be nominated are based and operating in the Stockport area.
Stockport Gin are now stocked in over 50 locations in and around Stockport as well as in both Selfridges Manchester Stores. They are also the official drinks provider for the Stockport County Man of the Match Award and have designed personalised labels to attach to each bottle which display the winning players name.