After leaving his role as a partner at a research and consulting firm in Cape Town, Phil moved home to the UK in 2013 to try his hand at starting his own business.
Hawkridge Distillers, established only two years ago, is nestled in the heart of the North Wessex Downs and is committed to crafting products that look, feel and taste irresistible. Having already scooped some of the industry’s major awards, including one product being named Best London Dry Gin in England at the 2021 World Gin Awards, the team are now looking forward to diversifying the brand even further with the launch of the UK’s first gin membership scheme from a distillery.
We caught up for a gin-wag with the founder and managing director of Hawkridge Distillers to find out more about what life is really like as the leader of a growing business in the midst of 2020.
It basically started as a conversation with some friends of mine – James Gurney and Robin Horrex – which turned out to be the start of something really exciting. They had heard about an investment opportunity in a separate gin business and it got me thinking that it would be something I’d be really keen on getting involved in.
From there it really just took time while we found our feet and learnt more about the industry. We researched a huge number of methods and techniques and built up our contacts in the gin community. We read books, foraged for botanicals and got our distilling qualifications – it was a lot of hard work but learning those new skills and really getting stuck into the detail is what made it so exciting.
Our gin isn’t just about the flavour; we want to make the whole experience of enjoying one of our products as unique as possible. From the look and feel of the bottle to the smell and the mouthfeel of the gin itself – we really want to take the gin connoisseur on a journey. Our gins are created with people, places and great stories at the heart of them. The ingredients we use are authentic to the area and we put a lot of research into making sure that every drink tells a story – basically we want to distil history!
Our award-winning Blowing Stone ‘Ashdown’ series is inspired by the heritage right around our distillery in Compton, West Berkshire. We were inspired by medieval life in the area for the design of the bottles and labels and we used ingredients like crab apple in developing the flavour profiles, transporting the consumer to a different place and time.
As well as creating our own gin lines, we also craft bespoke blends for businesses and individuals too.
We were thrilled to be asked to work with Haines Watts to develop a limited-edition gin to celebrate the firm’s 90th birthday in 2020. We worked with partner Ben Loveday to blend a gin that not only looked and tasted great, but clearly represented the Haines Watts values and heritage. As well as Haines Watts we’ve also created blends for the British Army, Iliffe Media, The Outward Bound Trust and others – everyone has a different story to tell and it’s always a new challenge to bring that out in the flavours we produce.
When we established Hawkridge, we were keen that we built a community around our products. We never wanted it to just be a transactional experience with our customers. With that in mind, we’re the first UK gin distiller to launch a gin membership, Just Gin, which will deliver our gins right to your door. We love the UK gin community and we wanted to create something special for our gin enthusiasts. The pandemic has meant that we have had to diversify and really understand how our customers are enjoying our products. We noticed the popularity of home bars over 2020 and we’ve spent as much creative effort designing our bottles so they add to the aesthetic of the space as we have with the drinks themselves.
I was really disappointed to see some companies profiting from the sale of extraordinarily-priced hand sanitiser. We were just about to go into bottling a new gin, but lockdown put a stop to that, leaving us with time, materials and equipment on our hands which we decided to put to good use to support the fight against Covid-19. We started producing batches of hand sanitiser at a low cost for community groups and organisations and supplied their volunteers and those helping those self-isolating for free.
Hawkridge‘s own gins Use code: HWFRIEND
Having to wear so many different hats and juggle everything from finance to sales and marketing as well as producing the product has certainly been a challenge. Our team at Haines Watts really have been there for us every step of the way, they’ve been a huge help and I really feel like we’re in safe hands with them.
There are so many moving parts to running your own business – everything from logistics, dispatching high volumes of product out to market and generating sales – it can keep you awake at night. Luckily, we have been able to take advantage of a range of the services that Haines Watts offers to help take the pressure off a little. They have of course supported us with more of the traditional accountancy services, but have also been there to bounce ideas off and be a critical friend as the business has grown.
We’re in the process of on boarding our first two members of staff this week, they’ll be bringing expertise in digital marketing and sales into the business that we have never had before. I’m excited to be able to focus on developing and growing the business in 2021.
I would say it’s not for the faint-hearted but the highs are worth it, so go for it! Make sure that you have a support system that you can turn to when things get tough. I’ve been lucky to have made great contacts and friends in the industry who I have been able to turn to for advice and guidance, especially during the pandemic when we struggled with getting our hands on certain materials. Having a team like Haines Watts on hand has also offered a fresh perspective on things when we’ve needed it.