Big groups may ‘dilute meaning’ of single estate

Single estate spirits challenge the “cheap marketing stories” of large distillers, but the category is at risk of appropriation by multinational groups, two leading independent distillers have claimed.

The founders of Vestal Vodka and Chase Spirits have warned large distillers may appropriate the single estate spirits category

Speaking to The Spirits Business, William Chase, founder of Chase Spirits, touted as the UK’s first “farm-to-bottle” distillery, accused large drinks firms of perpetuating “marketing riddles” in order to capitalise on the growing demand for craft products.

“Members of the trade, and now more often consumers, are increasingly interested in where spirits come from,” he said. “You would never dream of buying a bottle of wine for more than £30 without knowing the vineyard.

“But spirits, particularly gin, are tied up in marketing riddles and twee stories dreamed up by London marketing houses.”

Chase added that the authentic production of his range of single estate spirits, produced on a farm in Herefordshire, UK, sets his company apart from the competition.

Interest in single estate spirits has been growing in recent years as a result of the craft trend and consumer desire for small-batch products that demonstrate locality.

While there is no official industry definition for single estate spirits, it is widely thought that such products are created using ingredients sourced from one area of land owned by a single company, and is also where the distillery is based.

However, this lack of industry definition, similar to the wider “craft” sector, has caused concern among some smaller distillers who believe the sector could be unfairly adopted by large distillers.

“They could very well call them single estate, but I would hope people buying the spirit would see through this,” Chase added.

His thoughts are echoed by Will Borrell, founder of Vestal Vodka, a Polish potato vodka brand bottled by vintage which is described as “single village” due to the close proximity of its production processes.

“The danger with single estate, craft and handmade products is when the big four distillers start to use this language; it dilutes the true meaning of these words,” he said.

Earlier this week, Pernod Ricard’s new CEO Alexandre Ricard said the group was looking “very closely” at acquiring a craft spirits brand, but said industry leaders must decide what the term means.

For a more in-depth look at the single estate spirits category, see the February 2015 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.