The sun shone on Stourbridge (try saying that quickly after sampling the evening’s offerings)
We welcomed James Chase from Chase distillery to conduct the evening’s tasting.
Like N&P, Chase Distillery is an independent, 4th generation, family run business, so we were keen to share experiences.

Based less than 40 miles away, in Herefordshire, they have been creating fine spirits since 2008 from the produce grown on their farm, having extended activities from potato production. They use a bespoke, handcrafted copper batch pot ; every bottle is filled and sealed by hand. They grow King Edward and Lady Claire potatoes for the distillery, as well as cider apples for their Naked Chase Apple Vodka and Williams Gin. (Gin is made from Vodka by adding “botanicals”)

This evening we sampled the delights of:

•Chase Vodka
It takes around 7 kg of spuds to produce one bottle of vodka; the result is creamy smooth, with a slightly sweet note.

Chase Vodka was awarded the WORLD’S Best Vodka with a Double Gold Medal in THE most respected spirits awards, in San Francisco, which is a huge accolade for Chase.
The English potato vodka was voted top out of 115 vodkas worldwide, which included larger mass produced companies from Russia, Poland, Scandinavia and the USA.
Little surprise that they’ve recently agreed a distribution deal in Russia…

•Naked Chase Vodka

Its name reflects the organic apples used and the artisan methods undertaken to produce it.

This is produced from cider apples, and results in a crisp, clean, apple-fresh finish.

As with Chase’s other vodkas, it is incredibly pure, and will taste delicious both neat over ice and with other fine ingredients to create a cocktail.

Perfect for vodka lovers who want to try something a little different…

No added flavours!

•Elegant Gin was our next tipple  –

It’s produced from Naked Chase vodka and then adding botanicals:
juniper, coriander, angelica, liquorice, orrice, orange, lemon, hops, elderflower and Bramley apple.

The result is a full-bodied gin with a distictive, fruity bite to it.

Top tip, try with a slice of apple.

•Extra Dry Gin reveals a drier spirit, with a slightly spicy finish – a result of the addition of these botanicals which include: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almond, coriander, cardamom, cloves, liquorice and lemon.

On the nose; dry juniper with zesty citrus with some warm, spicy notes. Juniper, dark chocolate and citrus zest upfront on the palate, followed by notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

Try with a cinnamon stick or slice of root ginger in your glass.

•Marmalade Vodka

Originally introduced as a limited edition, the marmalade vodka proved to be so popular that Chase decided to make it a permanent fixture.
Created by combining their award winning vodka with high quality Seville marmalade, it’s infused with orange peel and has a beautiful citrus bitter-sweet flavour.
This evening, we tried pairing it with dark chocolate.

Just need a bit more vodka to finish the chocolate.
Ah, need a bit more chocolate to finish the vodka…

Great with ice and tonic, or equally so neat.

Awarded gold at the San Francisco World Spirits competition

•Rhubarb Vodka

To create their rhubarb vodka, Chase combine their award winning vodka with Herefordshire rhubarb which is left to infuse.

The spirit is finished off with softened rhubarb resulting in the distinctive, elegant pink glow.
This is a slightly sweet vodka that will make splendid cocktails.

 

We concluded the spirits tasting with the family’s English Oak Smoked Vodka.

This vodka is created by taking their award winning vodka and allowing it to smoke for seven days, using English Oak.
The resulting spirit has a distinctive flavour that tastes great on its own over ice, presenting an effortlessly silky finish.  Or can be combined with a range of other ingredients to make an intriguing cocktail.  Smoked salmon or smoked cheese were found to make a great combination for this unusual drink.

Voted best potato vodka in a taste-test by Harper’s Wine & Spirit magazine.

We were highly impressed by James and his company’s fabulous spirits – they really do care about producing top quality gin and vodka – you really can tell the difference – the fact that the main ingredients are produced on their own farm provides the quality control and provenance that results in such consistently impressive products.

So it was with keen anticipation that we awaited our final taste of the evening -Celebrating Williams Chase first year in Provence, their first release of their new rosé wine:
This captures perfectly the best of Provencal rosé wines with aromas of white peach, strawberry, pineapple, grapefruit, combined with subtle hints of spices, and with good length.  The obvious matches for this type of wine are shellfish or regional favourites, such as Salade Niçoise.   Don’t be afraid to try it with lamb if you like the meat pink.All in all a great evening – we look forward to welcoming James and colleagues back to our cellars before too long!