Wednesday May 29, 2013

Gin and Vodka made from Jersey Royals

Following three years of planning and product development La Mare Wine Estate are now ready to test launch its latest products – vodka and gin made from Jersey Royal Potatoes under a new company called The Jersey Royal Vodka Company Limited.

From next month the spirits will go on sale in Jersey and will also be ‘test marketed’ in the UK over the coming months. If this final stage of the trial is successful, the company plans to invest over £1.5 million with a view to launching the new drinks internationally, paving the way for the creation of a significant export market.

With the £1.5 million investment, The Jersey Royal Vodka Company will create a state of the art distilling centre within the current facility at La Mare capable of producing a premium product in quantities of up to 100,000 bottles per year initially and sold throughout the UK and internationally.

The first full size trial batch was produced in 2011 and after an extensive product development and quality assessment period the products are now finally ready to go on sale. Once up and running on a continuous production basis, La Mare expects the new products to help increase awareness of the Jersey Royal brand as well as the island in general. The production will also go some way to reducing wastage in the Jersey Royal crop by making use of oversized potatoes that currently go to waste.

“This is an extremely exciting development for us and a wonderful opportunity for Jersey to increase awareness of the Jersey Royal brand,” said Tim Crowley, Managing Director of The Jersey Royal Vodka Company & La Mare Wine Estate. “The support from our shareholders in this substantial investment is testament to their confidence in the quality of the Jersey vodka and gin, which are being produced to a superb standard, enabling them to be sold globally as premium Jersey products.”