Brand with the local flavour

There’s a new gin on the market - and it’s from Yorkshire. Catherine Scott speaks to Slingby Artisan Gin’s founder, Marcus Black
Some of the herbs grown in the kitchen garden at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate that are used in Slingsby Gin . (GL1007/35f)Some of the herbs grown in the kitchen garden at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate that are used in Slingsby Gin . (GL1007/35f)
Some of the herbs grown in the kitchen garden at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate that are used in Slingsby Gin . (GL1007/35f)

Marcus Black may not have been born a Yorkshireman but he is proud to have lived in the county for more than 30 years.

“I feel very passionate about Yorkshire. My children were born here and I have lived here for 30 years,” says the father of four children who are aged six to 21.

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Marcus is co-founder and managing director of a new drinks company, Spirit of Harrogate, which has just launched a new premium gin on to the market.

Slingsby Artisan Gin in its distinctive blue bottle, is made using 24 botanicals, half of them grown in the kitchen garden at Rudding Park Hotel near Harrogate. Water from Harrogate is also a major part of this premium product.

Launching a new gin on to the market is a far cry from Marcus’s original career.

He qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte before moving in to mergers and acquisitions, travelling extensively working for PWC and Lloyds Development Capital.

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In 2008 he was approached by drinks company, Intercontinental Brands (ICB).

“I’d never worked in the drinks industry but from personal experience it was something I was interested in and it was based in Harrogate and so I decided to give it a go.”

Black admits that there was a lifestyle element to his decision.

“I’d lost my first marriage to the fact of the hours I worked and the travelling I was doing. I decided it was time to settle down,” he says.

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“It is fascinating industry, especially when it come to social trends. Alcohol consumption has fallen for the eighth year in a row.”

It might then sound like a strange time to be launching a new premium gin onto an already saturated market. Not so says Black.

“Habits have changed. People take more care about how they spend there money. Younger people aren’t drinking in the vast quantities they were. Of course there are still the binge drinkers out there but there is a real change. People want what they drink to say something about them, and they want choice.”

And Black is determined that Spirit of Harrogate and Slingsby Gin do just that.

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Two years in the creating, Marcus Black has put his heart and soul into this new project.

As well as the distinctive bottle, Slingsby Gin – named after William Slingsby, who, in 1571, discovered the unique properties of natural spring water from the Tewit Well in Harrogate – has a cork not a bottle top.

“We wanted everything to be premium quality. No expense spared which goes against the accountant in me,” he laughs.

“But for me it is all about the customer experience and we want them to have the best experience.”

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To this end Spirit of Harrogate is opening a store on Montpellier Parade in the town where people can try a range of different gins and mixers before buying.”

As he shows me his vision on his iPad including a living wall to show all the botanicals which have gone into the London Dry Gin, Marcus Black’s passion for this project is clear. He believes they have created a great product and he wants to shout about it, although he is keen to keep it exclusive.

So you may not be seeing Slingsby Artisan Gin on the shelves of your local supermarket any time soon.

n To find out more about Slingsby Gin and stockists see our new look Saturday Magazine this weekend.