Downton Dispatches — Event

Winter is nearly over with Spring beginning to creep around the corner. Daffodils and Snowdrops are burgeoning finally providing colour to what has been a very damp and grey landscape. With this change comes another flurry with the wedding season emerging as concepts and plans are discussed leading to the big day. If you need a starting point Muddy Stilettos have drawn up an excellent article to provide you some direction, as for the gin – we can gladly help you there.

The Lee Valley Velodrome a bastion where athletes from across the globe come to compete. It’s here that feats of human endurance have been made, records have tumbled, and dreams have come true.

Wheels whirl, legs pump, hearts hammer and sweat drips whilst voices yell words of encouragement to teams of cyclists racing around the Velodrome under the gaze of the world’s finest track and road cyclists, all in the spirit of raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). With Dani Rowe, Matt Rowe, Callum Skinner, Mark Cavendish, Jody Cundy, Dean & Russ Downing and Victoria Pendleton all providing their expertise and advice how could any of these riders fail?

How and why did this take place? Every year, GOSH sees more than 5,000 children with serious heart conditions. By supporting the GOSH cardiac research fund, ‘The Velodrome Challenge’ helps scientists find new ways to help little hearts recover, including personalised approaches that are tailored to a level of accuracy that’s never been possible. Using state-of-the art imaging and computer modelling to understand the likely outcome of treatment, treatments of the near future should allow doctors to make the best possible decision for each child.

I was lucky that the only things I suffered as a child were bumps and bruises. Others are not so lucky. A great friend’s daughter has spent most of her childhood (every 4 months) in and out of the GOSH. I cannot imagine the inner turmoil and anguish that a parent goes through when one’s child is diagnosed with a condition that requires the attention of GOSH. This extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support to give seriously ill children the best chance to fulfil their potential.

Having seen first-hand the care and attention that the GOSH staff give to both the child and parent whilst under their care; when approached to see if we would like to help the charity with their fund-raising event at the Velodrome there was no debate. Providing drinks to thirsty riders who in turn raised over £350,000 which went towards the Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation funding the cardiac research at GOSH.

Thank you to all those that took part making it a wonderful day and evening. How apt that it was at this setting that a new record was achieved by the Gordon Ramsay Foundation Trust for GOSH.

A better future for seriously ill children starts here.

The Royal County of Berkshire Show holds a very dear place to my heart. It’s a county show that has both a rich and vibrant history dating back to 1909 originating at Enborne Gate Farm near Wash Common, Newbury.

At the age of seven I was taken to the show by my grandparents for the first time, I will never forget the experience walking around wide eyed dwarfed by cattle and horses whilst eating an ice cream and watching the events unfold in the main ring. It was a day of exploring, learning and celebration seeing the best of the country. We attended every year; it was an enjoyable day with family and friends marking the end of Summer and heralding the arrival of Autumn.

This year rather than being a spectator and enjoying the sights and sounds, I was exhibiting and trading at the show. What a weekend it was, it was over before I knew it.

Thank you to everyone who came onto the stand to meet both Meike, Charlie and myself. To those who were brave enough to discover the delights of the Szechuan pepper and our chilli shots; chapeau. We loved meeting you and listening to your stories and experiences.

We left the show with new friends, acquaintances and reforged old friendships. In our back pocket were several rosettes and a silver cup. These were for the gin and our stand in the food hall; these both surprised and humbled us. If you ever see any of the pictures where we are being awarded the Sponsors Cup and a look of shock on our faces - you now know why.

The show continues to inspire new generations and I can’t wait for next year. 

At the start of the year we shipped a bottle of to China to take part in our first ever competition. It never made it; the package was intercepted by parties unknown and we missed the competition.

The organisers very kindly agreed to submit our bottle into CWSA 2019, and we are delighted to announce we won a gold medal.

This competition is judged by the top 100 wine and spirits buyers who gather in Hong Kong. The judging is conducted by blind tasting all the entries, of which there were over a thousand from 55 countries; that’s a lot of tasting to do!

The reason we participated in this competition is that, whilst not a traditional target market for producers, in recent years the ever-growing demand for imported drinks in both mainland China and Hong Kong has seen the region become one of the world’s top consumers of wine and spirits though wine consumption is still some way behind the thirst for spirits.

Whilst the region is not a traditional target market for producers, both mainland China and Hong Kong have in recent years become one of the world’s top consumers of wine and spirits (including vodka, whisky and brandies). Their gin market is growing, and imports are thought to be worth $24billion by 2021, and this was the reason for us to enter the competition.

It's been a busy six months at Downton Distillery, and we have had the great pleasure in hosting events around the country and internationally! Our events have taken us to Bonhams, Letters Live, Rome, Naples, Milan and IWC Watches and many more! We can create bars and also bring in several of the top barman within London to make your event go with bang using the finest ingredients alongside ‘Explorer’s Gin’ creating drinks especially for you.

We have also partnered with Saddlers Luxury Mobile Bar who were voted one of the top mobile bars in 2018. They can offer a diverse range of drinks, using small batch and local producers allowing them to cater for the most discerning of tastes.

Both Downton and Saddlers have a love for the great outdoors and a passion for exceptional services, ensuring that your event becomes the ultimate affair. If you would like us to host an event for a special occasion, please contact us below using the gold ‘Contact Us’ tab.