Distilling Innovation
Harrogate Tipple create new products with help from a PAPI grant
Harrogate Tipple is a distiller of premium alcoholic beverages, based in North Yorkshire. Their brands (Harrogate Gin, Harrogate Rum) are sold in restaurants, pubs, bars, and supermarkets throughout the UK and through their own shop. They are the only company in the world authorised to use Harrogate spring water in their products.
Following their success in the rum and gin market, Harrogate Tipple looked to expand their product range with a novel and unique spirit.
Drawing on the history of Ripley Castle, where the company are based, they developed a distilled cordial drink; an alcoholic beverage which would be known as a liqueur.
Innovation
The recipe was discovered in the castle’s library and used botanicals from the castle gardens. This new drink would allow them to enter a new market with increasing value and popularity with customers. The new recipe required innovative methods in order to fuse the historical with the contemporary. The company’s master distiller therefore designed a bespoke dual stage copper still which would be able to produce the new drink. In order to retain their USP and competitive edge, the recipe needed to be kept a secret, meaning it needed to be manufactured on site.
Business growth
arrogate Tipple were awarded an £18,030 PAPI grant to support the purchase of the new copper still. The new copper still is unique to Harrogate Tipple; it allows botanicals to be distilled according to the best extraction of flavour meaning that the company can produce unique flavours. The new still led to the creation of 1 initial new product, generating new sales. The project also led to the creation of 1 new job.
Harrogate Tipple have continued research into historic recipes to further build the brand. In 2019, the company won a license from Universal Pictures to produce the ‘Downton Abbey’ range of distilled drinks. These are sold throughout the UK as well as in the USA, Australia and China. They also plan to launch further new products and create more new jobs during 2022.
The PAPI grant allowed us to create an exiting new product which meant we could grow the business faster than expected.