From a career change born out of necessity rather than frivolity, David Blick has created something very special at The Warwickshire Gin Company. And while it’s not without its challenges, he’s building a business that’s adaptable and agile in a market that’s being consistently squeezed
After working in logistics for decades on a franchisee basis, a compulsory purchase by the franchisor resulted in a big shift for David. His next steps were uncertain but with a love of history and a recent penchant for gin, a chance meeting with a distiller in Wales set him on a very different path. Collaborating with the Welsh distiller, David initially came up with a gin base he was happy with and from there he started to play around with the extra stuff such as flavour profiles to reflect the history of Warwickshire.
He explains: “All of our drinks are inspired by historical events in Warwickshire. The gin that got us started was the wonderful story of Sam Lockhart and his elephants he had living with him in Leamington. As they were from Sri Lanka we used flavours like cinnamon chilli and ginger in the gin and so our Leamington on Parade Gin was born.” Each gin has its story. For instance, the company’s Pelota Dry Gin was inspired by a Spanish merchant named Juan Augurio Perera, who invented lawn tennis and opened the world’s first Lawn Tennis Club in Leamington in 1873. You get the gist, there’s a local yet global angle.
ROLL OF THE DICE
Initially the Welsh distillery made the gin and David sold it, but then he decided to invest in his own distillery and produce it locally. It’s distilled using a small batch method with a traditional copper pot. David says: “It was a massive roll of the dice – all or nothing really. Then Covid hit and the first thing we made in the distillery was six-and-a-half litres of hand sanitiser! I’ve just paid back my Covid Bounce Back loan but I’m still waiting for the bounce!”
The company now creates eight gins, three rums and a vodka that have all scooped national and international awards, but along the way David realised he couldn’t just rely on product sales to make it work so he pivoted into hospitality, launching gin tasting experiences in the distillery five years ago. The experiences in the distillery consistently fill TripAdvisor’s top spot, making it the number one thing to do in Leamington Spa thanks to five-star reviews from visitors.
Internationally the experiences have earned a Travellers Choice Award which puts the Warwickshire distillery in the top 10 per cent of businesses listed in the world based on reviews. David says: “I’m really chuffed with the TripAdvisor stuff. That’s only happened through strangers coming to us, having a cracking night and taking the time to write about it. We get people from all over the world. We’ve a map in the distillery where we mark all the places people who’ve visited are from. There’s Peru, Canada, India and Cape Verde to name a few.”
ON THE ROAD
This year David has launched five new gins and a new tasting experience. Then there’s the massive mobile bar, Lockhart’s Bar named after Sam Lockhart. The seven-and-a-half metre mobile bar has nine taps and is ideal for events. David wanted it to be more than transactional, so rather than just queuing and getting a drink the bar is designed so that customers step into it.
Selling to trade isn’t something that David wants to get into. He says there’s no money to be made being stocked in supermarkets or pubs. He explains: “I grew up in a pub and it used to be packed. It was right by the gas board and the workers would come in for two or three pints at lunch time then go back to work – bit worrying but still! People aren’t going to pubs in the same way now. It’s expensive. I think the way to go is independent breweries with tap rooms like Attic Brew for instance. I can see how that works but for ordinary pubs competing with Sainsbury’s prices and coping with VAT and PAYE it’s a perfect storm. Cutting VAT on energy won’t make a difference – it’s just shuffling numbers.”
CUSTOM MADE
The company has however branched out into local events and customised products such as a tennis tournament at Edgbaston Priory Club where they supplied 300 bottles for guests. They also supply miniatures to Hotel Indigo for their VIP guests and have worked with Mallory Court among others. Corporate gifting is something that stalled last year due to changes to the Budget but is a potential growth area. David says: “The Budget was pushed back to November last year so businesses stopped planning ahead until they knew where they stood, meaning that Christmas corporate gifting was a non-starter. Hopefully this year that will be better.”
UNSTOPPABLE
Promotion is largely done through social media but the best conversion rate comes from the company’s substantial e-mail list of 7,000 customers. David says: “I’ll send an e-mail out and not long after, you can literally see the money coming in.”
While the economic climate is tough, David’s inventiveness and incredible work ethic – he currently is the business with some ad hoc help from his daughter and mates –means he’s unstoppable. He says: “Gin distilleries have come and gone and if I wasn’t doing the experiences I’d be knackered. The future is to keep going, get the bar out and about more. I’ve got some new gins that I’m really pleased with and some fresh designer branding.”