Botanic Garden Spirits - Q&A with Tom Warner
So many of you got in touch wanting to know more about our Botanic Garden Spirits range so we grabbed 5 minutes with our founder Tom Warner to put your questions to him.
Q: Why did you decide to make a non-alcoholic spirit?
Culturally, whenever we celebrate an occasion, it’s usually done with a drink in hand; the weekend has landed, you got the job, you got engaged - lets have a drink together to celebrate! Although alcohol has never been mandatory, it’s usually involved and those not drinking alcohol can sometimes feel like their missing out.
At Warner’s, we’ve always prided ourselves with making all-natural gins, crafted with nature and packed with full of real botanicals grown on our farm. We felt that the non-alcoholic spirit category was crying out for some real authenticity to give options to people who either don’t consume alcohol or are looking to reduce their intake but don’t want to compromise on quality of flavour.
Q: Are Warner’s Botanic Garden Spirits non-alcoholic gins?
No they’re not because legally, a spirit can only be called a gin if it’s ABV is at least 37.5%. Our 0% Pink Berry and Juniper Double Dry are a great alternative for someone looking to abstain from alcohol, to drink less, but better but definitely not a gin.
Q: Why would I drink a 0% spirit when I could just have a cola?
Of course, we’ve all ordered a coke or lime and soda when choosing not to drink alcohol on a night out with friends. Although there are plenty of non-alcoholic ways we can sip away on a night out, our Botanic Garden Spirits range offers a proper grown-up alternative, meaning that everyone can be united in spirit.
Q: But isn’t it just a flavoured water or cordial?
I just want to say that there’s nothing wrong with cordials or flavoured waters if that’s your chosen tipple. Some contain synthetic sweeteners and sugars, a bit like something you may have drunk as a child so just be sure to do your research.
I remember when I was 14, I stood tall and proud sipping on Shloer whilst eating Viennetta at a family get together. Now I prefer olives & a crisp G&T; our tastes change, palates naturally become sophisticated and that’s where our Botanic Garden Spirits range come in.
We created our 0% range with 100% natural botanicals and 90% of the ingredients are from our farm. We harness these farm-grown flavours via four different extraction processes because we believe real tastes better. It’s not quick, it’s not easy and all these processes mean our non-alcoholic liquids are far, far harder to make than our gins but we believe that the ritual is for everyone and we want everyone to participate in what we believe in – created by nature to be enjoyed by everyone.
Q: What makes your 0% range different? Why should I drink yours?
We’re now the UK’s largest independent gin distillery. We’ve got a fantastic team of distillers who are constantly pushing the boundaries to get the best out of our fresh botanicals and farm-grown flavours. We’ve been working on this for nearly 3 years and could have rushed it to market a lot quicker but took the time to perfect what we were doing. Feedback from consumers has been phenomenal but we’re always open to suggestions so drop us a line if you need to know more.
Nature’s non-alcoholic spirit. Created by Warner’s to be enjoyed by everyone.
