Halewood Opens New Vodka Distillery in Russia
Halewood Artisanal Spirits has opened a new vodka distillery in St Petersburg, Russia as the business continues to strengthen its premium artisanal spirits range. The UK-based company has invested £5 million in its new J.J. Whitley Russia Distillery in order to further enhance the provenance and quality of its J.J. Whitley Vodka portfolio. The range will now be produced and bottled at the distillery and distributed to major international markets around the world, including the UK and Russia.
Stewart Hainsworth, Group CEO of Halewood Artisanal Spirits, comments: “Opening the distillery in St. Petersburg marks a big step forward for our artisanal spirits offering. It enables us to offer truly authentic vodka which is distilled in one of Russia’s most historic cities, using superlative quality Russian grain and water. J.J Whitley is now perfectly placed to provide supermarkets, convenience stores and the on trade with a premium vodka range that meets this demand for both quality and value.”
The new distillery draws on water from local 160m deep artesian wells, where layers of Cambrian clay have naturally protected the water from impurities for many centuries. The water then passes through four stages of filtration at the distillery to achieve the optimal balance for distilling premium Russian vodka.
The J.J. Whitley Russia Distillery takes Halewood’s total number of distilleries around the globe to 13. It will be the first British owned vodka distillery in Russia, and will enable the business to draw upon its extensive management experience within the Russian market.
The new J.J Whitley Artisanal Russian Vodka has just been awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s International Wines & Spirits Competition, where it was given a score of 95 out of 100 – demonstrating the quality of the new Russian made liquid.
In addition to J.J Whitley Artisanal Russian Vodka (38% ABV RSP £16), the range includes flavoured vodkas at 38% ABV (including, Vanilla, Raspberry, Watermelon & Lime and Blood Orange), and a Toffee Flavoured vodka Liqueur (28% ABV). The new site will also distil the company’s Red Square Vodka brand (38% ABV).
