Tarquin’s Gin maker enters vodka sector

Cornwall-based Southwestern Distillery, the creator of Tarquin’s Gin, has moved into vodka with the release of Connie Glaze.

Southwestern Distillery, which also produces Twin Fin Rum, has created the vodka by distilling 100% British wheat. Connie Glaze vodka was slowly filtered through purified, golden sand sourced from the wild Cornish coast. Master distiller Tarquin Leadbetter, who founded the Padstow-based distillery in 2012, said: “I’ve always loved the balance of art and science in distilling, which makes anything possible. “Our unique and experimental vodka combines ancient techniques for water purification with modern distilling to create an extraordinarily smooth, world-class and mixable vodka.” The brand was named after the golden sand beaches of Constantine Bay and the blue water of the Atlantic Ocean. Connie is short for Constantine and glaze means ‘blue’ in Cornish. The distillery is donating 1% of all sales of Connie Glaze vodka to Beach Guardian CIC to support its work cleaning Constantine Bay and the Cornish coast. Leadbetter added: “Through the hard work and dedication of Emily and Rob [Stevenson] from Beach Guardians, the sand used to filter our vodka is kept clean. It seems only right that we support them in return to protect our local beaches and give back to the very place that inspired us to create Connie Glaze.” Furthermore, the brand has committed to sustainability by making the vodka available in refillable bag-in-box packs. The distillery recommends serving the vodka in a Spritz with Fever-Tree Lime Soda Water and garnished with lime wedges and fresh rosemary sprigs. A 700ml bottle of Connie Glaze is priced from £30 (US$37) in the UK from The Whisky Exchange and Amazon. In July last year, Southwestern Distillery expanded its Twin Fin range with the release of a coffee-flavoured rum. Tarquin’s Gin entered the US in 2022 and expanded its presence in Europe.