James Chase is the fifth generation farmer on the Herefordshire Chase potato farm, now famous for Tyrrells crisps and Chase Distillery vodka, gin and liqueurs.
His father William launched Tyrrells in 2002 after suffering bankruptcy in the 1990s. Chase Distillery followed a few years later in response to the problem of what to do with the small potatoes.
The family farm is based in Herefordshire, a region that boasts some of the richest farmland in the world. It’s here that the family grows King Edward and Lady Claire potatoes for the distillery, as well as cider apples for the Naked Chase Apple Vodka and Williams Gin. From planting the potatoes to distilling them into super-premium spirits it all takes place on their family farm, meaning that all Chase spirits are single-estate products.
Chase Distillery came about after a research mission to New York to look at deep fryers. They came across a man making ‘moonshine’ and were inspired into researching potato vodka. In 2008, the family built one of the UK’s first start-up distilleries in 300 years. At that point, there were only about seven distilleries producing most of the gins and the vodkas on the market. Tyrrell’s vodka was born and was rebranded to Chase vodka in 2009.
Follow James at:
Website : Chase Distillery
