“/>
The crystal crust bottle commissioned by Brentingby Gin to raise money for charity. EMN-210316-131813001
Brentingby Gin – the county’s first gin company when it was founded two and a half years ago – created the luxury bottle to raise funds for the local Matt Hampson Foundation and NHS Charities Together.
It’s filled with the company’s popular Brentingby London Dry Gin, made in the small distillery in the village from which its name is derived.
The bid started last Thursday at an online auction and the winning offer was received yesterday evening (Monday).
“/> Bruce Midgley with a bottle of gin made in his Brentingby Gin Distillery near Melton EMN-210316-101003001
“/> Bruce Midgley with a bottle of gin made in his Brentingby Gin Distillery near Melton EMN-210316-101003001
Founder Bruce Midgely told the Melton Times, “We never knew what it would bring because gin isn’t quite like whiskey, but we were very happy with the amount.
“I mean, 1,275 pounds is probably above what we expected.
“It really is a stunning bottle, and maybe next time we’ll try to make a diamond-studded bottle.”
The 700ml bottle was made elsewhere before briefly arriving at the distillery before the auction.
“When it arrived we had to handle it with gloves because it contained between 5 and 6,000 Swarovski crystals. Then we filled and sealed it and sent it off immediately,” said Bruce.
The company has already made gins to raise funds for Matt Hampson’s foundation, the Burrough-on-the-Hill-based organization that supports people with life-changing sports injuries.
Bruce, who played with Matt at Leicester Tigers Academy before his catastrophic injury that left him paralyzed, plans to run the London Marathon for his cause in October.
It’s a big year for Brentingby Gin as the company will move to a unit at Melton Livestock Market in June, where they will hopefully also become the first whiskey producer in the Midlands.
They’ll be joining Round Corner Brewing on the premises, with plans to create a wider food and beverage hub to celebrate and cement the region’s reputation as the rural manufacturing capital.
Meanwhile, the company, which exports to 12 countries, is hoping that the end of the lockdown will boost home ownership again
Bruce, who specialized in making hand sanitizer to stay afloat during the pandemic, said, “It’s very difficult right now as there is no hospitality open due to the coronavirus and we wanted to be at the new distillery last November .
“We lost a lot of our trading, so everything came to a standstill.
“We had to try to survive on a third of what we’d done.
“I’m not the only person struggling, we’ve brought a lot through our gin schools and tastings, but with people who couldn’t travel it was the end.”