Midlands vodka producer Chase Distillery has agreed a deal with Virgin Atlantic to sell its spirits to First Class passengers.
Chase Vodka, the world’s only pure potato-based vodka, will be available in the airlines Upper Class lounges at their Heathrow and Gatwick Clubhouses.
Herefordshire-based Chase was voted the world’s finest vodka at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating 249 rivals from around the world, including the output of the finest Russian and Polish distilleries.
The Birmingham Post reported last month how the award win had helped boost the firm’s turnover, which is expected to grow from £1.5 million to £4 million in the next financial year.
George Shropshire, sales director of Chase Vodka, said: “Potato vodka has a natural sweetness and a depth of flavour that just isn’t present in grain based spirits.
“We are positive that our vodka will prove popular in the Upper Class lounges of Virgin airlines.”
Chase Vodka is the creation of Herefordshire potato entrepreneur William Chase who virtually created the hand-cooked, premium potato crisp market in 2002 when he produced Tyrrells Crisps.
He sold Tyrrells to a private equity company in 2008 for £40 million and promptly ‘chipped’ in with £3 million of distilling equipment to turn his potatoes into vodka.
Chase Vodka only produces 1,000 bottles a week - a mere drop in the global ocean that is the world’s appetite for vodka. The United States has become their largest growth market and they have recently recruited the services of Pelican Brands to market their product in the US.
