Loveday Gin from Penryn wins Craft Gin Club gin of the month

Loveday was chosen from hundreds of world-class gin producers around the globe to create the Gin of the Month for the UK’s biggest gin subscription club this August.

The exclusive edition, named Glas House Gin, will be sent in a box that celebrates all the flavours of Cornish summer gardens, including a handpicked selection of tonics, cocktail mixers and snacks.

Craft Gin Club is the biggest of its kind in the UK, shipping tens of thousands of bottles each month to gin lovers. In 2016, its founders appeared on TV’s Dragons Den - and four of the dragons wanted to invest!

Craft Gin Club's expert panel taste-tests and assesses hundreds of spirits from all over the world every year to choose just 12 Gins of the Month - so it’s a real achievement for Loveday to be selected.

It’s a happy moment in the journey for Loveday distillery founders and Penryn locals Chloe Gillat and Daisy Hillier - whose venture has Covid lockdown to thank for its existence.

Friends since birth, Chloe and Daisy both originally pursued culinary careers, working both as private chefs and in celebrated eateries. They dreamed of one day starting a food or drink business of their very own, and yet, the time never seemed right. Somehow, their worlds always seemed to be spinning too fast to sit down and sketch out what their joint venture would look like.

That was until it all came to a jarring, and quite unforeseen, stop. Covid hit, and with it furloughs for both Chloe and Daisy. The silver lining? For the first time, the two friends had time to consider what starting a business together would actually look like.

By this point, they had two decades of culinary and design experience between them. Eventually, the concept of a gin distillery emerged.

Chloe said: "The idea for Loveday formed in 2020 over lockdowns, babies, coffees and of course G&Ts, all in our lovely home of Penryn in Cornwall." 

Daisy added: "During that period we had time to think and plan it all out. To be honest, we might never have gone for it otherwise – before lockdown we were so wrapped up in everything else that was happening."

August's gin box contents (Image: Supplied)

In their gardens in Penryn, Chloe and Daisy began to envision what their first-ever gin would taste and look like. As two women going into distilling – an industry that has been traditionally dominated by men – they knew they had an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to spirits.

Once their dreams became a reality, the gin from Loveday began causing quite a stir locally - and beyond.

Chloe said: "We were bowled over by the response, to be honest. It had much more of an impact than we’d dared to hope."

Not only was Loveday quickly growing a fan base right there in Cornwall, but it was also catching the attention of experts. Before long, their first gin had won a Gold Taste of the West Award, a Silver from the IWSC and a Bronze at the World Gin Awards.

There was no doubt about it. What had begun as a side hustle to fill their days in lockdown had turned into something bigger than they had expected, and sign after sign seemed to be telling them, ‘This is what you’re meant to be doing’.

Daisy said: "People’s response propelled us to turn our work on Loveday into full-time jobs. From there on in, we put everything into it and watched as it grew."

Over the last three years, Daisy and Chloe have carefully tended to their dream. Loveday Falmouth Dry Gin has developed a cult following, and they’ve carefully worked on new expressions from their distillery near Falmouth, where they also host regular events.

Chloe added: "The vibe at the distillery is warm, informal and kind of playful. We’re on the outskirts of Falmouth, which is such a vibrant, creative maritime town, and our distillery draws energy from that."

The distillers are excited to launch this latest addition to their range to the Craft Gin Club community. And the name?

Daisy explained: "The name is a play on words. We kept coming back to the image of a glass house, which made us think of the Cornish word for green: ‘glas’. We went for the phrase ‘glas house’ because it pays homage to our Cornish roots, while also reflecting the abundance of green that inspired this gin."

Craft Gin Club’s Graeme McAteer explains why the tasting panel loved this exclusive spirit: "The distillers behind Loveday are on a quest to do things differently, using their experience in the culinary world to create gins with exceptional flavours. Glas House is no exception!

"It’s packed with the flavours of a kitchen garden and offers bright yet complex flavours in every sip. We’re thrilled to be introducing this superb spirit to our community of passionate gin-lovers around the UK this summer!"

"We love this gin and we’re confident our members are going to really enjoy it, too!"