Damson No 12

How Is Our Award-Winning Damson No 12 Vodka Made?

Every stage of producing our multi-award-winning Damson No 12 has been considered. Here’s some more information about how our damson tree vodka is made.

Picking Fruit from Our Ancient Orchard Damson Trees

All our damsons are home-grown on our ancient land, dating back to 1086. The historical orchards at Gattertop, based in the Herefordshire Hills, date back to Doomsday times, remaining the source of the fruit and botanical ingredients we infuse with our vodka. That’s why you’ll often see ‘from ancient branches to bottle’ used to describe our brand and products.

Our fertile orchards have a Soil Association certification, thanks to the eco-friendly techniques we use on-site. They are one of the leading bodies in the country for issuing organic and sustainable licences to farming, food and textile industries.

We pick our fruit and botanicals at the optimum time to ensure they’re as fresh and seasonal as possible. Damson tree fruit is best picked around August to September time, which is often earlier than you would pick fruit from a plum tree.

Choosing Premium sugar beet Vodka

We’ve chosen a British premium sugar beet vodka for our Damson No 12 recipe, which has been produced using a spirit produced by the fermentation of ethanol derived from sugar beet. This spirit is perfect for use in our products, free from rye, gluten, wheat and oats. Its clean and crisp character leaves a much smoother vodka than standard spirits.

Using Artisan Methods

Artisan crafted drinks are often produced using traditional hand methods, using natural ingredients in smaller batches. This is certainly true of our products sold, avoiding large-scale manufacturing techniques to produce a delicious, high-quality product every time.

Add Delicious Damsons – From branch to bottle

Damsons often have a slightly more tart flavour than the sweet taste of plum tree fruits, which is why they’re chosen for food and drink products, including spirits, jams and jellies. That’s what makes damson vodka so popular – you’ll see the warm plum notes coming through in the vodka without being too sickly.

We produce our Damson No 12 by steeping the damsons in vodka for at least a year, or 12 months, hence the name of the product. Other drinks brands will usually create their products by steeping large volumes of their spirits for just a few weeks or months, achieving a less than distinct flavour.

We’re proud of the difference in taste our customers can enjoy with our high-quality drinks, noticing the great depth of flavour.

How Damson No 12 Differs from Fruit Liqueurs

Whereas many fruit liqueurs will source artificial flavours to add a specific taste to a spirit liquor, our vodka has been infused with natural ingredients. It means our drinks don’t have that sickly sweet taste you see with another liquor that uses fruit liqueurs to emulate similar flavours.

It’s common for liqueurs to use additives to achieve their taste and add a much higher concentration of sugar to the recipe. This can also give fruit liqueurs a dark colour when compared to infused spirits, which tend to have a natural hue attained from the fruits chosen.

At Gattertop Drinks Co, we’re proud to use natural ingredients grown in our orchards and hedgerows, allowing authentic fruity flavours to come through without creating an artificial taste. Any sugar we add is done discreetly to trigger a beautiful balance between both tart and sweeter notes coming through, giving the vodka as smooth a texture as possible.

Our Damson Tree Name Change

Both our Damson No 12 and Botanic No 7 products are rooted in history and nature thanks to our country setting. Formally known as Damson Tree, we proudly rebranded as Gattertop Drinks Co last year, building off the success of our award-winning product.

As well as our name change, we’ve also reinvested in our roots, committed to safeguarding our beautiful local environment and country landscape. Many of Britain’s orchards have disappeared over the past decades, so we must preserve and protect the land on which we rely on by partnering with The Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.

We’re pursuing multiple commitments to sustainability, with our new bold identity reflecting the cycle of our country orchards, alongside all the natural fruit and botanicals we use from our land. We hope that our authentic ethos shines through on every product bottle, with the damson tree remaining at our heart.

If you’re looking for new and exciting products in the food and drinks industry, why not start your journey with our thought-provoking damson orchard vodka spirits – the award-winning Damson No 12 and Botanic No 7.

How to drink Damson No12

The hallmark of our multi-award-winning damson vodka is the careful creation of its distinctive, delicious flavour. Deep and fruity in flavour Damson No12 can be sipped straight, over ice, paired with your favourite fizz, or enjoyed in a wealth of cocktails.

Use as an alternative to Campari in a Negroni for a lighter finish or as an alternative to Aperol in a spritz. Once it’s open this is not a bottle that sits on the shelf for long..