Chilgrove Vodka England 70 cl 40%

Chilgrove is a sleepy hamlet in West Sussex at the foot of the South Downs, woodland all around and chalk beneath the ground. Nobody ends up there by accident. But the name sits on a bottle that did something no other English vodka had done before it.

Expert description

Chilgrove Vodka is an English Vodka from Chilgrove Spirits in West Sussex, distilled from grapes and bottled at 40%.

Grapes instead of grain is the whole explanation for why it tastes different. Neutral spirit made from grapes carries a fresh, lightly sweet fruit character, where wheat gives biscuit and rye gives pepper. When the bottle arrived in 2015 it was the first neutral vodka in Britain distilled using grape alcohol.

The water is chosen just as deliberately. It is natural mineral water filtered through the chalk the whole area rests on, and that chalk gives a dry, mineral undercurrent pulling against the sweetness of the grape. That tension is what the bottle lives on.

The house is small and production runs in small batches. Behind it stand Christopher and Celia Beaumont-Hutchings, who first made Chilgrove Dry Gin on the same grape base and then carried that base over into a vodka. It is one idea in two bottles.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and lightly fruity. Grapes and a touch of fennel, with a dry chalky tone behind.

Palate

Crisp and smooth. Fruit sweetness comes first, then dark cherry and a suggestion of cocoa, and finally white pepper.

Finish

Medium and mineral. The fruit withdraws and the chalk hangs on as a dry sensation.

Specifications

Name: Chilgrove Vodka
Producer: Chilgrove Spirits
Region/Country: West Sussex, England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from grapes in small batches, reduced with mineral water filtered through chalk
EAN no.: 5060383352412
Serving suggestion: Ice cold and neat in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the grape fruit gets room.

Flavour profile

Grape fruit · Mineral · Smooth · Dry

Did you know?

The house gin was the first English gin distilled from grape alcohol, and the choice had a historical argument behind it. Dutch jenever, which English gin descends from, was originally made from wine spirit, and it took a wine shortage in Holland to push producers towards grain.

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Frequently asked questions about Chilgrove Vodka

What does it mean that it is made from grapes?

That the base spirit is distilled from wine rather than grain or potatoes. It gives a fresher, lightly sweet fruit character and a smoother texture, where grain vodka typically tastes of biscuit or pepper. No fruit flavouring is added.

Does it taste of wine?

No, not like wine. Distillation removes acid, tannin and cask influence, and what remains is a light fruit sweetness reminiscent of fresh grapes. You have to know the fact to name it, but the character is clear enough.

What does the chalk in the water do?

It dries the vodka out. The mineral water is naturally filtered through the chalk of the South Downs, which gives a mineral undercurrent balancing the sweetness of the grape. Without it the bottle would read rounder and less crisp.

How is it best drunk?

Neat and ice cold, or in a Vodka Martini. The Martini is the best place to meet it, because the short ingredient list lets the grape fruit stand forward. A vodka soda with a strip of lemon peel works too.

Which drinks should be avoided?

The ones with heavy sweetness or a lot of ginger. The fruit character is delicate and gets drowned quickly by syrup, liqueur or ginger beer, and then you pay for a detail you never taste. Keep the mixes short and dry.

Where does the name come from?

From the village of Chilgrove in West Sussex, at the foot of the South Downs. That is where both the water and the name come from, and it is the same place the house gin is named after.

What else does Chilgrove Spirits make?

Chilgrove Dry Gin on the same grape base, launched in 2014. The gin uses water mint, grains of paradise and citrus peel alongside juniper and coriander, and it came before the vodka. To see other houses, browse our Vodka brands.