AN award-winning distillery in Oldham has launched a special gin bottle with all profits going towards the Ukraine humanitarian appeal.
Defiance Distillery, based at Woodend Mill in Lees, has created the bottle, containing lemon thyme, pink peppercorn, and liquorice root London Dry Gin, to raise funds for charities supporting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Paul Sheerin, owner of Defiance Distillery, was compelled to do something after watching the news coverage of the war.
He said: “It got under my skin and pulled on my heartstrings I had to do something.
“I feel we have to do everything and anything we can and as someone who makes spirits this is what I’ve done.”
Paul Sheerin.
The original artwork for the bottle was donated free of charge by Nick Harrison.
Discussing the bottle Paul said: “We’re tearing it down to zero profit everything is going towards Ukraine.”
The distillery owner has a target to raise £5,000 through the appeal.
He said: “I have a fascination with history, and I’ve learnt it’s not just about the people who did lots of big things in a crisis but people who did lots of little things too."
A normal product at the distillery takes around six months to complete but the Defiance Ukraine Gin, which contains the same botanicals as the Ol Northern Spirit Gin, was created in just four weeks.
Paul said: “It actually took longer than I had hoped."
The Ol Northern Spirit Gin was created to celebrate the distillery’s Oldham home and all OL postcodes.
Defiance Spirits posted a photograph of the bottle on its Facebook page on Wednesday alongside a message which reads: “It’s a tense, dangerous and depressing time.
"Ongoing violence is causing people to flee their homes and become separated from their families.
“We want to do our bit to support Ukraine.”
The distillery, which launched in 2017, picked up the Best In Show, Unaged White Spirit category prize at the San Francisco World Spirits awards last year with its Defiance Navy Strength product – beating competition from around 3,000 entries.
Everything created in the distillery is made in Oldham.
The Defiance Ukraine Gin is available to buy on the Defiance Distillery website for £35.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here