The gin brand experience has been stale for decades

Do you know the story of Tanqueray, Bombay or Hendricks? Think carefully...

Neither do we. The majority of gins consumed are brands without story, passion, and most importantly authenticity; the gin brand experience has been stale for decades. Many mass market brands are akin to the “fast food” of spirits.

The craft movement is gaining market share because consumer trends favor products that don’t have artificial ingredients, flavorings, sugar substitutes or colorings. Consumers desire sustainable production practices, responsible entrepreneurship and affordable luxury.

The gin market is exploding with growth yet lacks the vibrant brands to satiate market demand.

Highclere Castle Gin

An award-winning spirit that checks all the boxes

Highclere Castle Gin merges craft quality with built-in global awareness, an internationally award-winning flavor, a compelling authentic story, history, prestige, and lifestyle in a glass.

Vodka is dead; gin is in, with super-premium gin appreciating record breaking annual growth of 31.7%. Consumers are bored of vodka and gin brands born in corporate boardrooms. Highclere Castle Gin is exactly what the modern-day consumer is seeking, because Highclere is an experiential brand purchase. The Highclere Castle Gin experience solves the gin problem in a way that competing brands can’t.

Upon considering this investment, we invite you to taste Highclere Castle Gin. We are available in stores and restaurants in 25 US States along with the UK and offer direct shipping to 40 US states and 27 EU countries. You can order Highclere Castle Gin at www.HighclereCastleGin.com and have your bottle shipped directly to your home.

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About Highclere Castle

• Home to the Earl’s of Carnarvon since the 16^th century
• Highclere has hosted many of the world’s most famous and interesting people, and continues to do so today
• Designed by Sir Charles Barry, architect of Britain's House of Parliament and Big Ben
• The 5,000 acre Highclere Castle Estate is sustainably farmed using wildlife, flora, and fauna preservation techniques
• The Estate is highly regarded for producing high-grade oats for thoroughbred racehorses
• Botanicals, barley, and oats have been grown at Highclere for generations and are used in the production of Highclere Castle Gin
• Over 135,000 people visit Highclere annually when open to the public

“We have a long history of great entertaining and memorable parties at Highclere, and our gin epitomizes everything that is great about Highclere… You touch a bit of Highclere every time you take a sip of this glorious gin. A modern burst of botanical genius with storied history of Highclere Castle and estate. Do come and join us for the next exciting part of our journey, into making Highclere Castle Gin one of the leading spirits brands on earth.” The Earl & Countess of Carnarvon Highclere Castle

The Spirit of Highclere's History

What makes Highclere the perfect gin?

A traditional London Dry Gin

No added sugar, flavorings, or artificial ingredients

A modern citrus forward flavor profile

Featuring sophisticated floral, spice, and juniper notes

Blossoms on the rocks, elevates cocktails

The Highclere Castle Gin proprietary recipe & design includes:

• 10 hand-selected botanicals
• Distilled from English-grown wheat in England’s oldest gin distillery
• Citrus from Highclere’s Victorian era orangery
• Lavender grown in the Estate’s walled Monk’s Garden, planted in the 9th century by the Bishop of Winchester
• Highclere is the first gin in the world to use oats*
• The packaging has won numerous design awards and is manufactured in England

MSRP Target Price: $40  |  £40  |  €40

Botanical Flavor Profile

Distillery Partner: Langley Distillery

• Langley Distillery is situated in the historic Crosswell’s Brewery site, which dates back to the early 1800s and was built over an ancient underground water source 
• Gin has been distilled at Langley Distillery since 1920
•  Continuous improvements to the site, along with a long history and heritage in gin making, has resulted in a facility which produces globally award-winning gins of the finest quality
• The stills at Langley Distillery are some of the oldest working copper gin stills in the UK, some of them dating back to the early 1800s 
• Production capacity allows for millions of bottles per year for scalability

*To our knowledge, based on company's own industry research

Highclere Castle Gin
sales growth

YoY 2020-2021 case sales trending up

Available in 25 US and 6 European markets
E-Commerce: 40 US markets & 27 EU markets

• Successfully raised $5.7M in Series A
• Over 150,000 bottles sold in less than 2 years with a market retail value of over $6M
• Featured in many of the finest hotels and restaurants around the world
• Distribution in 25 US Markets, UK, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Poland & Malta
• Launched E-Commerce platform, home delivery to 40 US States, 27 EU Countries, & UK
• E-Commerce sales show 25% of customers purchase more than 1 bottle per order, indicating strong loyalty and reorder rates
• E-commerce represents 10% of total sales with growth projected to quadruple in 2022
• Active new distribution opportunities include: Canada, Central Europe, Asia, LATAM, Caribbean, and additional US States

What the experts are saying...

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*"Bottles sold" as of January 2022, e-commerce sales as of EOY 2021

What the world is saying...

Khalid Williams
Mixologist & Bartender of the Year—Connecticut 

“I can say, as a professional bartender, that this product has become indispensable. The ability to let a gin stand alone is not often found….the ability for a gin that can stand alone and make world class unmistakable cocktails has not been found in any other product that I’ve used.”

Thandi Walton
Cocktail Curator/Bar Manager Thompson Buckhead—Atlanta

“The flavor is amazing, Highclere Castle Gin is palate pleasing. It makes a delicious martini. The bottle is not only pretty, it’s also bartender friendly, fitting into the well for those Highclere Castle Gin cocktails that are always on my cocktail menu.”

Robert Grimaldi
Managing Director, CAMPANIA

“The Highclere Castle Gin team brings energy and excitement along with strong execution, and creativity that propels it from an idea to a global brand in an unbelievably short amount of time, even while expertly navigating the difficulties caused by a pandemic…Highclere Castle Gin is a true testament to building a brand the right way, with care, class, and unparalleled passion.”

Benoit Provost
Director, The American Bar, The Stafford Hotel, London

“I love the balance of the lavender and lime flower which makes for a super versatile Gin. Highclere Castle Gin has been received exceptionally well by our customers.”

Operating within a
3-tier system

1. The product is distilled and bottled in England.
2. The company exports product from the United Kingdom to warehouses in North America and Europe, where it is then sold directly to distributors and wholesalers who operate in their respective markets.
3. A distributor offers logistics, warehousing, a sales team, and product delivery. Distributors sell directly to liquor stores/retailers (off-premise), as well as to restaurants, hotels, bars, country clubs (on-premise) etc.

Consumers are exposed to the brand in various ways upon entering the above locations. Highclere Castle Spirits works to market the product successfully in partnership with the distributors to retail/restaurant locations.

Highclere Castle Spirits deploys marketing resources to end consumers to create pull through in the market. This is done through direct marketing, social media, earned press media, digital advertising, events and through in-store/ in-restaurant roll- out initiatives. The company has and is increasing strategic relationships with global chains, strategic partners, leading influencersm and media partners around the world.

Highclere Castle Gin has engineered a proprietary strategy and hyper-targeted distribution model that develops deep relationships with target accounts in pre-identified core markets.

This distribution strategy is implemented in target markets with target accounts throughout the US, UK & EU. Through the implementation of this strategy, Highclere Castle Gin is growing quality sales and building the business around loyal repeat customers.

Spirit industry global market & gross margins

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The Spirit's industry can be characterized by rapid innovation in a globalized setting. The largest growth segment of gin is Super Premium, driving growth for the entire gin market.

The global gin market is estimated at $9.86B in 2021, and is on pace to reach $11.2B by 2024. In comparison, spirits as a category are projected to grow 1% in the same time period. Super premium gin, alongside tequila and whiskey,  is one of the few spirits categories adding growth to the spirits industry.  

The anticipated direction of the market grants tremendous growth opportunity for new brands. The spirits industry is moving towards a “premiumization” trend, which is reflected in recent M&A activity and consumption patterns led by millennials—30% of whom have consumed gin in the last 3 months.

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Gin is NOT Just a Summer Spirit...
Gin Consumption by Month

*Highclere Castle Spirits gross margin as of December 2021.

Highclere Castle Gin 

Occupies a Rare Space in the Spirits Industry

New brands in the market are typically launched from one of the leading global spirit houses or a small craft spirit distillery. The large companies have global distribution, large marketing budgets and often release short term, trend-oriented products or focus on their legacy brands. Craft distilleries who have small production capabilities to emphasize quality product and story often lack significant distribution and marketing resources beyond their local market.

Highclere Castle Gin is unique in that it is a craft brand using botanicals from an estate and distilled in England’s oldest gin distillery. However, the company has secured significant distribution in a short period of time, is actively converting consumers to the product, has earned a broad array of international media coverage and is regularly growing its retail base through new strategic partnerships.

Competing gin brands include Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire, Aviation, The Botanist and Monkey47.  Highclere Castle Gin's goal is to own 4% of the premium gin market in the worlds largest spirit market, the US.

“M&A is the new R&D”

Global strategics acquire new brands
instead of innovating them

Strategics are acquiring premium spirits
at high multiples (10–20x)

Acquirer	Target
Diageo	Casamigos Aviation Don Julio
Constellation Brands	High West Casa Noble
Bacardi	Angels Envy Patron
Pernod Ricard	Avion

$5.7M raised

in Series A 

Raj Bhakta
American Spirits Entrepreneur, Founder of Whistle Pig Whiskey, Founder of Bhakta Armagnac

“The finest gin on the market. The Highclere Castle brand represents the epitome of prestige, class and quality. It’s the only gin I’ve ever been able to appreciate straight like a whiskey. This combined with the professional management team led to my decision to participate as an investor and advisor. I’ve been impressed with the journey.”

 Dave Carson
Former CEO of People's United Bank

“New companies are always challenged at start-up, but the COVID pandemic was tough. To see the agility of Highclere Castle Spirits management was a lesson in what good management can do to overcome unique challenges. Gives me great confidence in the long-term success of the world’s best new gin!”

Ethan Allen
Managing Partner, Navigant Oak Family Office

"The extraordinary history of Highclere Castle and the dynamic personality of co-founder Adam von Gootkin drew our family office, Navigant Oak to the brand. That combination was enhanced only by our first tasting! Highclere Castle Gin's smooth taste and style match perfectly with the class and elegance of Lord & Lady Carnarvon's ancient estate."

 

Peter Novak
Founder of Charter Oak Financial, International Investor & Entrepreneur

"As the initial investor in Highclere Castle Gin, the passion and transparency of the management team is unparalleled. The vision and execution have been a joy to watch. Highclere Castle Gin is not only the best tasting and most awarded gin in the world; it’s the only gin in the world that is an experience." 

Dan Refai, MD
Director of Spinal Oncology at the Emory Spine Center, Atlanta, GA

"Highclere Castle Gin has a strong management team that has quickly built an internationally acclaimed premium gin brand with strong growth potential from the ground up."

"We have a long history of great entertaining and memorable parties at Highclere, and our gin epitomizes everything that is great about Highclere…. You touch a bit of Highclere every time you take a sip of this glorious gin. A modern burst of botanical genius with storied history of Highclere Castle and estate. Do come and join us for the next exciting part of our journey, into making Highclere Castle gin among the leading spirits brands on earth.”

• Family seat at Highclere Castle since 1679
• Partner & Brand Ambassador in Highclere Castle Spirits
• Entrepreneur & commercial farmer 
• Global tastemaker
• Manages the estate farm and tourism business

Meet Lord Carnarvon:

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Lady Carnarvon is an international taste maker and social influencer. Her following has grown through her international book tours, PBS special, popular blog and regular speaking engagements.

• Author of NY Times best selling books about Highclere Castle, including: “Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey”
•   Her fourth book, “Seasons at Highclere” released in 2021 features Highclere Castle Gin cocktails
• Public speaking and book tours around the world
• Frequently featured on global news media outlets
• Successful blog: https://www.ladycarnarvon.com

Meet Lady Carnarvon:

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Adam is committed to building distinctly authentic brands rooted in the uniqueness of their terroir and provenance, a celebration of history, authenticity, and irreplaceable pedigree.

• Family history in spirits business dates back to the 1800’s
• Lifelong entrepreneur
• Opened Award Winning Craft Distillery, Onyx Spirits Company in 2009 – the first distillery in CT since prohibition
• Author of nationally released “Living Proof: Onyx Moonshines Journey to Revive the American Spirit”
• Launched industry leading Highclere Castle Cigar line produced in Nicaragua with world renowned cigar blender Nicholas Melillo in 2017
• Launched Highclere Castle Gin in 2019
• Adam has been featured on Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, NBC, CBS, NPR, Chilled Magazine, People, Entertainment Tonight, Bartender Magazine, New York Times, Cigar Lover Magazine, and many other leading media platforms.

Meet Adam von Gootkin: