Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/689634
Located in Herefordshire, just 90 miles northwest of Highclere Castle, film- ing site of the popular television show, the Chase enterprise aims to do more than produce fine spirits: It seeks to portray the English lifestyle as interpreted through the lens of its owners, fourth- and fifth-generation farmers-turned- distillers, William Chase and his sons, James and Harry. "Maybe Downton Abbey pushed Americans over the edge to realize England is a beautiful place with an amazing history," said James, Marketing Manager and Global Ambassador for the company. "We want to be the bastions and fly a flag for the English countryside, letting the world know it's a mythical, magical place that's been untouched, and getting people to buy into that dream." The family does that both in and outside the bottle, selling elegant merchan- dise that melds a genteel lifestyle with that of gentleman farmer. There's a line of country outdoor clothing offered by luxury clothier Private White V.C, a collection of classic vehicles such as the 1983 12-seater Land-Rover (yours for a cool 15,000 British pounds) and the portfolio of gins, vodkas and liqueurs that have, since 2008, become the main focal point of the family business. Blessed with nutrient-rich soils, the Chase farm grew potatoes, and in this millennium, was first known for Tyrrell's Potato Crisps, a posh take on American chips. But a trip across the pond in 2006 changed the elder Chase's thinking. "We saw the first wave of craft distillery in America," James recalled. "Hudson Valley and Brooklyn were just getting going, and we were inspired by what we saw and what we could take home, and to spread that message in Europe." They sold off the crisps business to fund their next endeavor: artisanal potato- based vodkas. It took them two years to find the equipment they wanted for crafting their spirits. s p r i n g / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6 | 7 1 Chase Vodka and Elderflower Liqueur capture the spirit of the English countryside. Here, fourth-generation farmer-turned-distiller William Chase is in a field of wildflowers on the Herefordshire estate. The 70-foot-high copper column still used to make Chase Vodka is the tallest in the world. : COURTESY OF CHASE SPIRITS COURTESY OF CHASE SPIRITS