ARISTOCRATIC entrepreneurs from Alcester are celebrating further international success for their liqueur within the first 18 months of trading.
The Las Vegas Global Spirits Gold Award becomes the latest in a series of industry accolades for St Maur Elderflower Liqueur, produced by William and Kelsey Seymour, Earl and Countess of Yarmouth.
Chosen among 700 entries, the award now proudly sits alongside Best English Floral in the World Liqueur Awards, Great Taste Award 2 Star rating and an International Spirits Challenge Silver Award for the product, launched in lockdown.
William, who grew up at Ragley Hall, and is the eldest son of the Marquess of Hertford, said: “Perhaps, winning industry awards in North America could be considered a little bit ahead of the curve for a start-up craft drinks business from the heart of England, but we have big ambitions for St Maur as a brand, and we’re not afraid to put ourselves out there.
“It’s great to win an award and to be recognised on an international level. What’s important though is this also gives us the opportunity to let people closer to home, who have not tried our drink yet, know about St Maur. ‘Gold in Vegas!’ That can’t be bad!”
The judges were made up of a panel of experts in the spirits industry including journalists, distillers, mixologists, consultants, educators, bartenders, importers and brand ambassadors.
St Maur is a hand-crafted elderflower liqueur from the Heart of England which originated in a drink produced for guests on the couple’s wedding day four years ago.
From the recipe, to the ideas on the label, and the name itself, St Maur brings together 1,000 years of heritage and family.
Indeed, provenance is core to the brand. The map co-ordinates on the St Maur logo lead to Ladies Wood and an elder grove in the Ragley Woodlands, now in the stewardship of Earl of Yarmouth Estates.
Here and in the hedgerows on their farm, in early summer, Seymour friends and family members can be found collecting the blossoms to fulfill the next year of orders.
There’s also a red-legged partridge on the bottle, a bird successfully introduced to England in the 19th century by an ancestor Francis Seymour, the 5th Marquess, and now the brand’s mascot.
Kelsey added: “There is a very obvious, but golden rule if you want to build a crafts drinks business – make sure you craft a good drink!
“Our purpose with St Maur is to offer ‘a little drop of England’s heart’ around the world, and if we are to live up to that accolade, we must make sure we offer a drink that is worthy of it. This was another opportunity to put our drink to the test, with industry experts, in one of the hospitality capitals of the world. We were delighted to win gold.”
