The Global Good Awards 2020 have recognised a Yorkshire husband and wife team only 18 months after the launch of their alcohol-free spirit.
Chris and Rose Bax launched Bax Botanics in 2019 from their woodlands in Yorkshire, and made it to the finals of the Awards. Rose said:
“We are delighted to win a Global Good Award for the best new enterprise 2020.
The awards recognise organisations that are making strides towards a better world for people, the planet and the global economy, and it is really important to Bax that we are an ethical business; our drinks are crafted with the planet and our responsibilities to the natural world in mind. We aim to be as transparent as possible about our company ethics and undertake sustainable and nature-friendly practices throughout every stage of production.”
The experiment with distilling foraged ingredients was a further development from the couple’s foraging and cookery course – Taste the Wild – which has been running for over 15 years. Their passion for botanical flavours encouraged them to create a drink with the complexity of taste provided by alcoholic spirits, minus the after-effects.
Chris said: “We couldn’t serve alcohol with food at the woodlands and we wanted the drink to be as important as the meal, so we started experimenting with the foraged products. I made something quite undrinkable so Rose, with her knowledge of wild plants, took over.”
So Rose worked on recipes with herbs, roots, berries, and flowers and Bax Botanics was born, now the only non-alcoholic spirit to win a Great Taste Award.
With a distillery in Wetherby and over 100 retail outlets, bards and online shops selling their product, the future is looking very bright.
“Because we can distil up to 3000 bottles a month, we now use farmed botanicals to ensure sustainability and high-quality supply,” Rose explains.
“The planet, and sustainability, is of great importance to us and is at the heart of the product; we consider it at every single step. We use natural products that are farmed sustainably and organically by Fairtrade farmers.”
Bax Botanics has so far produced Verbana and Sea Buckthorn, intended to mix with tonic water rather than to be consumed neat. Chris and Rose have also created cocktail recipes which work well with their spirits.
“The dilution and the fizz lift the flavours as they would with a gin,” explains Rose.
“The drinks are distilled in a traditional way using a copper still – a technique that was invented centuries ago and is little changed today.
There is a host of reasons that people may choose to not drink alcohol – pregnancy, designated driver, medication, religious beliefs, or just having some time off,” says Chris.
“We firmly believe that you still deserve a luxury treat when you’re not drinking alcohol and botanicals are in our DNA; they’re what we do, and we do them well.”
For more information on Bax Botanics and their products visit here.
Bax Facts
- No sugar or sweeteners
- Half a calorie per 50ml serving
- No allergens – free from gluten and all other notifiable allergens
- Suitable for vegans and vegetarians
- Eco friendly product – made from organic botanicals that are farmed sustainably and from Fairtrade farmers
- Eco packaging – labels printed on environmentally friendly sugar cane waste
- Distilled in craftsman made copper stills – the same way as gin but without the alcohol
- Labels are printed on to Bagasse, a by-product from the sugar industry – not trees
- The quality glass bottles are reusable or recyclable as are the stoppers
- Use recycled cardboard for bespoke box and a new design for a single bottle box which uses minimum resources
- Only buy from companies who ensure fair wages are paid to employees
- Sustainable UK business
Bax Botanics are currently available in over 100 retail outlets, bars, and online shops including Botanist Bars (a national chain), Booths supermarket and Master of Malt, a respected online shop.
Global Good Awardsis an all-inclusive awards programme that recognises and rewards organisations of all shapes and sizes that are making strides towards a better world for people, the planet and the global economy.
Photographs by Polly A Baldwin.
