Drinks industry IT guru launches artisan vodka brand

The creator of the cutting-edge software used by the UK’s leading drinks storage companies has launched his own small-batch vodka brand.

55 Above comes in two unflavoured expressions (one at 40% ABV, the other at 56% ABV), as well as in toffee, pineapple and coconut flavours (Photo: 55 Above)

Alan Gilchrist, owner of Ontech Solutions, whose Vision stock management software is widely regarded as the industry standard, has launched the 55 Above artisan vodka brand after 20 years of providing IT solutions for leading companies like LCB and Octavian.

Called 55 Above, reflecting the latitude of Gilchrist’s native Scotland, the brand comprises an unflavoured 40% ABV expression called Pure, a 56% ABV premium unflavoured vodka called The 56 and three flavoured vodkas, one pineapple, one coconut and one toffee.

Made in Cambridgeshire with British potatoes and distilled in traditional 200-litre copper alembic stills, the vodka comes in standard 70cl sizes and smaller 20cl gift-pack size. All flavourings used in the production are natural, Gilchrist said, with the pineapple and coconut expressions being distilled with real fruit.

The toffee variant is infused with a “unique” toffee recipe created specially for 55 Above and inspired by Gilchrist’s grandmother.

Gilchrist said his experience of providing IT solutions for leading wine storage companies had prepared him well for the launch of a spirit brand.

“Being involved with the IT side for about 20 years, you get your knowledge of how duty works, so you kind of know where people struggle,” he said. “You’re just aware of all the problems that occur – you know that it’s going to take a couple of years to actually build a brand and you’ve really got to put a lot of effort into it.”

Marketed as an ‘artisan’ product, 55 Above is produced in small batches, currently at a rate of one still’s worth of spirit per week.

The vodka is distilled just once, with the ‘heads’ (the highly flavoured first part of the distillate) being collected while the ‘tails’ (the lower alcohol liquid that comes out of the still at the end of the distillation) are discarded. This process, in contrast to the column still distillation most common in vodka production, gives 55 Above its “distinctly clean and uncompromising taste”, Gilchrist said.

“Most people use a column still, but with a still you can’t stop the tails, so you then have to distill it again and again. [Using a copper still] does mean you throw a little bit more away, but it means you can drink three bottles of this, between three people, in one night and not have a hangover!”

Conceived in April 2014, the brand took just over a year to launch, hitting the market in May of this year. Gilchrist said the product would be targeted at mid-level retailers, adding that the company is in talks to supply French duty-free, as well as several distributors in the Middle East and one in Australia.

Gilchrist, who will continue in his role as managing director of Ontech, also plans to launch a 55 Above gin. Batches of gin are currently in the trial phase, he said, and a final product should be ready in spring 2016.