Love Drinks has further consolidated its portfolio of premium artisan spirits after taking on the UK distribution rights for Dorset’s leading craft spirit maker – Conker.

The company’s award-winning portfolio includes Dorset Dry Gin, RNLI Navy Strength Gin, Port Barrel Aged Gin and a Conker Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur.

Samantha Burke, Managing Director of Love Drinks, said:

“The Conker brand is a huge British success story offering a fantastic product portfolio, immense quality and real provenance.  While the gins are innovative and incredibly well made, I have personally been having a love affair with the company’s Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur since its launch in 2017 so we’re utterly delighted to have them as part of our eclectic portfolio.” 

Rupert Holloway, Founder and Head Conkerer, said:

“While conditions in the market and the world in general are uncertain, we have absolute certainty in Love Drinks being the partners we need to help take us to the next level.  Our companies share many similarities in our values and how we operate so we’re excited to work with Kirsty, Samantha and the wider Love Drinks team.” 

About Conker

Set up by Rupert Holloway in April 2015, Conker was Dorset’s first gin distillery, has sold over 200,000 bottles around the UK and recently launched in Canada with the LCBO earlier this year.

After spending his younger years studying and working on building his CV, including time at university studying Biology and then a Masters in construction, Rupert began his serious working career as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, but pretty quickly realised something was missing and that his real passion lay elsewhere.

With craft drinks on the rise, Rupert started to research distilling and began foraging on the cliff tops of Bournemouth. At aged 29 he took the leap to leave his day job and launch Dorset’s first gin distillery. A £10k government grant followed and one year later Conker’s Dorset dry Gin launched to the public.

Passionate foragers, distillers and bottlers, the company handcrafts its spirits in small batches to ensure no shortcuts or compromises are taken when it comes to the craft processes, the ingredients and the final quality.

Conker embodies the spirit of Dorset, blending British wheat spirit and New Forest Spring Water with botanicals that can be found across the Dorset coast and New Forest.

The brand is already available in Tesco, M&S, Waitrose and Ocado with exclusive liqueurs also being created in partnership with Fortnum & Mason, including a limited-edition Fortnum & Mason Cold Brew Tea Liqueur.

The company is also involved in partnerships with the Craft Gin Club, That Boutique-y Gin Company, Speakeasy Ice Creams, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and they recently launched a ‘Community Spirit Hand Sanitizer’ to help tackle the COVID-19 crisis.

For more information, visit www.conkerspirit.co.uk or follow on Facebook: @ConkerSpirit, Twitter – @ConkerSpirit or Instagram @conkerspirit

The Conker Range

Conker Dry Gin

An intricate gin that’s slightly less dry than its London cousin. Complex, layered and with a bright freshness and intriguingly long finish that invites the second sip.  Our refreshing take on a classic London Dry – well-balanced and Juniper-led, but with the bright and refreshing Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked gorse flowers.

ABV: 40%
Signature serve: classic tonic with a strip of lime peel
Signature serve: Clover Club

Conker RNLI Navy Strength Gin

A hearty Navy Strength Gin distilled in honour of the RNLI and their lifesavers. Raising a glass to the courageous men and women who have worked selflessly over two centuries on their mission to end preventable loss of life at sea, £5 is paid to the RNLI on every bottle, raising over £25,000 to date.

A bold and purposeful gin, worthy of its cause. Wheat spirit heat is accompanied by a symphony of fresh pine and sweet-spiced fruits. Lengthening beautifully to hold a presence in the glass.

ABV: 57%
Tasting Notes: Notes of stone fruits, raisins and orange blossom.
Simple serve: 25ml serving with classic tonic and a strip of orange peel
Signature serve: Gin Mule

Conker Port Barrel Aged Gin

With coloured and flavoured gin seeing strong growth in recent years, this premium ‘pink gin’ sees our signature Dorset Dry gin rested for 8 weeks in used Port barrels from Portugal.  Perfectly combining dry piney juniper and herbaceous brightness with notes of vanilla oak, warm spice and sweet red fruits.

ABV: 43%
Simple serve: Classic tonic with a strip of orange peel
Signature serve: Port Barrel Old Fashioned

Conker Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur

The coffee liqueur for true coffee lovers. No flavourings or imitation – just Grade 1 forest grown speciality Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees, a touch of demerara sugar and distilled British wheat spirit. A tribute to the dramatic jammy fruitiness of our Grade 1 natural processed coffees. Precisely roasted to deliver a bold coffee with liquorice and cocoa, whilst enhancing natural vanillas and hints of stone fruits and caramel.

ABV: 25%
Simple serve: On the rocks over ice or topped with classic tonic and a wedge of orange
Signature serve: Espresso Martni – Shake 70ml with ice and 30ml water. No vodka or espresso machine needed.