Best in world, the British vodka made from spuds

THE rolling pastures of Herefordshire are renowned for their cattle, fruit and sparkling ciders. But now, according to a panel of inter­national experts, they are the birthplace of the finest vodka in the world.

William Chase with the potatoes he uses to make vodka William Chase with the potatoes he uses to make vodka

Each bottle of the award-winning Chase vodka is distilled from 35lbs of potatoes – putting rival grain-based brands from Russia and Poland in the shade.

Chase has beaten 115 rivals to triumph at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It is made by William Chase, founder of the Tyrrells crisps brand, on his potato farm near Hereford.

The potatoes are said to give Chase a sweetness which makes it taste better than traditional ­vodkas made from cheaper wheat or rye grains.

“To make spirits is a fine art. It isn’t just a pro­cess,” William, 45, said. “The reason other ­people stopped making vodka out of potatoes is because you need so many spuds. You can get more yield out of wheat but with the potatoes it has a natural sweetness and the consistency of a fine wine.”

William only started producing vodka in 2008 after selling the crisps business for £30million. He had no distilling experience but decided to aim for the gourmet end of the vodka market and invested £3million building a distillery.

All the spuds are grown, fermented and bottled on site and each 70cl bottle sells for £32.95.

“Winning the award has been fantastic for us,” he said. “Normally we sell 100 bottles a week online but in the last few days we have been selling 300 or 400 a day. The Americans love it. By contrast, we’ve had a few negative comments from the Poles and Russians but you’d expect that.”

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