Sky Wave’s Co-Founders in demand to share their business insights.

Sky Wave Co-Founder and Master Distiller, Andrew Parsons, visited 10 Downing Street recently in his new role as a member of the Intuit Small Business Council.  He brought the case for small businesses, and especially the craft distilling industry, to the Department for Business and Trade when he met Secretary of State Jonathan Reynolds. During their meeting, Mr. Reynolds confessed to Andrew that the meeting was “a break from tariffs!”

Meanwhile, Sky Wave Co-Founder, Rachel Hicks was serenaded by Reggae Reggae Sauce founder, Levi Roots, while they were In Conversation at Cokethorpe School, near Witney. Over a hundred business leaders were present for the Spring networking Business Breakfast event. In a mic drop moment, one of the people helped by Sky Wave’s chosen charity, The Rona Sailing Project, was in the room and spontaneously spoke about his experiences sailing with Rona as a boy fifty years ago.

Rachel was also invited to give the keynote speech at the Celebrating Business Start-Up and Success event for companies across Oxfordshire, organised by OxLEP, now Enterprise Oxfordshire. In front of business leaders at the Leonardo Hotel in Oxford she shared the successes and challenges of running a thriving business.

We are delighted to report that on 19 August, Sky Wave became SALSA approved. We have always produced spirits of the highest quality and to the highest of standards, and we have always held 5 stars from the Food Standards Agency. However, this accreditation takes us to the next level.

The SALSA Standard is written by experienced food and beverage safety experts to reflect both the legal requirements of producers and the enhanced expectations of 'best practice' of professional buyers. Approval certification is only granted to suppliers who are able to demonstrate to a SALSA auditor that they are able to produce and supply safe and legal products, and are committed to continually meeting the requirements of the SALSA standard.

Thanks go to the whole distillery team who worked hard to achieve this result.

Sky Wave has been named Distillery of the Year 2024 by the highly prestigious Gin Guide Awards. Sky Wave beat off hundreds of other distilleries form 35 countries around the world to be named the best distillery of 2024.

The Oxfordshire distillery also picked up medals for four of its seven gins, with another highly commended – as well as the winning medal for design and branding thanks to its recent investment in a bespoke new British-made bottle.

Andrew Parsons, co-founder and master distiller of Sky Wave, said: “We barely had time to draw breath before we discovered we were named The Gin Guide Awards Distillery of The Year 2024.

“Hundreds of distilleries from more than 35 countries entered, so we’re thrilled, proud and humbled to have been selected as the overall Distillery of the Year.

“It’s been quite a week!”

And from fellow co-founder Rachel Hicks: “Thank you to Paul Jackson for organising the competition and being such a force in our industry – and all his judges.”

Sky Wave’s winning gins were Navy Strength, Old Tom, Liberation London Dry and Orange and Madagascan Vanilla, with the Signature London Dry highly commended.

The latter has also been named the World’s Best Contemporary London Dry Gin at the World Gin Awards, and carries 2 stars from the Great Taste Awards.

Sky Wave Gin’s Great Distillery Experience Reviews Earn it a Place Among Travellers’ Favourites

Oxfordshire – 12^th Sept 2023 – Sky Wave Gin, The Home of the World’s Best Gin*, today announced it has been recognised by Tripadvisor as a 2023 Travellers’ Choice award winner for its Distillery Experience with Curated Gin Tasting. The coveted award celebrates businesses that have consistently received great traveller reviews on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months, placing these winners among the 10% of all listings on Tripadvisor globally.

Sky Wave Gin Co-Founder, Rachel Hicks, said, “We are incredibly proud of the Distillery Experiences with Curated Gin Tastings which we have created. They offer our customers a fun and immersive session steeped in all things juniper with four G&Ts to enjoy! Friends come to celebrate birthdays, families come to be together and travellers come to experience the spirit of Oxfordshire. Just this week we hosted a group from Arizona, America who loved discovering our little part of Britain. Our distillery hosts are incredibly welcoming and knowledgeable, ensuring our customers have a great time.”

“Congratulations to the 2023 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice winners,” said John Boris, Chief Growth Officer at Tripadvisor. “The travel resurgence we’ve seen throughout the past year has even further heightened the competition. Earning a Travellers’ Choice Award demonstrates that you have provided great experiences to those who matter most: your guests. With changing expectations, continued labour shortages, and rising costs, this is no easy feat, and I am continually impressed with the hospitality industry’s resilience and ability to adapt. Cheers to another successful year!”

Check out all the reviews, and discover more about Sky Wave Gin here.

*World Gin Awards 2020

About Sky Wave Gin

• Sky Wave Gin is a range of seven premium spirits and one non-alcoholic distilled expression, boasting incredible smoothness and carefully crafted for discerning drinkers who wish to enjoy the finer things in life.

• Since Sky Wave Gin stepped onto the international gin stage in 2018, it has been continually recognised with the highest accolades. With more than 40 global awards we believe we are one of the most medalled distilleries in Britain. Sky Wave Gin was named The World’s Best Gin at the World Gin Awards 2020.

• Multi-award winning Sky Wave Gin is yet another testament to the creativity, intelligence and innovation of Oxfordshire. Sky Wave is on a global journey to take its world’s best small batch craft gin to the world; inspired by a bygone era of elegance and adventure.

The Story

Sky Wave Gin is about carpe diem, seizing the moment, adventure and exhilaration. It is an ultra-premium gin, for the drinker who wishes to rise above the rest.

Unable to find their perfect gin, founders Rachel Hicks and Andrew Parsons seized the moment and created their own – to reflect the adventures they have had travelling through skies and over waves to far flung corners of the globe.

Sky Wave Gin creates all its artisan gins by hand and with passion. Every stage of distillation, bottling and packaging is carried out in its boutique distillery, at the quirky Bicester Heritage site in Oxfordshire, a former RAF base now the home of historic motoring and backdrop to Hollywood films. The distillery also has a tasting room with shop and bar offering weekly Distillery Experiences with Curated Gin Tastings along with corporate and private events.

Sky Wave Gin’s Master Distiller, Andrew Parsons, has created a number of bespoke gins for other brands, including Blenheim Palace Signature London Dry, which is picking up its own medals in international spirits competitions.

Contact; Rachel Hicks, 01869 713813

About Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.

*  Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, March 2023
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files

Bicester, Oxfordshire (June 13, 2023) – Sky Wave Gin, a craft gin distillery in the heart of Oxfordshire, has been named the winner of the Muddy Stilettos award for Best Local Food and Drink Producer for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The award, which was announced on June 13, 2023, recognises the best local food and drink producers in the region. Sky Wave Gin was chosen from a field of four other finalists, including another distillery, a cheesecake maker, a vineyard, and a cake maker.

“We are thrilled to have won this award,” said Andy Parsons and Rachel Hicks, the founders of Sky Wave Gin. “We'd like to thank all of our wonderful customers who voted for us. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and it is a recognition of the quality of our gin.”

Sky Wave Gin is made with outstanding natural ingredients, including Oxfordshire mineral water from Blenheim Palace and fresh local botanicals. The gin is distilled in small batches in a traditional copper still, which ensures that each bottle is of the highest quality.

Sky Wave Gin is available for purchase online and at select high quality retailers across the country. For more information and to purchase direct, visit skywavegin.com.

In addition to the Muddy Stilettos award, Sky Wave Gin has won numerous other awards, including the World's Best Contemporary Gin at the World Gin Awards, and the highest accolades at other competitions such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the International Wine and Spirit Competition.

The company is committed to sustainability and donates a portion of its profits to charity.

“We are proud to be a part of the Oxfordshire community,” said Andy and Rachel. “We are committed to using local ingredients and giving back to the community.”

Sky Wave Gin is a great example of the high quality of food and drink produced in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The company is a valuable asset to the region and its award-winning gin is a delicious way to enjoy the best of the local produce.

About Muddy Stilettos

Muddy Stilettos is a lifestyle brand that celebrates the best of independent businesses and experiences in the UK. The Muddy Stilettos Awards are an annual competition that recognises the best of these businesses and experiences.

Congratulations to Sky Wave Gin on their well-deserved win!

Andrew Parsons, Master Distiller at Sky Wave Gin and a Warden Rectifier of The Gin Guild, was in the audience at The Gin Guild's Ginposium 2023 in London yesterday, 9 June 2023. The event, which was held at The Royal Society for Arts, brought together gin enthusiasts from all over the world to celebrate the spirit.

Parsons listened to a number of excellent presentations on wide ranging topics such as distillery safety best practice, sustainability in the gin industry, the use of salt in gin, the rise of Asian gins, and sustainable packaging, and posed a number of probing questions. He also attended a highly entertaining Q&A session with Desmond Payne MBE, Master Distiller Emeritus at Beefeater Gin. There were also a number of tutored gin tastings, including a session from the inestimable David T Smith, and a dive into sustainability in the glass making industry.

"Gin is a vibrant and exciting industry," said Parsons. "There is a huge amount of creativity and innovation happening, and I am confident that gin will continue to grow in appeal to a wide range of consumers."

"I was delighted to be able to attend the Ginposium and share my passion for gin with others," said Parsons. "It was a great opportunity to learn from other industry experts and to meet some of the people who are passionate about gin as much as I am. It was also great to catch up with some old friends such as Pal Gleed (the Director-General), Dr Ann Brock (Master Distiller, Bombay Sapphire), Sarah Miller (gin-a-ding-ding), Ben Marston (Puddingstone Distillery), Ellie Tinsley-Hall (Kimia) and of course David T Smith."

The Ginposium was a great success, and it is clear that gin continues to go from strength to strength. Parsons was proud to be a part of the event, and he is confident that Sky Wave Gin will continue to play a leading role in the industry.

Andrew Parsons and Rachel Hicks, the founders of Sky Wave Gin, have been admitted to The Gin Guild as Warden Rectifier and Rectifier respectively. The Gin Guild is a highly prestigious organisation that represents the gin industry worldwide. It was founded in 2012 to promote the highest standards of gin production and to protect the interests of gin producers.

Andrew and Rachel have been working in the gin industry for five years. They founded Sky Wave Gin in 2018, and their gin has since won numerous awards, including their Signature London Dry being named The World's Best Contemporary Gin at The World Gin Awards. They are passionate about gin and are committed to producing the highest quality spirit possible.

The ceremony took place at the spectacular Guildhall in London on 4 May. At the gala dinner that followed, Andrew and Rachel dined with the great and the good of the gin world, including the Guild's Grand Rectifier Lesley Gracie, Hendrick’s Master Distiller, and Dr Anne Brock, the Master Distiller at Bombay Sapphire.

Being admitted to The Gin Guild is a great honour for Andrew and Rachel; it is recognition of their hard work and dedication to the industry. They are excited to be a part of the Guild and look forward to working with other gin producers to promote the gin industry and to protect the interests of gin lovers.

In a statement, Andrew and Rachel said:

"We are delighted to be admitted to The Gin Guild. It is a great honour to be recognised by our peers and to be a part of this prestigious organisation. We are committed to producing the highest quality spirits possible, and we are excited to be working with other gin producers to promote the gin industry and to protect the interests of gin lovers."

The Gin Guild is a great resource for gin producers. It provides members with access to training, networking opportunities, and marketing support. It also helps to protect the interests of gin producers by lobbying the government on issues such as taxation and trade.

Andrew and Rachel are proud to be a part of The Gin Guild and they look forward to contributing to the organisation and to the gin industry as a whole.

Sky Wave Gin continues to dominate international gin competitions, with not one or two, but three category wins at the 2023 Gin Guide Awards, announced today, 3 May 2023.

Its Signature London Dry won in the Contemporary Category, and its Navy Strength and Old Tom gins also won in their respective categories. This sets up the Distillery for potentially being named Distillery of the Year, to be announced shortly.

The Gin Guide Awards is the annual and global celebration of the exceptional spirits, distilleries and distillers in the gin industry. In 2023 the quality and diversity of entries has been truly exceptional, with hundreds of entries from over 35 different countries.

The judging for each category of The Gin Guide Awards is carried out in independent blind tastings by expert Judges with experience across gin distillation, marketing, events, mixology, distribution, importing and retail - this achieves a comprehensive and widely relevant view of each entry. Each gin is scored against The Gin Guide's unique and rigorous scorecard system, with Judges focusing on carrying out unhurried and thorough assessments without time pressures or large volumes of tastings in single sittings. To avoid influence between judges there is no group judging, and to ensure maximum consistency there are clear criteria that must be adhered to. The unique scoring system considers key elements including appearance, aroma, taste, balance, mouthfeel, finish, with Tonic Water (in selected categories) and overall appeal.

Each gin is assessed independently and on its own merits. In blind tastings the only information provided to the Judges is the ABV, as this is considered to be valuable in providing the most useful feedback, whilst other details are considered to be surplus to requirements for judging or potentially unfairly influential to Judges' tastings. All entries are judged neat and Judges also sample entries with Lixir Tonic Water to best understand the quality and flavour profile and to provide further feedback for you. Sponsors of The Gin Guide Awards are excluded from the Judging Panel. 

Our co-founder, Rachel Hicks, was interviewed by Mr. G from Witney Radio - Radio for West Oxfordshire & The Cotswolds recently, to talk about how Sky Wave Gin has taken the gin world by storm in just 4 short years...

You can listen in to hear their intimate chat at the distillery at Bicester Heritage in full at this link.

Tasted by the experts, Sky Wave Signature London Dry Gin and Sky Wave Orange and Madagascan Vanilla Gin are awarded a Great Taste 2-star and 1-star respectively in 2022

Oxfordshire based Sky Wave Gin has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up TWO highly prized 2-star and 1-star Great Taste awards for two of its most popular gins.

More than 14,000 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Sky Wave Signature London Dry Gin was dubbed a “delightful, well crafted gin” and Sky Wave Orange and Madagascan Vanilla Gin described as “very drinkable” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. 4,078 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,237 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’.

Judges awarded Sky Wave Signature London Dry Gin a 2-Star award after finding it,

 “A genuine balanced aroma of the citrus and botanicals, sitting harmoniously together. Lovely warmth in the mouth, with waves of the smooth citrus coming through, a little sweetness on the finish and a long pleasing residue of flavour that works beautifully as a proper London Dry. Great care has been taken with these ingredients, letting them move playfully around the palate, and allowing all their best elements to come to the fore.” 

Sky Wave Signature London Dry Gin represents the true spirit of adventure with its 13 botanicals spanning the globe from Oxfordshire to Africa. Master Distiller, Andrew Parsons, distils very gently and slowly to ensure its incredibly smooth finish. It was named the World’s Best Contemporary Gin at the World Gin Awards 2020.

Another big hit with the Great Taste judges was Sky Wave Orange and Madagascan Vanilla Gin, which scooped a 1-star award. It was praised for its,

“Clear, pale straw colour. Uplifting and elegant orange blossom (sweet neroli) on the nose. Smooth, soft and silky on the palate with the soft subtlety of vanilla wood accompanied by orange oil. The texture is slightly oily with an elegant viscosity. The gin botanicals are well-judged, delicate and sophisticated. We would very much enjoy this as a sipping gin.”

Sky Wave Orange and Madagascan Vanilla Gin uses only fresh fruit, never artificial essences, flavourings  or colourings, hence its subtlety. The fresh vanilla pods are sourced directly from the growers in Madagascar to give a hint of natural flavour. A dry spirit, at 40% ABV, this is a fruit gin for grown ups.

What is Great Taste?

Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind-tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.

This year, the judging took place over 90 days across two judging locations (Dorset and London) with a panel of more than 500 judges. This year’s line-up saw food and drink products submitted from a staggering 110 different countries from across the world.

Rachel Hicks from Sky Wave Gin comments: “We know how important Great Taste awards are to our customers. Many tell us they look for the iconic black and gold Great Taste logos as a mark of quality so we are thrilled to be adding them to our Signature London Dry and our Orange and Madagascan Vanilla Gin.  This is another great step in the Sky Wave Gin journey which is going from strength to strength – and we are not even four years old yet.”

“Being recognised with a Great Taste 2-star and a 1-star means so much to independent producers like us, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink world, so it really is a big win!” Rachel concludes.