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The story of Distill Ventures
Distill Ventures is an accelerator for the spirits industry, the first of its kind in the world. Founded in 2013 by seasoned drinks industry and start-up professionals Shilen Patel and Frank Lampen and with Diageo as a partner, Distill Ventures was set up to support entrepreneurial founders of drinks brands with global ambitions for the future.
Set up in 2013 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs Distill Ventures has invested in more than 15 drinks businesses globally including Belthazar Vermouth, non-alcoholic brand Seedlip and whisky producers Starward, Stauning and Westward. The team is constantly researching and meeting entrepreneurial start-ups searching for stand-out drinks entrepreneurs who will benefit from the investment, mentoring and expertise on offer.
As an accelerator specifically for the spirits industry it plays a unique role in the market. The co-founders started Distill Ventures on the back of their experience working with drinks start-ups where they had seen the difficulties faced by drinks entrepreneurs in building a successful drinks brand, regardless of how strong their expertise is. Entrepreneurs might have a strong network, or a finance background where they gained commercial acumen, or have worked at the heart of drinks sales and marketing with experience of building brands. Rarely though does someone have experience in all the essential aspects.
Distill Ventures sets out to address these challenges by providing a combination of investment, mentoring and expertise. And with Diageo as a partner, brands coming onboard are able to tap into Diageo's global network as well as a range of independent drinks experts in Distill Venture's own community, ranging from retailers and distributors to specialists in IP, logistics and creative skills.
To apply, visit the Distill Ventures website. Submissions are accepted all year round.
Westward American Single Malt Whiskey
Launched January 2012, Westward is an American malt whiskey made from 100% Pacific Northwest two-row malted barley, fermented with Scottish and American
Stauning Peated Single Malt
Unusually, Stauning distillery have their own maltings to produce the peated malted barley from which this Danish whisky is double distilled using traditional
Stauning Young Danish Rye
Unusually, Stauning malt a combination of rye and a small amount of malted barley in-house. This is fermented and twice distilled in traditional copper
Seedlip
Launched in September 2015 and named after the basket traditionally used to sow seeds, Seedlip is a blend of six non-alcoholic botanical distillates made
Belsazar Vermouth Dry
Belsazar Vermouths are based on wines from Germany's South Baden region and are fortified with Schladerer fruit brandy, produced by a family-run company
Belsazar Vermouth White
Belsazar Vermouths are based on wines from Germany's South Baden region and are fortified with Schladerer fruit brandy, produced by a family-run company
Belsazar Vermouth Red
Belsazar Vermouths are based on wines from Germany's South Baden region and are fortified with Schladerer fruit brandy, produced by a family-run company
Belsazar Vermouth Rose
Belsazar Vermouth Rosé is flavoured with infusions of pink grapefruit, orange blossom, pomeranze, raspberries and redcurrants.
