2021: What a year
For Team Slingsby, last year was an incredibly busy year but a very positive one! Lots has happened for Slingsby in the last 12 months so we thought why not put everything in one place for us all to reflect together?
We also wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone that has supported us in 2021. Whether you've bought a bottle from our range of spirits, follow us on social media or visited our Harrogate store, we appreciate each and every one of you!
January
Back at the start of 2021, the government announced a national lockdown but that didn't stop the Slingsby fun! We took our gin experiences online and hosted them virtually over zoom meaning that people could still enjoy the 'Spirit of Gin' in the comfort of their own home.
February
By the time February arrived, we were ready to launch our Slingsby Spritz range. These are a sophisticated Slingsby take on a hard seltzer with combines our award-winning spirit mixed with fruit flavours. Each can is only 70 calories and 5% ABV, creating a light and even more refreshing way to enjoy Slingsby gin.
March
In true Harrogate fashion, we collaborated with the amazing Mama Doreens for Mother's Day in March 2021. We worked on a giveaway with them on social media giving 5 lucky local Harrogate Mum's a chance to win a takeaway afternoon tea and some Slingsby gin treats. Then, right at the end of the month, we launched the Slingsby Golf Academy. More on that later...
April
Our main focus for April was the wonderful Slingsby Golf Academy. It was launched to encourage more women up and down the country to take up the game of golf. We did this alongside 4 celebrity cadets - Fleur East, Helen Skelton, Natalie Pinkham and Bela Shah. In April, we saw them take the first step on their golfing journey and also shared the first of 6 episodes from the series. We also (finally!) got the chance to reopen our retail store in the centre of Harrogate following a relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
May
In the midst of spring, we celebrated further relaxations of restrictions with our 'Even Better Together' campaign. It was all about heading out for a picnic in the park or being reunited with your favourite pub and sharing the moment with a good old Slingsby G&T. We're all for a home bar but nothing beats an ice cold G&T in the Fat Badger beer garden! Our Slingsby Golf Academy series progressed, and we got onto the green ourselves at the Slingsby Ladies Golf Day at Rudding Park.
June
It isn't summer until you've had a picnic and that meant June was the perfect time to launch our Slingsby cool bags. They hold 6 cans meaning that you could enjoy our Slingsby Solo or Spritz' on the go!
We also held another Slingsby Golf Day - this time it was for charity alongside the wonderful Variety Children's Charity and we welcomed a bunch of familiar faces to Rudding Park - including celebrity cadets Fleur East and Helen Skelton.
July
Events were back and the first place we headed was the Great Yorkshire Show! This is one of our absolute favourite events and one that holds a special place in our heart as it's the very first event we did as a brand back in 2015. The GYS was also the perfect time to extend our Slingsby Solo canned range, so we launched London Dry, Gooseberry and brand-new Blackberry flavours whilst at the event.
August
Introducing our latest pick... Blackberry gin! August was all about our new addition with an exclusive retail listing in Tesco meaning that you could get your gin fix even more conveniently whilst doing the weekly supermarket shop. It later became available on our website and in our retail store too.
September
World Gin Day falls in September every year and in 2021 we were delighted to be spending it back at Junipalooza amongst lots of amazing gin brands and fellow gin lovers. We also attended the GQ Men of the Year Awards where Slingsby Vodka was the official vodka served at the event!
Later in the month, our winning cadet Helen Skelton played in the PGA Celebrity Pro-Am and was cheered on by the whole of Team Slingsby and her fellow Slingsby Golf Academy cadets. We also sponsored the PGAs and had an incredible bar and Slingsby main stage at the event.
October
In October, we had the 2021 Attitude Awards where we ran the after party bar and shook up loads of delicious cocktails to keep the fun going all night! Our team of mixologists also created lots of amazing new Halloween cocktail recipes.
To top everything off, we launched a new website to make it even easier for you to shop our award-winning Slingsby gin!
November
Just before Christmas, we had some exciting Slingsby news! The Winter Chalets at Westfield Shopping Centre meant that Slingsby gin was available somewhere new in the capital, and the Harvey Nichols x Slingsby Gin bar in Leeds meant that our fellow Yorkshire folk could enjoy cocktails between their Christmas shopping.
Our Christmas TV advert also started to appear on home screens for the second year running, and we launched our best Black Friday offer EVER.
December
We kicked off December by announcing our involvement in the amazing 75 Gin alongside Rod Burrows and Doddie Weir to raise funds for Motor Neuron Disease. Amongst the build up to Christmas, we launched some delicious cocktail bundle gift sets on our website and two exclusive limited-edition gin bundles that both went down an absolute treat!
Cheers to 2021... what a year!