“People generally do want to buy local but they’re not really given the opportunity to because the big breweries, the big spirit producers, monopolise all the bars now” – David Blick.
An award-winning Leamington distiller has come up with his own solution to what he describes as a ‘lack of support’ for home-grown brands from local establishments.
David Blick, of Warwickshire Gin Company, has unveiled Lockhart’s, a new mobile pub dedicated to selling only independent Warwickshire brands.
Even the name stays true to its roots, in a nod to Samuel Lockhart, the famous elephant trainer, who lived in Leamington Spa from the late 1800’s until his death in 1933.
Samuel imported and trained several elephants and became the foremost elephant trainer in the world. His most famous troupe were three female elephants Wilhelmina, Trilby and Haddie known collectively as the Three Graces.
His elephants entertained Queen Victoria and were kept, at times, in Leamington Spa in the 1880s and 1890s when he was home from his various international shows. There are several references to Lockhart’s elephants across Leamington.
As well as WGC’s range of gins and rums, Lockhart’s sells Leamington-brewed ales, Windmill Hill and BRUBL plus Napton Cider, produced in Napton-on-the-Hill and Blabers Wine, based in Fillongley.
David said: “Around 750 pubs have already closed this year already in the UK. I wonder why? Is it because you can go to Sainsbury’s and get the same beer for about £1 as opposed to paying £6-£7 for it at the pub? It’s interesting that locally The Boiler Room – our biggest customer locally – is very successful and stocks zero big breweries beers!
“We do sell a lot of Business to Consumer but Business to Business, bars and restaurants is virtually non-existent. Bars and restaurants just tend to buy in from whomever they have the cheapest contract with, which is sad, but that’s the reality of what happens in our area.”
