Stockport Gin on why community is king

Catching up with Paul Sharrocks, co-founder of Stockport Gin  

Stockport Gin is one of the town’s flourishing independent businesses. The frontage has been painted blue as a nod to the brand and also to Stockport County FC, Paul and his wife and co-founder Cheryl’s beloved team. Paul and Cheryl have become a big part of the Stockport community, regularly collaborating with other Stopford businesses and helping bring local people together. 

The well-loved brand was never expected to become the phenomenon it is today, with Paul and Cheryl originally planning to sell just a few bottles of gin alongside their day jobs before it quickly grew into the success it it is now. 

We spoke to Paul about  Stockport gin, his love for the town and his future plans for the business.  

 

 

So, tell me, how did this business come to be? How did you get onto the gin scene? 

“Me and Cheryl, my wife, started this business back in November 2018, and then we moved into this place in 2021; it’s been over five years now. It’s weird because I actually used to work in architecture and Cheryl was a hairdresser.  

We’re both Stockport born and bred. We both like drinking gin and we love travelling. Wherever we’d travel to we’d always find the local gin distillery. We’d do a tour, find out who makes it, why they’re making it and what makes their different. Then, whenever we went out in Stockport, we’d always ask for the most local gin, and they were never serving it, so we decided to do it ourselves.”  

“It was never a hobby, it was always a precursor, but we always thought that it was something that we were just going to do on the side. It just got massive out of nowhere, particularly during COVID, the business footfall was immense. After COVID is when we moved into here and it became our full-time jobs.”  

“We now do gin tours, people can come in and we’ll show them round and talk to them all about gin. We’ve also got a gin school as well so people can come and make their own bottle of gin, it’s on every weekend.” 

What should people know you for?  

“Obviously we want to be known for making good gin. But I’ve always said from day one, if we want to call ourselves ‘Stockport Gin,’ then we need to represent this town as well as making good gin. It is a great platform to be able to promote the town.”  

There’s a strong sense of local pride carries through everything that Paul and Cheryl do, and you can tell that they love to pair up in the community. 

“We work a lot with the football club, they stock our gin and they sell an exclusive edition, as well as gift sets. As well as the football club, we work with Runaway brewery, Robinson’s brewery, and various other businesses. Basically, anyone that’s local, if they’re willing to work with us, then we’re willing to work with them. Collaboration is key to Stockport Gin… and it goes back to that ethos, that we’ve got to represent Stockport in the best way that we can.”  

“We like to show people who we are, we are the face of the business. I think that’s important because it allows people to relate to us and if you know the people behind a business and the reason why we do what we do, hopefully they’re more drawn to us.” 

 

 

And, how has the business grown since those early days?  

“Originally it started with locals, but it’s grown from there. Only two weeks ago we had a group of nine guys from Denmark which was amazing. You know, we didn’t set out to be at the scale we’re at now and be getting international visitors to a distillery in Stockport, that was never the plan, but we can now do that. They came to Manchester and wanted to do a gin tour, so they got the train to Stockport, and they spent the day here, going round the shops and bars, and taking in the culture. 

They said, within half an hour of being here, they’d wished that they had stayed in Stockport rather than Manchester. They said that they had enjoyed how intimate it is, but still with a great atmosphere.”  

So, what’s next for Stockport Gin?  

“We’ve got lots of new products lined up for this year and next, we want to keep building the tours and attracting more international visitors. I do want to be able to start exporting the gin internationally, that is a big goal of mine. A couple of the blossoms have been in. I would actually love to do a gin with the Blossoms so I keep trying to get hold of them, that’s one of my next big goals.” 

Despite the growth, Paul’s love for Stockport remains at the centre of everything. 

“Stockport is the best place in the world… I’d never want to move from here. It’s a great place, everyone is willing to work together; its full of nice, friendly people who are ready to support other local people.  

What should we try from your range?  

“My favourite gin is the original. We set out in order to make a gin that people love as much as we do. Nothing has beaten it yet, but Cheryl’s favourite is the ‘Twist of Lime’ gin that we offer. It’s a dry gin, but it still has fresh lime feels.”