Gin fit for a king as family business marks coronation in regal style
A family-run gin shop has created a special coronation spirit to mark the historic occasion – and a bottle is on its way to Buckingham Palace.
Moonshine & Fuggles, in Ironbridge, which is run by Derek Bowen, has come up with a limited edition Kings Coronation Gin.
Limited to 74 bottles – one for each year of King Charles III's life – Mr Bowen said the first bottle is going to The King, as a gift to mark his coronation.
He also recalled how he once, quite literally, ran into the future monarch as a child.
It is not the first time Moonshine & Fuggles have produced a regal spirit, having prepared a special gin to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which was also sent to Buckingham Palace.
Mr Bowen said he had even been told that particular tipple had been seen on the bar in the royal household at Windsor – by a member of royal staff who had visited the shop.
The latest gin, which was distilled in Brierley Hill at the West Midlands Distillery, is described as 'an old school dry gin' with a double helping of juniper – and a host of botanicals to reflect the King's own well known passion for nature.
Mr Bowen said that two of the botanicals had actually come from Ironbridge – cherry blossom, and alpine flowers.
The bottles, which cost £42.95, will go on sale on a first-come first-served basis at 10am on Saturday.
Money from the jubilee gin paid for a special tree to be planted in Dale End park in Ironbridge to mark the occasion, and the latest gin will do the same, to allow for a tree in tribute to the new king.
Mr Bowen said he hoped King Charles III would enjoy the drink, and also revealed he had even bumped into the future monarch as a child in the 1970s.
The chance occurrence came as the then prince was visiting the county and Mr Bowen had been a young Cub, ready to greet him with the rest of the Scout troupe.
He said: "I am nearly 60 years of age but when I was 11, when Prince Charles visited Ironbridge back in 1970, I was down there waving my flag as a Cub Scout.
"But before I was doing my paper round, I put on my Cub uniform, ran down Madeley Bank, and as I ran round the corner I ran straight into Prince Charles and fell over. He picked me up, put my hat back on my head and put me back in line!"
