The Shalford Spirit Co
At The Shalford Spirit Co, Every Bottle Begins As A Story
One shaped by the seasons, distilled with craft, and finished with a touch of quiet English eccentricity. We create bespoke gins & vodkas that honour the character of their ingredients, from spring’s first blossoms to winter’s deep, aromatic botanicals. Small‑batch by design and uncompromising in quality, our spirits are crafted for those who appreciate nuance, seasonality, and the pleasure of something made with genuine care and a splash of history.
Introducing Our Flagship Craft Gin
“The Silver Dog London Dry Gin” is crafted from naturally filtered spring water rising beneath Croziers and botanicals grown on our property, just steps from the still.
Elegant, balanced, and shaped by the land itself, it captures the purity, heritage, and quiet adventure that define The Shalford Spirit Company. This carefully crafted Spirit has been delicately blended with botanicals grown in the gardens of Croziers – Bay, Chamomile & Sage combined with classic ingredients that are the very definition of any gin – Juniper Berries, Coriander Seeds & Angelica root. All taken and distilled with our own natural spring water to create an exceptionally smooth & drinkable Gin.
A spirit with unmistakable provenance and a character as loyal as its namesake.
Introducing Grey Ghost Vodka
Drawn from crystal-clear spring water naturally filtered through ancient stone beneath Croziers, this elegant vodka reflects the land from which it comes. Its base spirit is crafted from British wheat and distilled in Britain before being blended with our own natural spring water, imparting exceptional smoothness and a distinctive character shaped by the subtle mineral qualities of the source.
Exceptionally clean, impeccably balanced and beautifully smooth, Grey Ghost Vodka is a spirit with a story in every sip. Refined enough to enjoy neat and versatile enough for the finest cocktails, it embodies the same dedication to quality and sense of place that define every spirit produced by The Shalford Spirit Company.
A vodka of remarkable purity, inspired by the landscape it calls home.
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How its done
Small‑batch by design and uncompromising in quality our gins tell a story of craftsmanship, passion, and dedication to quality, all done in partnership with The Essex Spirits Co - Founded during the first lockdown of 2020 (in his grandmothers garage) by ex-cocktail bartender Zane Chiswell-Rivas. Affectionately known as 'The Essex Distillery', they are Chelmsford’s first ever commercial distillery aiming to make heritage meet innovation in every sip by showcasing the best of local produce, using sustainable methods & most importantly making every drop memorable.
Our ingredients
All of our products are created using the carefully filtered spring water that runs beneath our property, which is then infused with our home grown botanicals including rose hips, Chamomile, Sage, & bay that then produce our small range of "Silver Dog" Gins & "Grey Ghost" Vodkas.
Coming Soon
Our aim is to create a small selection of carefully executed Gins & Vodkas, continuing the dedication to quality & passion for our surroundings in each new offering. With the addition of rose hips collected from our own gardens we will be creating a new recipe for a "Silver Dog Rose Gin" as well as a line of "Grey Ghost" Vodka's including both traditional and flavoured options made from our own spring water.
Our History
At Croziers, time runs deep. Since 1635, this thatched Grade II listed home has stood over ancient glacial clay and chalk, a geological cradle that naturally filters the spring water rising beneath it. This water, clean, mineral‑balanced, and untouched by river extraction forms the heart of our Gin.
From the gardens come bay, chamomile, and sage, grown on the same land that sustained the property for centuries. Together, these botanicals and the spring water create a gin with unmistakable provenance: elegant, earthy, and authentically Shalford.
Croziers has also been home to remarkable individuals whose stories quietly enrich its legacy. Among them was Sir Alexander “Sandy” Glen, the Scottish Arctic explorer and wartime intelligence officer whose real‑life exploits helped inspire Ian Fleming’s creation of James Bond. His time at Croziers adds a subtle thread of adventure and sophistication to the estate’s history, a reminder that this rural haven has, at moments, brushed against the extraordinary.
Just as Glen’s polar expeditions were shaped by geology and ice, our gin is shaped by the land beneath Croziers, the chalk, the clay, the ancient aquifer that delivers water of exceptional purity. And just as Glen embodied precision and resilience, we honour the property’s heritage by using botanicals grown mere metres from the still.
The result is a spirit with depth, clarity, and character: a gin rooted in centuries of rural craftsmanship, elevated by a whisper of adventure from one of Britain’s most intriguing real‑life heroes.
But Croziers’ story is still being written. As its newest custodians, we are adding our own lives, passions, and traditions to the tapestry of this historic home. At the heart of that story are our “Silver dogs”, the companions who shape our days, roam the gardens with us, and bring joy to every corner of the property. They are now part of Croziers as surely as the spring, the soil, and the centuries of history beneath our feet.
It is their spirit, loyalty, and character that inspire the names of our spirits, a celebration of the bond between land, heritage, and the animals who share it with us.
This is The Shalford Spirit Co. A gin shaped by nature, refined by heritage, enriched by the stories of those who called Croziers home and carried forward by the lives we now share here today.
Resident of Shalford and owner of the cottage between 1944 - 1974
Sir Alexander Richard “Sandy” Glen KBE DSC was a Scottish Arctic explorer, intelligence officer and adventurer whose life unfolded with the drama of a novel. Born in Glasgow in 1912, he led pioneering expeditions to the Arctic in the 1930s, producing important glaciological and geological research and later chronicling his experiences in Under the Pole Star. His combination of academic precision and fearless exploration made him one of Britain’s most respected young polar leaders.
During the Second World War, Glen served in covert operations across Eastern Europe and the Balkans, where he worked closely with fellow intelligence officer Ian Fleming. Their friendship, forged in the high‑pressure world of wartime espionage, left a lasting mark on Fleming, who later cited Glen as one of the real‑life inspirations behind the cool‑headed, resourceful persona of James Bond.