Shops / drinks

New bottle shop to champion female drinks producers

By Martin Booth  Friday Jun 26, 2020

A new “female-focused off licence” is set to become a key part of a bar in Redfield when it reopens on July 4.

The new bottle shop at Bristol Spirit on Whitehall Road will stock female-owned, co-owned and produced drinks brands from across the South West.

There will be beer, cider and wine from the likes of Dunleavy Wines, Hiver Beer, Lost & Grounded and Arbor Ales, as well as Espensen Spirit, co-founded by Bristol Spirit owner Sam Espensen.

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Espensen said: “There are an increasing number of fantastic female owned or produced drinks businesses, and this is the perfect opportunity to open a specialist bottle shop showcasing the best of them.”

Beer and food writer Melissa Cole applauded Bristol Spirit for taking the difficult decision of “challenging the status quo”.

She said: “I’m really delighted at this new venture, as studies have show that in the world of craft beer, openly identifying as a woman producer on your packaging can have an impact on whether people will choose to buy it or not and also their expectations for how it good it is.

“So, challenging that is key in creating a more inclusive environment for women to enter not only the beer business, but other aspects of production and entrepreneurship in what are perceived to be ‘male’ products too.”

Main photo: Espensen Spirit

Read more: Restaurant and bar group reveal post-lockdown ‘manifesto’

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