Never Strays Far Gin

We have long been fond of travelling on two wheels, in fact we spent a year pedalling down through the Americas which is why there are two cyclists hidden within the botanicals on the inside of the back label of our gin.

Road bikes, touring bikes, folding bikes, fat bikes. We love all bikes.

And then comes July when you’ll find us glued to the Tour de France coverage. Afternoons at my desk catching up on paperwork to the background burble of Ned and David commentating on the day’s racing. Finding myself easily distracted by a breakaway, sprint or fancy castle.

Ned Boulting and David Millar have a podcast called Never Strays Far and this summer they added Pete Kennaugh into the mix and for the month of July became Never Strays Car whilst they recorded their daily pod updates whilst transferring from stage to stage.

The podcast listenership grew and the Never Strays Far team started to venture further than just podcasting. In November they are sponsoring the 4th round of the National Cyclocross Trophy series which is being held at the Velo Park in Torbay. As this is close to us I reached out to David to see if we could be involved in some way.

We have created a special Never Strays Far gin for the event. Following discussions with David, Ned and Pete and the wider NSF and Papillon teams we have come up with a unique recipe for this edition. The taste ‘never strays far’ from a traditional juniper led gin yet does include some slightly more unusual flavours. Thinking about the foods and drinks that people enjoy when spending time cycling we have chosen dates, almonds and oats (which give lovely natural sweetness and viscosity), cacao (for a subtle base note of chocolate) and orange peel for a nice citrus freshness.

It is important to us that our products have a connection to some kind of charitable giving, both financially and through volunteering. Our current products link with Butterfly Conservation and Buglife. The Never Strays Far Gin will be donating £5 from every bottle to Mid Devon Cycling Club’s Youth Academy programme.

The front label artwork has been created by Conor Brady from the Never Strays Far team. Studio de Ville, who have all of our design work, made sure that the back label and watch straps have that special Papillon touch. A lovely collaboration of designers.

The Cyclocross event is on the weekend of 19 and 20 November at Torbay Velo Park. It is free to enter as a spectator and should be a lot of fun. We will have a Never Strays Bar at the event so you can buy the special NSF Gin as well as our usual range. There will be a live podcast on Saturday night at the TQ Beerworks in Torquay. You can pick up a bottle there too.

It’s going to be a great weekend and we’re super excited to be involved. Ready for some bikes, mud and gin. A perfect Papillon weekend. This gin is a celebration of cycling and the riders of the future (future Davids and Petes?!)

Find out more on the Mid Devon Cycling Club's website