LUDLOW FOOD FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW HEADLINE SPONSOR: WILDJAC DISTILLERY

We are thrilled to introduce our new headline sponsor for this year’s Ludlow Food Festival – Wildjac. This independent distillery is nestled in the beautiful Wyre Forest and is backed by over 150 years of distilling experience. We sat down with Wildjac co-founder Aster Sadler to learn more about their spirits, their ethos and what they’ll be bringing to Ludlow…

Welcome to the Ludlow Food Festival family! Some of our visitors will be familiar with Wildjac from previous festivals, but tell us a little bit more about the distillery and how it all started…

Thank you for having us! We are so excited about partnering with the Food Festival.

Wildjac is different. We are a sustainable distillery committed to producing premium spirits, that bring joy to our customers. We combine the finest foraged botanicals with a serious approach to distillation, and always dedicated to doing good for the planet and the community.

We launched Wildjac in 2020 after stepping away from our brewery business, Sadler’s, with the desire to create a wholly sustainable spirits brand. Together with our incredible team, some of whom worked with us before, we wanted to build a brand that is both passionately local and ambitiously global.

Co-founders Chris and Aster

Our home is nestled in the Wyre Forest – Wildjac is a nod to the muntjac deer that you’ll find in this beautiful part of the world, and our ‘wild’ ethos. If you haven’t visited our distillery yet, we would love to see you. You can enjoy tastings, make your own gin, and discover more about the brand, and our relationship with the planet.

What is your signature drink and how would you recommend enjoying it?

We don’t have a signature drink, rather serves that each of the team enjoy the most. Chris loves the Rum Negroni, which is best serves with Honey Spiced Rum, Campari and sweet vermouth. Ash will always go for a Wild Mojito, which tastes best with our Natural Dry Gin. I don’t actually drink, which is why we developed our incredible Natural Botanical Spirits, which I love with a Mediterranean tonic, ice and lime.

Our vision is to change the way that people choose their spirits and bring sustainable spirits to a national consumer audience. With Wildjac you can have quality, choice, and be kind to the planet, so I would urge you to find your own Wildjac signature drink.

The natural environment (and plant life in particular) is very important to you as a brand - tell us about the environmental charities and organisations that you support


Our relationship with place and planet is at the heart of all that we do, from production and packaging, through to our charitable work. Wildjac’s spirits are inspired by the flavours of the English countryside, with core ingredients both foraged and local, where possible. Relationships with local producers is key to this sustainable supply chain which ensures quality for our customers. We love talking to people at events about foraging and our relationship with the countryside.

All of our spirits are then hand-bottled within 100% post-consumer recycled glass bottles featuring recycled sugarcane labels, FSC-certified wood stoppers and biodegradable closures. We also have alternative, innovative packaging including our Jacpacs and Frugal bottles, which you will be able to discover and buy at the festival.

With each 70cl bottle, our consumers can scan a QR code so they can be gifted a wildflower seed-pack to encourage them to affect change by supporting their local habitat. Our little gift to you!

A close working relationship with charities has also been part of our ethos from the beginning. Part of the 1% For The Planet programme, we donate 1% of all turnover back to charities and organisations including Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, and Wyre Community Land Trust.

Do you have any locally sourced botanicals that you like to use in your gin? If so, what led you to choose them?

In our Natural Dry Gin, classic notes of Juniper berry are lifted by locally sourced and foraged Thyme, Douglas Fir and lemon balm. Wherever possible we forage in the Wyre Forest area, to really enhance our relationship with the land, and ensure we have full control over the quality of the ingredients we use. For our Apple & Elderberry Gin, and our Damson & Raspberry Gin, we also use locally sourced ingredients, working closely with an organic fruit farm just down the road to us.

How do you use your on-site laboratory to develop new innovations? 

At our distillery in the Wyre Forest, we create vodka, rum, gin, and Natural Botanical Spirits using traditional techniques whilst embracing the latest technology to ensure optimum efficiency and consistency. Then in our on-site laboratory, in our bottling facility, the team are constantly developing new methods and spirits for clients who want our expertise and support to develop new products and keep the industry moving forward.

What are you most looking forward to at this year's Ludlow Food Festival?

We absolutely love the festival and have been coming both as visitors and as exhibitors for years now. We are most excited about meeting new customers and getting to share our passion for what we do. I am also excited to meet and potentially collaborate with other food and drink businesses from the region, as well as have the opportunity to meet some of the incredible chefs who will be sharing their skills over the weekend.

Book your tickets for this year’s Ludlow Food Festival (8^th – 10^th September) where you can meet the Wildjac team and taste their delicious range of sustainable spirits for yourself.  You can also discover more about Wildjac, their products and their distillery experiences at wildjac.co.uk.