A gin factory which opened in October has picked up its first international awards – for vodka.

The family-owned Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham was awarded a double gold for its Vela Vodka at the 17th San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

It launched the spirit – grown using grains from the Isle of Sheppey – in the same month it opened in Victorian Pump House No. 5 at the town’s former dockyard.

It uses a recipe created by head distiller Abhi Banik, who studied and taught at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Its name is inspired by the sail-shaped constellation used for navigation since Roman times.

The company is one of just a handful of distilleries in Britain which carries out the complete distillation process, from grain to glass, and is the only one in Kent.

It also makes a Dockyard Gin and has just completed its first batch of whiskey.

Waste grains are fed to Kentish cattle.

Co-founder Stephen Russell said: “Ingenuity has always been at the heart of the Chatham Dockyard, and the bold men who built ships here, from Nelson’s Victory through to submarines.

“They have always needed resourcefulness and spirit, and as a local family, we feel the same inventiveness in our bones.

“So we are over the moon for Vela Vodka to be awarded a Double Gold at such a prestigious competition, within six months of our first distillation.

“Abhi has distilled an incredible product and the recognition of it being awarded double gold in San Francisco speaks volumes.”

Read more at source: Kent Online