Conker

Rupert Holloway quit a career as a chartered quantity surveyor to build Dorset's first gin distillery from scratch. With no savings and no family recipe to fall back on, he launched Conker Spirit in 2014 from a unit in the backstreets of Southbourne, Bournemouth. The name nods to the Dorset countryside; the gin very much wears where it's from.

Conker's flagship Dorset Dry Gin is distilled from British wheat spirit and New Forest spring water, with ten botanicals including locally foraged gorse flowers, samphire and elderberries alongside the more expected juniper. After 45 trial recipes, Holloway settled on number 38. A Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur followed, made with Dorset-roasted specialty coffee and the distillery's own spirit.

The alcohol-free offering is Bowser Leaf, launched in 2021. Rather than trying to replicate the gin botanicals in a non-alcoholic format, Conker took a different approach: five fresh, herbaceous botanicals (mint, tarragon, patchouli, thyme and basil) are distilled separately in copper alembic pot stills using New Forest spring water, then blended. The result is distinctly green and savoury on the nose, with anise notes from the tarragon, a cool freshness from the mint, and a soft rounded finish from the basil. It's quite unlike most alcohol-free spirits, which tend to lean towards juniper-forward profiles. In tonic with a slice of lemon, it holds its own.

Bowser Leaf is sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan and carries no calories. It's available through Ocado and other specialist AF retailers at around £20 for a 70cl bottle.

Conker remains a small craft distillery with a strong Dorset identity. The AF range is limited to a single SKU, so this is primarily a spirits brand that happens to have one well-made alcohol-free option rather than a dedicated AF producer.

The Collection

Bowser Leaf