Fox Reds is a premium vodka purpose-built for the Bloody Mary. Produced at Hawkridge Distillery in Berkshire, each bottle is precisely distilled with smoked bacon, horseradish, dill, celery, chilli and pepper: botanicals chosen not for novelty, but to lay the finest possible foundation for the world’s most considered cocktail.

The result is a spirit of genuine depth and distinction. Bold enough to lead, nuanced enough to elevate and versatile enough to hold its own far beyond the Bloody Mary glass, Fox Reds brings consistency, character and a compelling premium story to the breakfast trolley, the brunch menu and the back bar.

In our interview, founder Rupert Lee-Uff shares the story behind Fox Reds and his vision for the brand.

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When did you see a gap in the market?

It came from many years of genuine frustration. I had been making Bloody Marys and going through the whole ritual, the horseradish, the celery salt, the Worcestershire sauce, and it struck me that every single ingredient on the counter had been chosen with care, except the vodka. This is the most complex cocktail most people will ever make, and the spirit at its heart is an afterthought.

I started looking for a vodka that had been built for the Bloody Mary. Something that brought its own flavour to the glass, that understood what the drink needed. It didn’t exist. So we made it.

Why focus on the Bloody Mary specifically?

Because it’s a phenomenal cocktail and no one else has. The Bloody Mary sits in the global top five cocktails by cultural significance, it is genuinely iconic, and yet it has been completely overlooked by the premium spirits market. Every other major cocktail has attracted serious craft attention. For the negroni, the martini and the old fashioned, there are spirits, vermouths and bitters designed specifically to elevate them. The Bloody Mary has had nothing. That felt like an enormous opportunity.

There is also something deeply personal about the Bloody Mary. People are fiercely attached to their version of it. It is the one cocktail where the consumer genuinely feels ownership. That passion is something we want to honour and build on, not flatten.

How did you develop the product?

It was a lengthy process. We started with some very questionable infusions. It took almost two years to finally arrive at the perfect balance of ingredients and the correct method to install the flavours into the vodka base. We started with the final Bloody Mary in mind, and worked backwards from there. The vodka base needed to be exceptional in its own right, because if the foundation isn’t right, nothing you add will save it. Hawkridge’s vodka is globally award-winning, so that gave us tremendous confidence.

The botanical selection took many iterations. The smoked bacon needed to give depth without dominating. The horseradish needed heat that lingered rather than assaulted. The dill and celery had to provide freshness without tipping into something that tasted like a salad. Getting the balance right, so that everything works in concert rather than competing took time and a great deal of tasting. We got there, and when we did, it was immediately obvious.

How does Fox Reds make life easier for bartenders?

The Bloody Mary is one of the most labour-intensive serves behind the bar. Multiple ingredients, careful measurement and constant inconsistency between one bartender and the next. Fox Reds simplifies the build dramatically — the botanical complexity is already in the spirit, so the bar team is working from a far stronger starting point with far fewer variables.

Importantly, it does not dumb the drink down. The consumer still gets a Bloody Mary of genuine distinction. If anything, they get a better one, because the foundation is so much stronger and the build is more controlled. Fox Reds adds rather than dilutes. Bartenders can also tinker. Fox Reds is a platform for creativity, not a constraint on it. The best mixologists we have worked with have used it as a springboard for serves we had never imagined.

How does the product support consistency and speed of service in busy hotel environments?

Consistency is everything in a high-volume hotel environment. A Bloody Mary made at 7am on a Monday by a junior member of the breakfast team needs to be as good as the one made at lunchtime by the head bartender. With a conventional build, that is extremely difficult to guarantee. With Fox Reds, it becomes much more achievable, because the hardest work, the botanical calibration and the balance of flavours has already been done.

Speed of serve improves significantly too. Fewer ingredients, fewer steps and less room for error. In a busy hotel breakfast operation, that matters enormously. And quality is not compromised in the process, if anything, the floor is raised. The worst Bloody Mary made with Fox Reds is still very good.

What has the response been from operators so far?

The response has been enormously encouraging. The conversations we are having at the top end of the market have validated everything we believed about the opportunity. These are venues with extraordinarily high standards, and when their beverage teams taste Fox Reds, the reaction is consistently one of recognition.

What is particularly gratifying is that the interest is not just from bartenders. F&B directors and procurement teams understand the commercial story immediately. A spirit with provenance, specificity and a narrative that supports the kind of premium positioning that drives margin and drives guest experience simultaneously.

How do you see the Bloody Mary category evolving over the next few years?

I think we are at the beginning of a genuine cultural moment for the Bloody Mary. The cocktail renaissance of the last decade elevated almost every category, but it left the Bloody Mary behind. That is starting to change. Consumers are more knowledgeable, more adventurous and more willing to pay for quality than they have ever been. Operators are looking for premium serves that have a story, that generate margin and that give guests a reason to order something they would not find anywhere else.

The Bloody Mary ticks every one of those boxes. It just needed someone to treat it with the seriousness it deserves. That is what Fox Reds is here to do, and I genuinely believe that in the next few years, the idea of building a Bloody Mary on a neutral, undifferentiated vodka will seem as strange as using cheap gin in a martini. The standard is going to be raised, and we intend to be the ones who raise it.

What is next for Fox Reds?

We have two products in development that we are very excited about. The first is a smoked hickory vodka. A plant-based alternative that delivers the same depth and smokiness as Fox Red No.1 without the bacon infusion. This opens up the product to a much wider audience, and it is particularly relevant for the Middle East, where we see a significant opportunity with our vegan offering in the premium spirits category.

The second is a tomato vodka, with all subtle signature flavours of our Bloody Mary Vodka developed specifically for a Bloody Mary Martini expression. A cleaner, more refined serve that brings the Bloody Mary into the cocktail bar rather than the brunch table. Both products stay true to our core philosophy: precision, purpose and flavour above all else.

www.foxreds.uk