Warwick-based children's charity Molly Ollys is celebrating its tenth year with the launch of its own pink gin.

The charity teamed up with Shakespeare Distillery, Stratford, to create a bespoke, small batch craft gin with notes of raspberries, blackberries and Mediterranean citrus. 

Molly Ollys already sells a successful range of products such as candles, diffusers and room sprays and felt the tenth anniversary was a good opportunity to expand its offering.

The charity was founded in 2012 by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw after their daughter, Molly, died from a rare kidney cancer at the age of eight years old.

The charity emotionally supports children who have a life-threatening illness by delivering wishes to make them smile and with their Olly The Brave therapeutic toy lion and books.

Rachel said: "Gin is such a popular gift that it seemed a good idea to offer our very own 'Molly Ollys Pink Gin'.

"We were keen to ensure it was a high-quality product and it made sense to work with Shakespeare Distillery to create our own premium product, as they are well-established and well-known for their artisan gins.

 We chose to make it pink because our logo is pink and we know some supporters like to donate to the charity by purchasing something from us so we hope the gin will be a winner. Last night's gin launch was a real success, with many people buying a bottle as a Christmas gift for family or friends."

For the founder of Shakespeare Distillery, Simon Picken, this is the first time the business has ever moved into contract distilling.

"We love experimenting with different flavours to create new gins, it was therefore an absolute pleasure to receive the call from such a good cause as Molly Ollys who entrusted us to help them craft a bespoke premium gin for them," he said.

 "We are very pleased with the end result and I hope it proves a great success in raising important funds for the charity."

Forty guests were invited to the Molly Ollys Pink Gin launch at Shakespeare Distillery where they got to sample the gin, have a tour of the distillery as well as having the opportunity to buy a bottle.

Cllr Kate Rolfe, Deputy Mayor of Stratford, said: "I was delighted to be invited to Molly Ollys charity gin launch.

"It is fantastic that the charity has used its initiative to create a product people will enjoy and love to buy and with Christmas just around the corner, it is certainly great timing.

"Molly Ollys does such amazing work all across the UK and I feel very proud that we have such a wonderful charity on our doorstep that is making the dark days brighter for children with life-threatening illnesses."

The Molly Ollys Pink Gin can be bought from the charity's online shop https://mollyolly.co.uk/shop/molly-ollys-pink-gin/