About Us

In the early 90’s Christine Munro, the founder of Riverside Spirits, organised the first Alderley Edge Farmers’ Market, a now locally renowned monthly event, to help a farmer friend of hers take  produce direct to the consumer during a national foot and mouth crisis. Rapidly, the event grew and Christine’s next venture was to begin to showcase her own produce. First to debut was puddings, then cakes and finally she settled on preserves in 2010.

Within a short space of time Christine’s Preserves, as she was then known, was bottling over ten thousand jars annually, all of which were made by hand in Christine’s home kitchen using family recipes passed down from generation to generation. Not one to rest on her laurels, a new challenge was sought and liqueur production seemed like a perfect - and sustainable - use of the excess fruit from the jams and marmalades. By Christmas 2012 the first batch of Sloe Gin was ready and went down a storm, selling out, which led Christine to expand operations.

Diversifying from solely Farmers’ Market, initially sales were direct to consumer at food events throughout the UK. At this point, Hugh and Charlotte Munro, Christine’s son and daughter in law, joined the team, in keeping the brand values of family owned and local. Weekends were spent meeting regulars at local events, sharing the latest creations or chatting about cocktails, the weather and the price of fish. After being nominated for Woman Of The Year, appearing on The One Show and alongside Gino D’Acampo and Alan Titchmarsh the natural progression was to take the brand national, showcasing a signature selection of liqueurs to the nation’s Foodies, and Christine’s Preserves was rebranded to Riverside Spirits. Over the years the range and reputation grew, numerous awards were won and many friends were made.