Hendrick’s Gin Releases Two More Proper Pedaling Devices For Cyber Monday

At the beginning of November, Hendrick’s gin released three stationary, penny-farthing style pedal bikes—deemed the Hendrick’s High Wheel—as a collector’s item for the gin and fitness enthusiast. The three bikes sold within days but today, just in time for Cyber Monday, Hendrick’s announces the release of two additional bikes for the cocktail-cycle enthusiasts who missed out the first time around.

“We’d hoped they would sell out, but were surprised to find all three sold in just one week,” says Kirsten Walpert, director of mixable spirits for William Grant & Sons Inc., the independent family-owned distiller of Hendrick’s gin. 

The handcrafted, Victorian bike features an intricate display of ironwork, including a miniature staircase to mount the 48-inch Grand Wheel, a patch of greenery and a light bulb that illuminates when you pedal. A photobook of the Scottish countryside replaces the standard screen of other stationary exercise bikes on the market as the Wheel was designed to exercise one’s imagination.

Walpert shares the second-edition is discounted at $111 from its original price ($2,493.11) to celebrate Cyber Monday and will also include, “an additional feature, claimed to be the most exciting feature ever added to a stationary Victorian-style fitness device.”

Both editions of High Wheels are part of Hendrick’s Department of Not-So-Convenient-Technology which was established in September of 2019 with the Horatio—”a somewhat small speaker.”

“As the world’s most unusual gin, we created the groundbreaking Department of Not-So-Convenient Technology to create innovations that offer a much-needed respite from the mundanity of mass-produced modern electronics,” shares Walpert. “Hendrick’s itself is no stranger to the benefits of inefficiency; our gin is concocted on two entirely different types of stills, each of which must be charged with 11 botanicals, then combined and further transformed with rose and cucumber essences—all of which is done in the tiny, utterly inconvenient seaside village of Girvan, Scotland.” 

In addition to the High Wheel as Hendrick’s first grand-scale holiday release, the brand also introduces a pocket watch with the purchase of the second-edition High Wheel. Hendrick’s chose the pocket watch as an accessory to send the lucky buyers for instant gratification because this round of High Wheels will not be fully constructed until February 2021. “Creating the Hendrick’s High Wheel is no ordinary feat,” explains Walpert. “The pocket watches are offered exclusively as one-of-a-kind creations purchasers can use to count the seconds until their High Wheel arrives.” 

Though there are only two more bikes available for the foreseeable future, Walpert teases that future releases are “always a possibility.” In the meantime, keep an eye on Hendrick’s Department of Not-So-Convenient-Technology for other collector’s items as this is only the third product in the portfolio, with more inventions coming soon.