It started off with Diageo’s launch of Smirnoff Gold, a cinnamon-flavoured liqueur that has 23 carat gold leaf suspended in the liquid, in August.
This was swiftly followed by a raft of new products from Global Brands to dazzle, including a glittery version of its RTD brand VK, a mango-flavoured glitter-infused Corky’s variant and a cinnamon and gold-flecked version of its herbal liqueur Jungfrau.
Of course gold in drinks isn’t anything new, Goldschlager schnapps (which is also distributed by Global Brands, interestingly) has been around since I was staggering around the London Student Union bar, and it’s not been confined to spirits either.
Britvic launched its limited edition Glitterberry J20 for the first time in 2011 and Russian soft drink brand Zeo has got in on the fun with its Tingle Bells version of the drink for this winter as well.
Scrooges will say, of course, that this is all a bit gimmicky but, like puppies, these aren’t just for Christmas.
Look at the stats for a start. Liqueurs made with cinnamon and gold flakes are up 17% (CGA MAT to March 2013), which is the biggest growth in the liqueurs category, which is itself up 19%.
Driven by “weekend millionaires,” people who go out less often but who really go for it when they do, such drinks are versatile enough to work in mixed drinks, cocktails and shots, all of which are in growth.
It turns out that all that glitters is gold.