‘World’s first’ black gin arrives in UK, new Pub Pride Day brew, River Cottage beer range unveiled

Brewery and pub group creates beer to celebrate Pub Pride Day

Hertfordshire's award-winning brewery and pub group Farr Brew is gearing up to celebrate the first-ever Pub Pride Day on 23 July by brewing a commemorative beer. 

Pub Pride is a nationwide campaign launched by Ask for Clive, a charity which partners with venues to promote inclusion and to create welcoming environments for the LGBT+ community.

The campaign encourages pub owners and managers to host Pub Pride events on 23 July with Pub Pride event kits including rainbow flags and bunting and T-shirts for staff.

In keeping with this, Farr Brew has created Pride Pale, an ale specifically made for Pub Pride to help raise funds and increase awareness of the Ask for Clive campaign. 

Farr Brew is donating 100% of its profits from cask sales to other pubs in Hertfordshire and 20p from every pint of Pride Pale sold in one of Farr Brew pubs to Ask for Clive.

Discussing the launch of Pride Pale, Matt Elvidge and Nick Farr from Farr Brew said: "We want to do as much as we can to support Ask for Clive and Pub Pride, and creating a dedicated Pub Pride day ale that we help raise funds for the charity seemed like the best thing for us to do.

"Customers will see Pub Pride in pubs across the county alongside the Ask for Clive sticker and will know that these venues welcome everyone and will not tolerate discrimination in any way. It is a really important message and it is a stronger one when all of the pubs pull together to stand up to discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community."

Stroud Brewery launches new River Cottage beer range

Stroud Brewery – an independent, organic craft beer maker – has launched three new brews in tandem with Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall of River Cottage – a brand used for a number of ventures including a long-running Channel 4 television series and cookery courses.

The #FoodToInspireChange beer trilogy aims to draw attention to the scarcity of hops and promotes a three-year project initiated by Stroud Brewery through the Innovative Farmers programme.   

The project aims to identify and trial disease resistant hop varieties and enable the UK beer industry to become lower impact and organic. It brings together two organic growers with researchers at the Organic Research Centre, in partnership with River Cottage and Charles Faram  

“UK-grown organic hops are very difficult to get hold of, and the challenge of growing them is the largest barrier to increasing production of UK organic beer,” Stroud Brewery founder Grey Pilley said.

“By collaborating as a supply chain, we’re aiming to identify varieties that farmers can grow more confidently, and as a brewer I’d like to have regular UK supplies of organic hops – there is also a huge variety of flavours to tap into, which could help British brewers create more distinctive products.”

Weston’s cider launches Henry Westons Vintage Draught

Westons Cider has announced the launch of 5.2% ABV Henry Westons Vintage Draught – the brand’s first ever cider in draught format.

“We’ve seen a huge rise in sales of crafted ciders over the past year, and this subsector is now growing at a rate over five times faster than the overall category,” Sally McKinnon, head of marketing at Westons Cider, said. “Our Henry Westons brand is perfectly primed to help the on-trade make the most of this, established as a benchmark for the highest quality, best-tasting crafted cider.

“Henry Westons is our star-performer in retail, and we’ve built a loyal shopper base who purchase this brand regularly. In fact, our Henry Westons Vintage retail product is the UK’s biggest glass bottled cider and attracted 66.6% more shoppers in 2020, with one bottle now sold every second.”

The launch of Henry Westons Vintage Draught will be supported by a £2m above-the-line campaign, which will see the Henry Westons brand advertised nationally via a heavy-weight outdoor media campaign throughout the summer.

Henry Westons Vintage Draught is available now to on-trade retailers nationwide.

Harpalion Spirits secures UK distribution deal

Scottish drinks business Harpalion Spirits has secured a UK distribution contract with bbb drinks.   

Harpalion Spirit’s first launch is premium rum Cabal No.1513, produced using a combination of pot and column distillation techniques with rums from prominent distilleries in Guatemala, Guyana, Trinidad, Panama and the Caribbean. 

Bottled at 43% ABV, Cabal No.1513 is non-chill filtered, and naturally produced – containing no added colouring, flavouring or sugar. 

Claire Kinloch, CEO at Harpalion Spirits, said: “This is a key milestone for the business following our successful launch to the market at the end of May and we’re really looking forward to working together with the team at bbb to build our brand across the UK. 

“We’ve received exceptional feedback from everyone who has tasted Cabal No.1513 across consumers, media and the trade, and our partnership with bbb will enable us to broaden our reach throughout the UK and take our brand to the next level in the growing rum sector. We also have exciting plans for new product launches in the future which will further bolster and support our independent growth ambition.” 

Marussia to take over distribution of Seven Hills Italian Dry Gin  

Mercury Spirit brand Seven Hills Gin has unveiled Marussia Beverages UK as its new UK distributors. 

Distilled in Moncalieri, near Turin in the historic distillery of Torino Distillati, blockchain certified Seven Hills is created using pomegranate, rose hip, juniper, Roman camomile, blood orange, artichoke and celery hand chosen by a master herbalist.  

Founder of Seven Hills Gin, Filippo Previero, said: “We are very proud that Seven Hills Gin has achieved this impressive milestone in winning a strong distribution partner like Marussia. 

“We are very much looking forward to working with the team at Marussia Beverages and drawing on their expertise in rare and premium artisan spirits to introduce even more consumers to Seven Hills, forming a key part of our strategic global aspiration.”

Bisquit Cognac relaunched and available as Bisquit & Dubouché in the UK 

Campari Group UK has announced that Bisquit Cognac has been reborn as Bisquit & Dubouché, the original name for the celebrated cognac brand.

The brand joins the Campari Group UK Prestige Challenger portfolio, alongside Grand Marnier and Speyside Single Malt, the Glen Grant.

Campari Group UK’s managing director Brad Madigan said: “With a rich legacy and history, and following its exciting relaunch in 2020, we are thrilled to announce Bisquit & Dubouché as a new addition to the growing Campari Group UK Prestige Challenger portfolio. 

“As a Cognac brand recognised worldwide for its extraordinary quality and elegance, we are looking forward to bringing Bisquit & Dubouché to the UK market.”

Ferrari Trento, official toast of Formula 1, launches F1 Podium Jeroboam

Ferrari Trento has launched Ferrari F1 Podium Jeroboam ahead of the 2021 British Grand Prix.

The new bottle is a replica of that used on the podium, with the name “Ferrari” written large on one side and the symbol of the winner of the Grand Prix, and bears the official logo of Formula 1. 

It is being produced in a limited edition and is only available in the three-litre bottles.

For this special release, Ferrari Trento has selected a Blanc de Blancs from the 2015 vintage, made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes cultivated on the mountains of Trentino.

‘World’s first’ naturally black gin lands in the UK 

Scapegrace Black, which claims to be the world’s first naturally black gin, has launched a new premium gin.

From the award-winning Scapegrace distillery in New Zealand, Scapegrace Black changes colour from black to shades of purple when mixed with tonic.

Daniel Mclaughlin, co-founder and managing director said: “The Scapegrace brand is all about creating a brave new world for alcohol and gin lovers, crafting untraditional spirits using untraditional techniques. 

“We’re so excited for the UK to taste and get creative with Scapegrace Black this summer.”

Audemus reveals new ‘hybrid spirit’

Audemus Spirits has announced the launch of Fractal 3.0 Blooming, referred to as a hybrid spirit for the curious drinker. 

Fractal 3.0 Blooming was born out of founder and distiller Miko Abouaf’s desire to create a “table spirit” that would pair with food. 

Fractal 3.0 is a blend of distilled biodynamic Gewurztraminer wine from the French region of Alsace and a small amount of organic Bergamot produced in the southwest Italian region of Calabria. 

With an ABV of 21%, the new Fractal is best served chilled and neat, but can also be enjoyed with a light tonic mixer, according to its creators.

Abouaf commented: “Fractal 3.0 takes a totally different direction to Fractal 2.0. 

“Unlike 2.0, which was about aged spirits and rich, deep flavours, Fractal 3.0 is a white spirit that has been designed to be drunk with food. 

“The one thing these spirits have in common is that they don’t fit into any drinks category, which allows us to create new variants under 3.2, 3.3, etc.”