Black Sheep Brewery announces new cider
Award winning Yorkshire based Black Sheep Brewery has announced the release of a brand-new fruit cider, Bobby Horn’s Hedgerow Cider (4% ABV).
In a similar fashion to Black Sheep’s other cider offering, Booby Horn’s Easy Apple Cider, the new serve has been crafted exclusively from a blend of 100% British Apples, but with added plum, sloe, and blackcurrant to offer a sweet and dry balanced cider packed full of dark fruit.
Black Sheep Brewery CEO Charlene Lyons said: “After the popularity we’ve seen with Bobby Horn’s Easy Apple Cider, it was only right to introduce our next cider iteration, this time combining hedgerow fruits to create something interesting, flavoursome and packed with Black Sheep originality.”
Following an exclusive launch at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, North Yorkshire from 12 – 15 July, Bobby Horn’s Hedgerow Cider will be available in 500ml bottles draught direct from Black Sheep.
Spirit of Manchester launches flavoured vodka range
The Spirit of Manchester Distillery has added a trio of new flavoured vodka serves to its portfolio, Manchester Spirit Grapefruit, Manchester Spirit Tonka, and Manchester Spirit Coffee (all 40% ABV).
Handcrafted using natural ingredients and distilled under pressure, Spirit of Manchester master distiller, Seb Heeley and head distiller, Mat Duthie, crafted the new premium vodkas through innovative, small batch methods where every ingredient plays a key role in the flavour profile.
Duthie, said: “Each batch takes hundreds of hours to distil, refine and perfect and we have really taken our time to create a selection of premium vodkas that will delight discerning bartenders and drinks connoisseurs.
“We’ve deliberately chosen flavours which delight – freshly ground coffee, freshly peeled grapefruit, creamy, grown-up tonka.”
Each small batch of the grapefruit serve contains the peel of 300 freshly peeled grapefruits, macerated in alcohol for three days and then distilled at low temperatures creating a delicate balance of citrus sweetness with a drier, bitter pithiness.
Perfectly paired with a light tonic or in a Breakfast Martini or Grapefruit Cooler, the leftover fruit and juices from the grapefruit vodka are distributed to bars across Manchester, ensuring zero waste.
Made using freshly ground tonka beans, the mouthfeel is smooth and vanilla-like, leading to a nutty almond flavour with notes of sour cherry, the Tonka variant is best served in Pornstar and Espresso Martini’s or as the distiller’s own take on a Manhattan cocktail, Little Italy (recipe below).
Lastly, created using freshly ground coffee, equivalent to 400 cups per batch, Spirit of Manchester’s coffee vodka promises all the sensory pleasures of the perfect morning brew, hand ground by junior distiller, James.
The ground coffee is then macerated in alcohol for 24 hours and distilled at 40 degrees, unlocking the earthy, rich coffee flavours, best stored in the freezer, and enjoyed neat over ice or as in an Espresso Martini.
All of Spirit of Manchester’s new offerings are available now direct from the distilleries webshop in 70cl bottles at RRP £30.
Little Italy recipe
Ingredients:
- 30ml Tonka Vodka
- 30ml Sazerac
- 25ml Cocchi di Torino
- 2 dash Angostura bitters
- 1 dash Orange bitters
- Maraschino cherry for garnish
Method:
- Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker
- Fine strain into a nick and nora glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry
Freixenet Copestick expands wine portfolio
Freixenet Copestick has added one of South Africa’s oldest, award-winning wineries to its growing portfolio.
Spier Wine Farm, one of the biggest South African brands to join Freixenet Copestick, will be distributed across a group of companies, including through Jascots and Slurp.
Spier Wine managing director Frans Smith said: "Spier’s strategic partnership with Freixenet Copestick brings the opportunity to grow our footprint through their extensive network, including specialist on-trade supplier Jascots and DTC e-com merchant Slurp.
“As the main South African group supplier in the Freixenet Copestick portfolio, Spier offers old world wine styles with new world innovation. Our common goal - delivering outstanding quality products in a sustainable manner - makes this partnership the perfect fit for us.”
Long recognised for its sustainable approach to business, and with a winemaking legacy dating back to 1692, Spier Wine Farm is committed to responsible farming practices, with a primary focus on the regeneration of soil fertility, achieved through the use of high-density grazing and organic compost.
Furthermore, Spier invests in Growing For Good initiatives that empower communities and unleash positive social and environmental change.
Freixenet Copestick head of operation Rob Hilton said: “We are delighted to enter into this new partnership with Spier Wine Farm.
“The South African wine industry has gone through a tough time of late. However, recognition of the quality of wines being produced continues to grow on the world stage, exemplified by established producers like Spier.
“Not only are they producing exceptional wines at all quality levels but their core values of being good to the land and being good to the people resonate strongly with Freixenet Copestick values. We look forward to bringing their wines to a wider audience in the UK.”
For trade enquiries into Spier Wine contact Nikki.Wasylkowski@fxcbrands.com.
Caskshare releases 'Government inspired' whisky
Online premium cask spirits distributor, Caskshare, has announced a new whisky serve, the Big Lie, which the retailer stated was “inspired” by a “scandalous year of politics in the UK” as a tongue in cheek way to mark the end of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tenure.
Shrouded in mystery, the whisky will be from an unknown location and aged for an unknown amount of time, in an effort to mirror the ambiguity of Johnson’s time in office, according to Caskshare.
Positioned as an occasion bottle and priced at £55 RRP, the Big Lie (57% cask strength ABV) will feature a fruity nose with flavours of champagne, available to pre-order exclusively from Caskshare.
Wednesday's Domaine launches two alcohol-free wines
Launched earlier this week, Wednesday's Domaine offers two new alcohol-free wine based beverages with natural flavours and less than 45 calories per serve.
Exclusively focused on alcohol-free wines, Wednesday’s Domaine has taken dealcoholized wines from the La Mancha region of Spain and blended them with natural flavours to maintain body, flavour, aroma and complexity.
The brands Piquant (0.04%) variant, is pale lemon in appearance and made with Airen Blanco grapes, with hints of minerality and citrus notes, while the Sanguine (0.18%) offering channels lighter-bodied reds, made with Tempranillo grapes, with hints of plums and blackcurrants on the nose and palate.
Additionally, the wines are wax sealed and feature eye-catching labels, illustrated and designed by London-based illustrator, painter and jewellery designer, Alec Doherty.
Wednesday's Domaine founder Luke Hemsley said: “Whilst I love a glass myself and wine is undoubtedly at the heart of so many joyous occasions, it doesn’t always pair well with a busy lifestyle.
"Having tried numerous non-alcoholic wines, I was disappointed none of them hit the mark. The category for beers and spirits has come on leaps and bounds, but I felt wine had somewhat been left behind. As a result, my idea for Wednesday’s Domaine was born.
I wanted to create a brand that was passionate about bringing people together. We believe alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine can sit side by side, enhancing any occasion for those choosing to drink - or not. I am looking forward to being a part of a new and burgeoning sector in an incredibly welcoming industry."
The new serves are available to purchase now from Wednesday's Domaine at RRP £37 for three bottles or £70 for six.
Hawksbill rum adds two fruity variants to its portfolio
Hawksbill Caribbean Spiced Rum has added two fruity new rums to its range, Mango and Pineapple, combining rums from Trinidad and Guyana, blended with a distinctive combination of spices.
Continuing its conservation efforts and pledge to the environment, the brand have utilised fruits that would have otherwise gone to waste, all in a lighter, CO2 reducing, more eco-friendly bottles using cork made from waste material and suagrcane fibre labels, printed with plant-based inks.
In addition, the new flavours support the endangered turtles, after which the brand is named, by donating 10% of the profits from every bottle sold to the Barbados Sea Turtle Project, a conservation project set up to help protect endangered and critically endangered sea turtles and their habitats.
Alongside Hawksbill original Spiced Caribbean Rum, the two new variants (both (38% ABV), are available now in 70cl bottles direct from Hawksbill at RRP £23.
If you have any new products being released to the on-trade, email the details with high resolution images before Thursday at midday for potential inclusion on Friday’s article to Rebecca.weller@wrbm.com.
