Liquid assets: the latest drinks launches for July

Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co

Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co has launched a new Pilsner style beer finished with British honey (pictured above). Called Nectar, the 4.5% ABV beer, has been brewed with Pilsner malt and hopped with a  combination of Saaz and Hallertau Blanc. Against the background of a clean, classic Pilsner flavour profile it is described as having notes of gooseberry and wild flowers, with a hint of honey. Nectar is launching in a 440ml can following on from the company's recent launch of a range of session-strength sparkling mead in cans. The honey Pilsner will be available UK-wide through a number of specialist drinks and artisan food distributors and direct to consumers via the Hive Mind website. “The starting point for our honey beers is always a classically brewed authentic style so Pilsner was the perfect choice when we wanted to add a lighter lager-style to our summer range. As well as a subtle sweetness which complements the malt, the honey adds wildflower notes which work really well with Pilsner hops," says co-founder Kit Newell. 

Champagne Moutard

Champagne Moutard is now available to the UK and Ireland wine trade through an exclusive partnership with Lanchester Wines. The Lanchester Wines portfolio includes a range of Champagne Moutard’s most popular Champagnes including its signature Grand Cuvée Brut, Rose Cuvaison and Champagne Persin Blanc de Blancs. Also available to Lanchester Wines’ customers are Champagne Moutard’s signature, artisan Cuvée Six Cépages Brut Nature, created using six of the seven permissible Champagne grape varieties, and Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Arbane. Both wines are created with the rare Arbane grape. The Moutard family has been making wine since 1642 from its base in Buxeuil on the slopes of the Côte des Bar. The family started producing Champagne in 1927 when Lucien Moutard took over the family vineyards.

NICE sparkling wine

Wine-in-a-can start up NICE has launched its first sparkling wine. Billed as ‘dry, crisp and sparkly’, the 10% ABV wine is made from the Airén grape and hails from La Mancha in Spain and - like the rest of the NICE canned range - comes in 200ml cans. Nice says that sparkling miniature cans have seen growth of +17% year-on-year versus sparkling miniature bottles at +8% year-on-year. “We’re here to celebrate the wins in people’s lives, no matter how big or small the occasion, so we created this sparkling white wine for a night out with a sparkly outfit, all the way through to celebrating on the sofa with a takeaway,” says NICE Co-Founder Lucy Busk.

SEND Coffee

SEND Coffee is a recently-launched non-profit coffee roaster and training academy. Its primary goal is to help individuals find work within the specialty coffee industry, hospitality sector and beyond by way of a year-long comprehensive training programme. After students graduate, SEND Coffee works with them for another year to support them into suitable and sustainable employment. SEND Coffee’s secondary goal is to change perceptions around the way people view disabilities within the industry. The London-based project is funded entirely through the sale of coffee to other organisations including those in the hospitality space. The range includes House Espresso made with beans from the Fazenda Recreio farm in Brazil; and a seasonal filter coffee made with beans from El Placer farm in Columbia.

Booker On-Trade Club

Wholesaler Booker has launched the On Trade Club, which offers 80 or so of the UK’s most popular on trade products at discounted prices. The range includes beers, wines, spirits and soft drink as well as snacks and ‘essential food products’. Deals include Smirnoff vodka 1.5L at £22.99, 1.5L Gordon’s Dry or Pink gin 1.5L at £24.99 and Peroni 24 x 330ml at £20.99. On Trade Club is open to all customers serving alcohol in their premises, however any licensed business that is not registered with Booker is free to join the club too. “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We hear the challenges being faced across the trade and are constantly looking for ways to support them,” says Booker Catering managing director Stuart Hyslop. 

Vapoura rum

Premium English rum brand Vapoura says it is ‘spearheading the rum renaissance’ with its Vapoura Golden Rum and Vapoura Spiced Rum. Both made using a proprietary distillation process, the golden rum has hints of vanilla, tobacco and chocolate while the spiced rum has citrus notes of blood orange that are complemented with fresh turmeric and cracked black cardamom. “After years of painstaking refinement, we are immensely proud to finally introduce Vapoura to the public. We embody a genuinely premium rum experience, that is 100% produced and developed on English soil - a rarity in the rum sector,” says CEO and co-founder Charles Barkley. “Selecting the right notes and ingredients to elevate the raw molasses has been perfected by our Master Distiller Dr John Walters, affectionately known as The Rum Wizard, and has opened our eyes to the sheer quality of rum Vapoura is able to create.” 

Fat Crush

Billed as ‘the no-nonsense wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously’, Fat Crush is a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier grapes from the Languedoc in Southern France. With a modern aesthetic that nods to the natural wine movement, the wine is the brainchild of Hannah Cheston, who set out to ‘remove the complicated nature of choosing an unostentatious yet good quality bottle of wine for a dinner party’. With a background in hospitality, including working at Ennismore for a decade as head of brand, Cheston says that Fat Crush ‘strips away the fussiness and loses the classic wine jargon for a more inclusive and relaxed experience’. 

Jam Shed cocktail kits

Accolade Wines-owned wine brand Jam Shed has launched a ‘Jamgria’ cocktail kit to boost sales in the on-trade. Available to claim now, Accolade Wines says the kit will drive recruitment of new wine drinkers into the category by tapping into the growing trend for wine cocktails. Billed as ‘rich, full and sweet’, the sangria alternative is quick and easy for outlets to create, using only four key ingredients already stocked behind bars. Each kit contains everything needed to create an ‘exciting Jam Shed experience’, with branded items including jam jars, pitchers, bunting and coasters, as well as an assortment of POS. The recipe is 500ml Jam Shed Shiraz, 50ml almond liqueur, 50ml brandy or cognac, 300ml Orangeade, one fresh orange, five strawberries, one peach and one green apple. 

LIMITED Whisky 

Recently launched single cask specialist LIMITED Whisky has unveiled its latest limited edition product - a 1996 Deanston. A non-chill filtered liquid with zero colourings, the whisky has been aged in a Bourbon Hogshead cask and is described as ‘incredibly smooth and moreish’. Tasting notes include sweet toffee and nutmeg notes on the nose to a ‘unique combination’ of flavours on the palette including lemon zest, ground coffee and chocolate orange. Sourced and tasted from one-off single-casks, LIMITED Whisky releases are dropped every month. 

Aspall

Berry-flavoured Aspall Blush Cyder has launched into the on trade. Aspall says it will help venues tap into the premiumisation opportunity for fruit cider with the number one ‘super-premium’ cider brand in the GB on-trade. The product blends sweet blackberry with Aspall Cyder. The launch will be supported by a targeted social media activation and sampling activity at festivals and events over the course of the summer. Venues will also be able to access materials including branded menus, handles, table talkers and posters to raise awareness and encourage consumers to try something different. “Premiumisation is driving growth across the alcohol category, and cider is no different. There is a clear gap in the market for a super-premium draught fruit cider,” says Karen Albert, the brand director for premium brands at Aspall’s owner Molson Coors Beverage Company.