Liquid assets: November 2025

Somerset set-based working country estate The Newt is marking this year’s harvest season by relaunching its range of cyder (pictured). Cyders in the range use 100% freshly pressed apple juice made from apples grown on The Newt’s 70-acre orchard and neighbouring farms and are made using centuries-old production methods at the estate. Varieties of cyder include Wyvern Wing - named as a nod to The Newt’s own Somerset wyvern - that comes in a classic wine-style bottle and has a flavour profile inspired by rieslings and pinot gris from Alsace. Made from Braeburn apples that are cold fermented for up to six months, the cyder has a gentle, dry and rounded palate with a lively zing and pairs especially well with seafood dishes, or can be drunk as an aperitif. Others in the range are The Winston - made in honour of Sir Winston Churchill’s love of his preferred ‘imperial pint’ of champagne - made with the Katy early season dessert apple variety, which undergoes its secondary ferment in its bespoke pint-sized bottle; Orchard Amble, a medium-sweet cyder that contains more than 20 cider apples, all harvested at different times throughout autumn to create notes of toffee, ripe apple and warm tropical fruits; and Yarlington Mill, a medium-sweet cyder with notes of toffee apple and tarte tatin and a dry tannin finish. The driest in the range is the Kingston Black - a single-varietal cyder made using the eponymous Kingston Black apple, which is cold-pressed and slowly fermented. “Our cyders are 100% full juice and just like grapes, our apple harvest is dependent on the seasons and looked after with the same care and precision as vines, resulting in vintaged cyders, much like wine,” says cellar master Luke Benson. “However, unlike wine, cider can be made from as little as 35% apple juice, yet you would be hard pressed to find a drinker who would settle for wine made from 65% water.”

Jim Beam Pineapple

Jim Beam is continuing with its innovation within the bourbon category with the brand’s first flavoured spirit released in the UK in two years. Jim Beam Pineapple blends the Kentucky straight bourbon with the bright sweetness of pineapple and is said to offer a ‘fruit-forward twist’ that’s ideal for cocktail experimentation, with suggestions that include Jim Beam Pineapple & Pineapple and the Pica y Piña Margarita. Jim Beam has led the way in the flavoured bourbon category and it now has six flavoured variants in the UK, the other five being - black cherry (known as Red Stag in the US); honey; orange; peach; apple - as well as vanilla and cinnamon (Jim Beam Kentucky Fire) expressions in the US. “With Jim Beam Pineapple, we’re celebrating both flavour and community,” says Freddie Noe, eighth Generation Master Distiller. “It’s a playful new spin on tradition, designed to be enjoyed together.”

Chichibu whisky

Speciality Brands has introduced three new expressions from cult Japanese whisky producer Chichibu - Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu 10-Year-Old, Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Distillery II, and Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The London Edition 2025. Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu 10-Year-Old marks the distillery’s second age-statement single malt since ‘The First Ten’ in 2020. Matured for a minimum of 10 years and aged predominantly in ex-bourbon barrels, it s described as having a rich texture with notes of orange peel, peach and bright redcurrant on the palate and a finish of white pepper and roasted malt. Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Distillery II is the debut release from the new Chichibu Distillery II, originally established in 2019. Aged between four and five years in a variety of cask types, the single malt has a ‘honeyed texture layered with custard, cinnamon, and nutmeg’, before a long, smoky barley-driven finish. Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The London Edition 2025 is the eighth edition in series, created exclusively for the UK. This year’s release is a blend of 10 casks of Japanese single malt whisky, all sourced from the Chichibu distillery, including two casks of heavily peated spirit.

Jim Beam Black

Seven years in the making, Jim Beam Black has returned to the UK with a new, 7-year-aged spirit and an updated look. Made under the guidance of seventh and eighth-generation Master Distillers Fred and Freddie Noe, Jim Beam Black is described by its maker as being ‘smooth, rich, and versatile’ with notes of caramel, vanilla, and rich oak. The bourbon has been designed to be drunk neat or used in the creation of cocktails include an Old Fashioned.

Kingsbarns 10-year-old whisky

St Andrews-based Kingsbarns Distillery has released its first age statement whisky. Kingsbarns 10-year-old marks an important milestone in the history of the distillery, which produces all of its whisky on-site using locally-sourced barley and water drawn from beneath the distillery. Every release is natural in colour, non-chill filtered and matured in carefully chosen casks that allow the quality of the spirit to shine and are described as being light, elegant and true to their Lowland roots. “Ten years ago, Kingsbarns was an ambitious vision. To now unveil our first 10-year-old single malt is not just a personal milestone, but a moment of celebration for everyone who has supported us on this journey,” says William Wemyss, director of Kingsbarns Distillery. “Our aim from the beginning was to create a light, elegant Lowland-style whisky that spoke to its East Coast origins. This expression is proof that patience and precision has paid off. It’s a dram we’re immensely proud to share.”

Kakira Cane Spirits

African spirit brand Kakira Cane Spirits’ range of drinks are now available in the UK. Named after a village in Uganda that is located at the source of the River Nile and which gave its name to the sugar estate, the brand was founded as an off-shoot of Kakira Sugar, Uganda’s largest private-sector employer, with each of its spirits made from the sugar cane grown on the estate. Spirits in the range include a gold rum aged for seven years, a silver rum aged for five years, and a dark rum aged for five years as well as a spiced rum made using ingredients including vanilla, cassia bark, clove, and cardamom. Also in the range are two sugar can vodkas - one triple filtered at zero degrees and made from 100% estate-produced cane spirit, the other infused with Ugandan Arabica coffee beans - and two dry gins - one at 40% abv and a Distiller’s Cut at 47% abv made with estate-grown botanicals that include coriander, lemongrass, ginger, cardamom, angelica and black pepper, with its juniper sourced from northern Italy.“It is such a genuine privilege to be able to launch a completely new brand into the UK market with such pedigree, history, integrity and quality,” says Anthony Habert, head of European sales and marketing at Kakira Cane Spirits. “We hope to represent True African Spirit in a market that is seeing a surge of consumer interest and appreciation in African products, music, arts and culture.”

ROLEY’S Super Natural Lager

A former rugby player has developed a new lager that contains a third fewer calories than many of those on the marekt. ROLEY’S Super Natural Lager is the brainchild of former professional rugby player Stewart Rowley and is a 4.4% abv beer that has 35.8% fewer calories than other mainstream lagers of a similar strength, and contains 0.1g of sugar and 5g of carbs as well as naturally brewed B-Vitamins in every can. Brewed using ROLEY’S proprietary SmartBrew process, the lager is the result of a decade partnership with Sheffield Hallam University using a the process that ferments beer over 10 times faster than traditional methods, which the brewer says significantly improves efficiency and sustainability while maintaining the depth and character of premium lagers. “We set out to reinvent what beer could physically be, aiming to turn the worldwide beer and drinks industry on its head, and that is exactly what we’ve done,” says Rowley. “Super Natural Lager keeps the character, depth and enjoyment of a great pint, but resonates with the lifestyles of drinkers who enjoy health and fitness goals. Our mission is to give people a smarter choice, one that aligns with consumers’ growing demands for more beneficial options in their lives, and this launch marks the beginning of that change within the beer sector.” The beer is available in 330ml cans, 330ml bottles and on draft.

Sho Chiku Bai Shirakabegura N-end sake

Sake brand Sho Chiku Bai Shirakabegura N-end is now availability in the UK through importer Takara Shuzo International Co. Launched in 2023 for the Japanese market, the premium sake is made to a recipe that changes depending on the condition of rice harvested each year, with the rice polishing and mashing ratio altered accordingly, to draw out the full flavour of rice. It is made exclusively with Yamadanishiki rice from Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and brewed according to kimoto method that uses only carefully selected proprietary microorganisms. The sake is ahas an abv of 16.5% and is available in 720ml glass bottles.