Liquid assets: all the latest drinks launches

Filey Bat Peated Finish whisky

A new expression of Filey Bay, Yorkshire’s first single malt whisky, has been released by Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery. Filey Bay Peated Finish uses a combination of two of the distillery’s distillate styles from a small selection of bourbon casks laid down in the spring and summer of 2017, which then undergoes a secondary maturation in peated casks. The result is what the distillery describes as a whisky that is light, sweet and coastal, with flavours of soft vanilla, caramel, a light smokiness and bright citrus. “​The secondary maturation in peated casks brings together all that we love about our light and fruity house style with a gentle twist of peat smoke,” says Joe Clark, whisky director at Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery. The 46% abv whisky has a price of £60 per bottle.

Champagne Castelnau cuvée Véloce

Champagne Castelnau has unveiled a limited edition cuvée to celebrate its 10-yeare partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation, the organiser of Le Tour de France. Véloce will be served exclusively in the VIP areas of the departure and arrival villages of each étape and is so named in admiration of ‘the sheer velocity that the astounding athletes reach throughout the course’. A limited-edition bottling of its Brut NV blend, the cuvée is the youngest and freshest wine in the Reims-based house’s portfolio and has been specifically selected for that moment of celebration after hours of endurance’, says cheffe de caves Elisabeth Sarcelet. The launch comes shortly after the release of Castelnau’s Hors Catégorie C.M 1993, the third cuvée in Castelnau’s prestige ‘Hors Catégorie’ collection. C.M 1993 is named in honour of the height in meters of the Col de Madeleine, the toughest mountain pass endured on Le Tour de France in 2013, the year that this cuvée was bottled.

Cawston Press introduces glass bottles for on-trade

Sparkling juice maker Cawston Press is further targeting the on trade with a new range of 250ml glass bottles. The new Cawston Press Sparkling glass bottle range is available in three of the usually-canned brand’s best-selling flavours: Sparkling Rhubarb, Sparkling Cloudy Apple and Sparkling Elderflower Lemonade “The new premium format offers restaurants and bars an elevated pressed juice soft drink option for consumers, returning to establishments over the summer and beyond,” says a spokesperson. “Perfect enjoyed on their own over ice, used as a mixer for a signature cocktail or as a fruity twist on classic serves.” All three products are 60 calories and under and the glass bottles used are 100% recyclable. 

Van Houten launches ruby chocolate drink powder

Barry Callebaut’s Van Houten brand is claiming a world first with the launch of a ruby chocolate drinking power. Billed as the fourth kind of chocolate joining milk, dark and white, ruby chocolate was introduced to the market by Barry Callebaut in 2017. “The new Van Houten ruby chocolate drink confirms the brand’s status as a cocoa pioneer”, says Freek van der Knaap, vice president vending and beverages EMEA at Barry Callebaut. “This chocolate drink has all the flavour and colour of ruby chocolate and the powder dissolves very easily in any type of milk, or hot and cold applications. It’s the perfect option for when speed of preparation is important.” The drink is available in 750g packs.

Zia Luca's pizza-friendly beer

Italian restaurant Zia Lucia has developed a new beer range, created in collaboration with Sussex-based brewery Laine Brew Co. Called Birra Cabriole, the 4.6% abv has been designed to complement the growing restaurant group's different styles of pizza dough, which come in traditional, wholemeal, gluten-free and vegetable charcoal varieties.

Bottle Shot brings New Orleans cold brew to UK

Newly-established drinks company Bottleshot has launched what it describes as a New Orleans style cold brew coffee. The drink is made using ethically sourced Arabica beans that are steeped in cold water overnight, a process which the company says not only creates a smoother, stronger energy kick – one can is as strong as two espresso shots - but which has 60% less acidity than regular coffee for a cleaner flavour profile. Founded by Louisiana ex-pats Charlotte Dales and Annie Mitchel, the company produces two types - black and oat milk – both of which contain no added sugars. “When we first arrived in the UK, we couldn’t find anything that even came close to the coffee that we knew and loved from New Orleans. Cold brew isn’t just a drink, it’s a different kind of energy that we believe in,” says co-founder Mitchell.​ “We’re proud to be able to bring the cold brew coffee experience to the UK with Bottleshot and think Brits will love it. We’ve made sure that the caffeine kick is maximised due to our unique extraction process and the flavour is unlike anything else I’ve tried on this side of the pond for cold coffees.

Aluna Coconut introduces peach and pomelo variant 

Aluna Coconut is ‘reinventing peach liqueur for the modern day, mindful drinker’ with the launch of its new Peach & Pomelo Liqueur. The 25% ABV expression continues the brand’s celebration of coconut, blending its signature coconut rum with natural white peach, pomelo and pure coconut blossom nectar. Ripe peach flavours are ‘beautifully balanced’ by the pomelo’s citrus influence, giving a gentle pink grapefruit note, whilst the toasted coconut from the rum and the added coconut blossom nectar can be detected as a subtle accent flavour. Aluna says its new variant is a good fit for retro peach cocktails such as the WooWoo, and Sex On The Beach.

Small batch wines to celebrate English Wine Week

Hampshire winery Hattingley Valley has launched a duo of ‘small batch’ wines to coincide with English Wine Week (19-27 June). Hattingley’s 2019 English Gent is a traditional method sparkling white wine made with Bacchus and Pinot Gris and is billed as a ‘true expression of English terroir’ with vibrant aromas of elderflower and hedgerow and white fruit. The 2019 English Lady is a sparkling red wine made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir Précoce and possesses aromas and flavours of cranberries, redcurrants and cherries, with underlying hints of spice, toast, and dark chocolate. Both wines have been created by head wine maker Emma Rice and are available in very limited quantities. 

Grace O’Malley’s first gin 

Grace O’Malley’s debut gin is billed as a traditional-style gin made with modern distilling techniques to ‘capture flavour intensity’. As the name suggests, Heather Infused Irish Gin is made using heather alongside 13 other botanical including wild thyme, red clover, blackthorn and rock samphire. Tasting notes on the nose reveal an intense herbal character with freshly harvested wild juniper and citrus notes; moving onto grassy notes, dry heather and maritime undertones on the palate. Grace O’Malley says its Heather Infused Gin’s fresh and floral finish makes it perfect with natural tonic with a grapefruit garnish. 

John Paul Jones seaweed-infused rum

An independent boutique rum company that was launched during lockdown has released its first expression. John Paul Jones, which is based in the Scottish Lowlands, has created the 40% abv seaweed-infused Lowland Rum using produced a recipe founders Ollie Blackett, Finnian Gill, and Jack Cuddigan created from scratch. The rum is imported from the Caribbean and finished in the UK using freshly charred American Oak and then steeped in three ingredients, ginger, peppercorns and hand-picked Scottish seaweed that gives the spirit a surprising lightness and salinity. The brand takes inspiration from John Paul Jones, the Scottish naval commander who was born near to where the new company is based.

Trio of US whiskeys hits the UK

Drinks company Ten Locks has partnered with Redwood Empire Whiskey to bring three barrel-aged whiskies to the UK. Pipe Dream Bourbon Whiskey, Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey and Lost Monarch Blend of Straight ​Whiskey will all be available from next month and are all 45% abv and made from a blend of aged whiskies of between four and 12 years old. The whiskies take inspiration from the forests surrounding the distillery in Sonoma County In the US. Pipe Dream Bourbon is named after the fourteenth tallest tree on earth and Is described as having complex flavours of vanilla, roasted pecans and a slight woody char; Emerald Giant Rye is blended from rye barrels aged four to five years and has flavours of spice, orange peel, honey and a cinnamon finish; and Lost Monarch Blend of Straight Whiskeys is made from a blend of four to five-year-old rye and four to 12-year old bourbon. 

Asahi enters seltzer category

Asahi UK has entered into the burgeoning hard seltzer category with its new Viper brand. The drink is available in two flavours, lime and cranberry, in 330ml cans and bottles. Viper Hard Seltzer undergoes a six-day brewing process resulting in a 4% abv drink that contains 96 calories.

Marco Pierre White's new gin

Marco Pierre White has partnered with Cygnet Distillery to launch a London Dry gin. The chef and restaurateur has worked closely with Cygnet’s master distiller Dai Wakely to create Mr White’s, a juniper-led gin made with botanicals including orange, lemon verbena and fresh lavender. “I distinctly remember the captivating smell of the juniper berries being distilled at Booth’s Gin distillery on Wandsworth Bridge, as I made my way to and from Harveys on Wandsworth common, London. The smell takes me back to memorable moments from my days spent back in the capital all those years ago,” says Pierre White. “And at a time when more than ever people are interested in the provenance and authenticity of what they are drinking is precisely what this new gin is all about.