Many have been launched by UK gin producers small and large. The team behind Pinkster created Hedgepig towards the end of last year with Wild Bullace & Quince and Rampant Raspberry variants. In the US, new gin liqueurs include Pomp & Whimsey, launched at the start of 2018. Produced in Los Angeles, it’s made from a list of botanicals including exotic fruit and floral elements and has a pale pink hue.
On a somewhat larger scale, Greenall’s got in on the action earlier this year with a pair of gin liqueurs, namely Green Apple & Hibiscus and Blood Orange, Fig & Ginger. Their debut took the form of a travel retail exclusive. And if any further evidence of gin liqueurs’ mainstream popularity were needed, UK supermarket Aldi recently unveiled a passionfruit gin liqueur. The Infusionist has been created with Pornstar Martinis in mind.
Unlike new gin liqueurs, those entering the coffee liqueur market directly challenge some established names, and they’ve largely been doing this by communicating details about their production processes and ingredients. Both new and old are surfing a wave of growing interest in coffee, as well as a global surge in popularity for the Espresso Martini.
An early pioneer was Mr Black, putting its cold-brew coffee front and centre, and offering a serious trade up to established brands. There is no shortage of other new coffee liqueurs to choose from, including Conker, Cross Brew, and a sweet Espresso Vodka from UK distiller Chase.
All of this activity no doubt keeps established liqueur brands on their toes, bringing renewed interest to the liqueurs category overall, while directly responding to consumer trends.
