Press Contacts

We avoid the frills and flower of a PR agency and choose to handle the media ourselves - giving editors and journalists direct access to us - the producers. If you would like to receive press releases, other press information, images or samples please contact:
Felicity Hall
Bramley and Gage
+44 (0)1454 418046
If you would like samples please contact us.

Launch of Six O'clock Gin and perfectly matched Six O'clock Tonic

The blissful, balmy summer evenings are finally here and we're more excited than most because we have spent the winter not just dreaming of iridescent sunsets but creating their perfect accompaniment: A glass of Six O'clock Gin mixed with its perfectly matched Six O'clock Tonic - the incomparable start to a midsummer evening.

Bramley and Gage customers expect the highest quality and this premium gin won't disappoint, producing a smooth, subtle, juniper flavour with a delicate balance of botanicals including coriander, orange peel and elderflower. With a singular citrus twist the tonic has an exceptional, clean taste from natural quinine. No synthetic flavours, sweeteners or preservatives are used. Six O'clock Gin and Six O'clock Tonic have been developed to complement each other, allowing G&T drinkers the guarantee of a perfectly balanced gin and tonic.

Inspiration for Six O'clock Gin and Tonic came from the diaries and papers of Edward Kain, a C19th ancestor and an intrepid world traveller and inventor. During his seafaring years he eagerly awaited Six O'clock and his daily anti-malarial Tonic combined with a flavourful Gin; an institution that he continued back home and which he called his "ginspiration". At 6pm Edward would sit for an hour in his old, leather armchair with his gin and tonic and gave himself time to think up the designs for stills and other mechanical works of art, blueprints of which the Kain family still treasures today.

The RRP is £25 per 70cl gin bottle, £1.20 for a 200ml mixer bottle of tonic and is available from independent off licenses, delis and farm shops as well as some of the best bars. For samples and other enquiries please see details overleaf.

Combine precisely balanced Six O'clock Gin with our perfectly matched Six O'clock Tonic to create your own moment of "ginspiration".

National and International recognition for Sloe Gin

This summer Bramley and Gage's Organic Sloe Gin won Bronze at the 2009 International Spirits Challenge AND was named Best Local Drink in the national Quality Drink Awards.

Both awards recognise excellence and innovation in the alcoholic drinks industry with the entries judged by a panel of independent industry experts. Each product is judged equally by the panel, allowing small producers to be compared alongside established brands. The panel look for excellence in taste, aroma, appearance, packaging, value for money and innovation. Some of the judges' comments from the Quality Drink Awards:

"The packaging is lovely and stylish."

"You get marzipan, almond and cherry on the nose and you get a good, sharp, tart flavour."

"It's one of the more interesting products in what is a crowded sloe gin market these days."

Michael Kain, son of the Bramley and Gage founders, said, "We were really pleased to win last year with Quincy® Quince Liqueur, so to win again with our new Organic Sloe Gin is doubly thrilling. Awards juries can be subjective so to win in a variety of internationally recognised competitions proves that we make the highest quality product."
Bramley and Gage Organic Sloe Gin is made in small batches using handpicked, wild sloes. We use a traditional family recipe that ensures a high sloe-to-gin ratio with not too much sugar. Our slow process of gentle maturation retains as much of the natural flavour, freshness and colour of the fruit as possible. This produces an intense, rounded drink with plenty of warm, plumy sloe notes and a gentle, lingering finish.
Most sloe gin is drunk 'straight', as an original British aperitif, or warming after dinner drink in front of the fire. Traditionally it is the out-door hip-flask drink but it is also an essential ingredient in many cocktails, due to its rich and intense flavour. Try Organic Sloe Gin and Tonic:- fill a high ball glass with ice, pour over 50ml of Organic Sloe Gin and top up with premium tonic.
Available in British independent delis, farm shops, off licenses and select Waitrose stores and online www.bramleyandgage.com. Sloe Gin comes in 3 bottle sizes, 5cl, 35cl and 70cl. The most popular being 35cl with an RRP of £15.99.

Quality Drinks Awards
The Quality Drink Awards are now in their fourth year as a stand alone event, having previously made up part of the prestigious Quality Food and Drink Awards. The awards are judged by renowned industry experts and highlight the achievements of the suppliers, retailers and manufacturers that are driving the success of the alcoholic drinks market.
For more information, see: www.qualitydrinkawards.com

International Spirits Challenge
The strongest aspect of the International Spirits Challenge, aside from the quality of entries, is the rigorous and credible judging process, thanks to its independent and authorative panel of judges made up of the most respected leaders in the business including master blenders, master distillers, importers, distributors, buyers, journalists and authors - some of the best palates in the world. Each product is blind tasted and awarded a score out of 20 for its aroma, appearance and taste. For more information see www.internationalspiritschallenge.com

Organic Sloe Gin launched March 2009
Bramley and Gage's Sloe Gin is regarded by many as the best, with Nigel Slater (The Observer) a big fan and Gordon Ramsay restaurants customers. It was champion product in the Taste of the West awards, and shortlisted in the 2008 Quality Drinks Awards. Says director Michael Kain, "Customers often ask if we are organic, so we decided to pursue certification with the Soil Association. Our customers care about the green credentials of products and SA Organic approval is widely regarded as the toughest."

Most sloe gin is drunk 'straight', as an original British aperitif, or warming after dinner drink in front of the fire. It is also an essential ingredient in many cocktails, due to its rich and intense flavour.

To make sloe gin, the wild fruit is soaked and macerated with Juniper Green Organic Gin and a moderate amount of organic sugar. Bramley and Gage currently uses over 8 tonnes of sloes per year, and they expect this to grow significantly as a result of the new product.

What makes Organic Sloe Gin so special?

Whole fruit, not dried sloes or concentrated juice. This means that all the flavours of the fruit are extracted including those from the stone; which gives nuttiness. Dried sloes produce an earthy dusty flavour and using concentrate results in a thinness that might be familiar to drinkers of a leading brand.

Plenty of fruit: Sloes are hard to find and difficult to pick, with finger cuts a likely consequence, so it would be easy to cut down on the amount of sloes and up the cheaper ingredients. Cutting costs results in a light colour and bland taste.

Moderate sugar: Sloes, even when ripe, are extremely bitter, so the addition of some sugar is needed. The sugar can help 'fill out' the fruit flavours, however too much becomes sickly and over powering and masks some of the more subtle flavours.

Patience and time: It takes time to make sloe gin. We often hear of home made recipes that have been left for 5 years in the airing cupboard. Traditionally sloes are picked at the first frost of autumn, around the end of September, with the resultant gin opened on Christmas Eve.

Quince Liqueur wins 2008 Quality Drink Award

Quince Liqueur is one of only a handfull of drinks in the country to win a 2008 Quality Drink Award.

Now in their third year the awards recognise and reward excellence and innovation in the world of alcoholic drinks on sale in the UK. Judged by an independent panel of industry experts, the judging criteria are based on taste, aroma, appearance & presentation, packaging, value and innovation.

"It's a good after dinner liqueur. Its sweet and not very harsh and easy drinking," said one judge. "It has aromas of dates and figs, a home grown version of a desert wine," said another.

We were nominated in the Local Drink category - restricted to UK produced products with labelling that makes reference to local content. The competition was stiff and we are delighted the judges views agreed with judges from the 2007 Taste of the West Food and Drink awards where, last November, Quince Liqueur was also voted 'Best Drink'. Also shortlisted for an award was our Sloe Gin.

More information can be found at the Quality Drink Awards website.

Quince liqueur wins national industry drinks award Jul 08

A Quince Liqueur produced by Bramley and Gage, the family business that produces handmade liqueurs, has been named best local drink in the national Quality Drinks Awards 2008. The liqueur can be drunk as an alternative to desert wine or used in recipes and cocktails.

The awards recognise excellence and innovation in alcoholic drinks. Judged by an independent panel of industry experts, the judging criteria are based on taste, aroma, appearance and presentation, packaging, value and innovation.

The local drink category was introduced this year in recognition of the increasing demand by consumers to know the green credentials of products, meaning that locally produced drinks is a growing sector of the industry.

The Quince Liqueur won best drink in the Taste of the West awards last year. As with all Bramley and Gage products, it is hand-made by company director, and former fruit farmer, Michael Kain and his team, using only real, whole fruit, sourced as locally as possible.

The quince, a golden, pear-shaped fruit, is an excellent source of vitamin C. The production process ensures that as much of the natural flavour, freshness, and colour of the fruit as possible is retained, together with the maximum amount of naturally occurring vitamins.

The liqueur is ideal for cocktails because the moderate amount of sugar used means the drink retains a sharpness that gives mixologists more flexibility in creating new flavours.

In recent times, the quince has been considered to be the poor cousin in the apple and pear family, although back in the 17th century there were more recipes for quinces than any other orchard fruit. There has been increasing interest in this hard fruit over the last few years because of its high vitamin content.

Michael Kain said: "It's fantastic to get industry recognition for our liqueur. It's a great example of how we can make a real success of the less-common fruits that grow in Britain.

"We started exploring the possibility of a quince liqueur when my mother, Penny, who set up Bramley and Gage with my father other twenty years ago, found a recipe for Quince Ratafia in one of her old cook books. It had been intriguing her for a few years and once she found a quince tree, experiments ensued!"

Michael said: "All our liqueurs are made from fruit that would grow outdoors naturally in the British Isles - you won't see us do kumquat, banana or even orange. Elderflower liqueur, our first non-fruit liqueur, has been a huge success.

Bramley and Gage's bestselling Sloe Gin was also shortlisted in the Best Local Drink category. The gin, drunk as a digestif or in a cocktail, is made from hand picked, wild, hedgerow sloes, and homemade gin using juniper, cardamom and coriander.

I am a Slider Drinker 02 May 2008
Samples of Slider available from Bramley and Gage, product shots available from Calico Communications, details below.

This summer's most popular sundowner looks set to be a drink called Slider. The unique drink, made by artisan West Country drinks producer Bramley and Gage, is a combination of sloe gin and cider. Although the mix has been made in many Devon country kitchens for a long time, this is the first time Slider has been made commercially.

Bramley and Gage use the sloes from their award-winning sloe gin and infuse them in high quality Devon Cider. The cider is organic and is made by Heron Valley Cider in the South Hams area of Devon. The result is a drink that tastes of apples, sloes and gin - and one that conjures up a quintessential English summer.

Described by Marco Pierre White as "delicious", Slider is becoming increasing popular, which reflects the overall trend in cider drinking in the UK. Over the past few years, the industry has seen a resurgence, meaning cider is no longer confined to a small, regional fan base.

According to Euromonitor International: "Cider's current rate of growth is set to continue in the next few years, growing by an average annual rate of 7% in volume terms and 10% in value terms between 2005-2010." This growth will be particularly strong in the 18-24 year old market.

Furthermore, there is interest from the premium end of the market, reflected in the introduction of high-end, quality brands by the major cider producers, and the shift towards sales of cans and draught cider, rather than traditional plastic bottles.

Slider shows a parallel growth in popularity - with upmarket bars, restaurants and delicatessens buying the product in larger quantities, reflecting the drink's broad appeal, with bartenders looking for a "unique, quality, natural product with interesting provenance", which is a particularly innovative growth segment of the market, according to consumer research company Mintel.

To become a Slider drinker, serve Slider neat on ice, or mixed 50/50 with soda, lemonade or tonic and ice cubes, cucumber and borage flowers for a long summer drink. And if you want to turn the drink into a winter warmer (should our summer pass by far too quickly again) use it as the main ingredient of a cider punch.

New design improves product sales by 600 per cent 21 April 2008

A new label design on products by Bramley and Gage, the artisan liqueur producer, has succeeded in improving sales in a range of retailers by 600 per cent.

Bramley and Gage redesigned the labels of their award-winning Sloe and Damson gins and Cherry Brandy at the start of the year. During recent test marketing, where products with the old labels were displayed next to those with the new designs, bottles with the new labels outsold the old by six to one.

Michael Kain, Director of Bramley and Gage, said: "When you are a small company without well-established brand recognition, the label is the only way you have to communicate your message with the consumer. The information on the bottle has to tell them everything in a moment.

"Our old packaging wasn't doing our products justice and we felt it was impacting on our market share. We just weren't standing out on the shelf enough and we couldn't rely on our reputation alone.

"The brief for the redesign was to improve the credibility of the products, whilst retaining the key Bramley and Gage values of quality, authenticity and tradition."

The new look was conceived by Four Marketing & Design Ltd, an experienced product-design company based in Bristol. It makes use of distinctive colours and imagery to reflect the natural, traditional origins of the products.

The new design underwent test marketing in three typical outlets in the South West: Darts Farm, a high quality farm shop near Exeter; Small World Deli in Thornbury, local to the Bramley and Gage head office and their nearest stockist; and quality off license, Dartmouth Vintners, the first outlet to stock the products.

Bramley and Gage liqueurs are handmade using traditional methods. As well as being popular aperitifs, the products are widely used by chefs and mixologists. The new Cherry Brandy was launched, along with an Elderflower Liqueur, in spring 2008. The Sloe Gin was Champion product in the Taste of the West Food and Drink Awards in 2004 and has since won gold at the recent Fruit Wine Association awards.

Four Marketing & Design
Four offers a total design, copywriting and marketing service that is particularly customer-focused. For more information, see: http://www.four-group.co.uk/index.html