 Quince liqueur wins national industry drinks award Jul 08A 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. |
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 New design improves product sales by 600 per cent 21 April 2008A 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
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