Caleño Drinks launches tropical, non-alcoholic alternative to spiced rum

A new non-alcoholic spirit has launched hoping to capture 'sober-curious' drinkers who tend to favour the darker end of the spirit spectrum.

Caleño Dark & Spicy is a golden-hued spicy blend, distilled with pineapple, ginger and kola nut. Launching in November, it will join the juniper-based Caleño Light & Zesty in the producer's 'tropical' non-alcoholic spirit range.

Its creation was informed by research that showed nearly half (49 per cent) of mainstream cocktails contain rum, with the hope that it would provide an alcohol-free alternative for spiced rum fans.

Caleño Drinks was founded by Ellie Webb, who was frustrated by the lack of choice in alcohol-free beverages. She has taken inspiration from the vibrancy of her mother's native Colombia in the design of her products, which are made without sweetners, artificial flavourings and allergens and are also sugar-free.

Ellie said: "I'm incredibly excited to be launching Caleño Dark & Spicy, which really captures the tropical flavours of Colombia, a land steeped in joyful living. Caleño is designed to bring more moments of joy to people's lives (yes, even when they're not drinking). Both of our vibrant, colourful bottles are bursting with bold natural tropical flavours, and complement each other perfectly, suiting a whole array of different palates.

"We experienced a huge growth in sales over lockdown as people began to reclaim time out of their busy lives to focus on the important things, like friends, family, and self-care, which included re-evaluating drinking habits to support a brighter, bolder and more vibrant way of living. And that's why we're here, to help support that."

Caleño Dark & Spicy is available from calenodrinks.com and Amazon (RRP £18 for a 50cl bottle), with more retailers to be announced soon.

18 November 2020 - Bethany Whymark