Beefeater launches first spirit drink

Gin giant Beefeater is branching out of the category with its latest release.

Beefeater Botanics Lemon & Ginger is the brand's first spirit drink. Bottled at 27.5% ABV, it uses Beefeater London Dry Gin as a base and is flavoured with lemon and ginger.

The drink has been made without added sugar, artificial flavours or sweeteners and, when mixed with tonic water, it contains around half the calories of a regular G&T.

Beefeater Botanics will be launched first as a pilot in Canada, bearing the brand's redesigned packaging.

Desmond Payne, Beefeater's master distiller, said: "Beefeater Botanics has predominant fruit aromas, yet you can still detect the classic juniper in the profile. The refreshingly balanced taste of fruit flavours is achieved with no compromise, crafted with excellence and using only the best ingredients."

While this is Beefeater's first spirit drink, the Pernod Ricard brand is no stranger to flavoured spirits: its Beefeater Pink Strawberry and Beefeater Blood Orange expressions are now distributed in more than 75 markets globally, and this year has also seen the launch of Beefeater Peach & Raspberry.

Muriel Dessenis, Beefeater global brand director, said: "Innovation is at the heart of Beefeater and it has been a strong start to the year for us, delivering new packaging worldwide and three new pilot tests: Beefeater Light in Spain, Beefeater Peach & Raspberry in the UK and now, Beefeater Botanics in Canada.

"For us, innovation is about driving the premium, quality credentials of Beefeater but also responding to key consumer trends in each market to offer our core target consumer, 25-34-year-old 'urban explorers', something new and exciting. We know that for these consumers social connections are important and Beefeater Botanics will open up new drinking options not only to recruit new consumers into the brand but the wider gin category."

12 April 2021 - Bethany Whymark