Liquid assets: October 2024

Cuvée Bavette

Restaurateurs Clément Cousin and Sandy Jarvis, the husband-and-husband team behind recently launched Leeds restaurant Bavette (pictured above), have launched their own wine. Cuvée Bavette is produced at Cousin’s family vineyard in the Loire Valley and reflects the pair’s ‘shared passion for natural wine’. Made with the Loire’s principle red variety Cabernet Franc, the wine is made using semi-carbonic maceration. Unlike the family’s traditional cuvées Le Franc and Pur Breton the grapes for Cuvée Bavette were left with their stems during fermentation, resulting in a light to medium-bodied wine with a fruit-forward profile with notes of red berries, green peppers, and an earthy undertone, typical of Cabernet Franc. The pair say its versatility makes it an ideal pairing for the dishes served at Bavette, from lighter options to the bistro’s signature steak.

Ten To One rums

Award-winning super-premium Caribbean rum brand Ten To One is launching in the UK following its success in the US. Launched in New York in 2019, Ten To One is a three-strong range of rums available in dark, white, and ‘Five Origin Select’ expressions. Dark (40% abv) is a blend of eight-year-old Barbados and Dominican column still rums, combined with high-ester Jamaican pot still rum, and Trinidadian rum before being aged in American white oak ex-bourbon casks and has tasting notes of baking spice, banana peel, yellow apple, tobacco, cedar, nut loaf, and leather. White (45% abv) is an unaged blend of column still rum from the Dominican Republic, with high-ester pot still rum from Jamaica and has notes of jasmine, honeysuckle, white pepper, and lemongrass, while Five Origin Select is a  46% abv blend of rums aged up to 15 Years and includes a 11-15 year-old Guyanese rum distilled in the Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still - the only one of its kind still in operation - alongside signature rums from Trinidad, Barbados, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

721 Vodka

The BrewDog and Google-backed Degen Distillery has launched its debut product, a ‘super premium’ vodka that is filtered just once to retain its character. 721 Vodka is billed as having a smooth and warm palate with a hint of spice and a long sweet finish. The product is named in honour of ERC-721, a network for managing non-fungible tokens. Degen Distillery says it sets itself apart from its competitors as ‘an innovative Web3 company leveraging blockchain technology to revolutionise the spirits market’. 

Saint Clair Family Estate Pet Nat

Hallgarten & Novum Wines has added a pet nat wine from New Zealand-based producer Saint Clair Family Estate to its portfolio. Pétillant-Nature 2024 is a blend of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Pinot Gris that are all grown on individual sites within the famed Marlborough region. Saint Clair Family Estate says its pet nat process - which sees the wine carefully fermented in tanks before being placed in the bottle under a crown cap - results in a consistent product. “Proper turbidity (the amount of particles suspended in a wine) ensures a healthy fermentation, avoiding excessive gross lees that can mask flavours,” a spokesperson says. The wine is intended to be enjoyed young, highlighting its unique clarity and flavour.”

RamTang lemon and lime cellos

New brand RamTang is promising to add some flair to the traditional Italian liqueur cello category. Developed by Sally Chilton and her son Christopher in a south London kitchen, RamTang is described as offering a ‘zesty, tangy’ alternative to what many perceive as an overly sweet drink and is the result of years of development. Made using more fruit than traditional cellos, RamTang comes in lemon and lime variants and is made by blending high-proof alcohol with all-natural citrus oils, essences, juice, gums and minimal preservatives. It can be enjoyed neat or over ice but also used in a variety of long drinks and cocktails and is said to pair well with rum and whiskey as well as the more obvious vodka and gin spirits. “I was gifted a bottle of Limoncello in the late 90s. I’ve always been a lover of all things citrus, however, personally, I found the cello too sweet. I thought it had potential but was missing the true citrus tang,” says Chilton, who began making cello for family, friends and her B&B guests before creating a fully-fledged brand. “We’re a British cello inspired by an Italian classic that’s innovative, fun and full of flavour.” Both cellos have an abv of 25% and are available in 500ml bottles.

Black Lines White Negroni

Black Lines has launched a special edition White Negroni variant to mark Negroni Week. Black Lines White Negroni is made with East London Gin, Suze and Dolin Blanc. Preserving the essence of Black Lines’ traditional Negroni, this new iteration has been ‘crafted for a smoother, brighter sip’. Gentian and juniper forward, with gentle warmth and bite, finished with notes of melon and grapefruit, The Black Lines take is ‘all about balance - fresh, crisp yet still bittersweet’. Black Lines supplies consumers direct via its website and London bars but also works with a number of high profile venues including BoxPark and The Standard, London hotel. 

Wednesday’s Domaine

Wednesday’s Domaine has expanded its range of premium alcohol-free wines with Vignette - a ‘ground-breaking’ full-bodied non-alcoholic red wine. Beginning with a blend of two wines - an oaked Petit Verdot and a more lively Tempranillo - from the La Mancha region of Central Spain, the wine is de-alcoholised before being blended with a handful of natural ingredients that lift body, flavour, aroma and length in the absence of alcohol. “A delicious non-alcoholic red wine is often referred to as ‘The Holy Grail’ of the alcohol free world, and we believe we’ve come pretty close. The intensity of the oaked Petit Verdot pairs wonderfully with the vivid fruitiness of the Tempranillo, combining to create something utterly unique within the space” says Wednesday’s Domaine founder Luke Hemsley. 

Laylo canned wine 

Luxury boxed wine brand Laylo has made three of its wines available in 187ml cans for the on trade. Sourced by Master of Wine Clem Yates, the canned range comprises a Loire Sauvignon Blanc, a Luberon Rosé and a Spanish Malbec. According to Laylo, the first batch has already been purchased by KERB Hospitality and other existing trade customers. “Putting our wine into cans was a natural next step. It’s still the same premium wine from our indie winemakers, but to be enjoyed in venues where wine in a glass isn’t suitable... Or where speed is off the essence,” says Laylo founder Laura Riches. Over the past four years canned wine sales are reported to have grown from £2.5m in the UK to over £15m. 

Rebel Bourbon 

Bourbon brand Rebel has added an Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish to its collection. Produced by Kentucky’s Lux Row Distillers, Rebel 100 Bourbon Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish has an ABV of 50% and has been created specifically for overseas markets. The new release sees Rebel Bourbon, which is aged for four years, finished in Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez. This results in overtones of caramel and vanilla, with hints of raisins, figs and plums and a nuttiness which is complemented by subtle spicy oak notes. Just 6,000 bottles of Rebel 100 Bourbon Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish have been produced and are only available for sale outside the US.

Casa Don Ramón 

Casa Don Ramón has made its UK debut brining with it a large range of premium Tequila and Mezcals. The range includes Tequila Plata (clear, fresh and crisp); Tequila Reposado (aged over six months in French and white oak barrels); Tequila Añejo and Extra Añejo (aged for 12 to 36 months in American, French oak and whiskey barrels); the tamarind-flavoured Tequila Don Ramón Tamarindo; and Mezcal Don Ramón Salmiana. "For more than 25 years, Casa Don Ramon has been passionately dedicated to working in the agave fields with a deep respect for the process and the raw material,” a spokesperson says. “Throughout time and with the help of their expert master tequileros, the company has perfected artisanal methods and added state-of-the-art technology to achieve exceptional quality in their products.” 

ThinK Wine

Healthier choice Prosecco brand, ThinK Wine is now available in can format. This latest product in the ThinK Wine range has been created to offer licensed premises versatility, with two fun and instantly recognisable designs which ‘embody the ThinK Wine brand and are unlike anything currently available on the market’. Made with Glera grapes from the Treviso region of Italy, an 11% ABV, 200ml can of ThinK Wine contains just 1g of residual sugar in comparison with up to 11g per can for other leading canned Prosecco brands.