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IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE…
IT’S BEGINNING
HERE’S JUST A FLAVOUR OF SOME OF THE TIPPLES AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET THIS CHRISTMAS
WRITERS' TEARS CHRISTMAS CRACKER
The Writers' Tears Christmas Cracker is the perfect addition to any hamper and the ideal way of adding something special to this year’s Christmas table. Consisting of a miniature 50ml bottle of Copper pot in each individual cracker, the Writers' Tears Christmas cracker is a unique marriage of Aged Single Pot Still and Single Malt Irish whiskey, distilled entirely from barley. An award-winning whiskey, Writers’ Tears is triple distilled and is bottled at 40% ABV. Nose – Flashes of apple with hints of vanilla Taste – Gently spiced, ginger and orchard fruits Finish – Long and elegant with dark chocolate
REBEL CITY DISTILLERY
Beverage distribution company Bevella has partnered with Rebel City Distillery, producer of multi award-winning Maharani Gin. Rebel City Distillery, a boutique distillery situated in the heart of Cork’s Docklands, was founded in 2020 by husband-andwife Robert and Bhagya alongside Robert’s father Brendan Barrett. The distillery has since launched its fi rst release, Maharani Gin, which celebrates a fusion of the couple’s respective heritage and cultures of Cork and Kerala. Speaking about the brand, Robert Barrett, co-founder of Maharani Gin said: “We are really excited to introduce Maharani Gin to the world and to partner with Bevella to strengthen our distribution network and to market our prestige Maharani brand to the island of Ireland.” The premium gin is zested with pomelo fruit and uniquely spiced with cassia and nutmeg-mace, all sourced from a women’s organic farming cooperative in Bhagya’s home state of Kerala, India.
CLONAKILTY DISTILLERY
Clonakilty Distillery has launched its new Single Malt whiskey, the latest addition to its award-winning range of spirits. The Galley Head expression represents a new departure for the Distillery as the brand sought to create a high-quality whiskey that was accessible in terms of price, but still retained the quality and fi nish that Clonakilty Distillery has become renowned for amongst whiskey connoisseurs. Matured and fi nished at its Atlantic Ocean Warehouse, Galley Head Single Malt represents a marriage of a re-shaved, re-toasted wine cask and Bordeaux red wine casks. Clonakilty Distillery has said it is hopeful that this new release will provide a foundation on which it can continue to develop and grow the brand, in addition to attracting a range of new customers seeking to broaden their whiskey horizons.
POWERSCOURT DISTILLERY
After a sell-out success last year, Powerscourt Distillery has announced that its decadent and indulgent food and whiskey pairing hampers are back for Christmas 2021. The food and whiskey pairing originally started as a Distillery tour, however it proved so popular that last year the hampers were put together in time for the Christmas gifting market. Created by Santina Kennedy, the Distillery's in-house Food Historian and Food & Beverage Specialist, hampers are priced at €100 and are available from the Powerscourt Distillery website. With meats from the Wooded Pig, Olly’s Farm local honey courtesy of Powerscourt Estate, Wicklow Ban Cheese and Fercullen Whiskey Chocolates, the hampers deliver an authentic Irish gift. Each one comes with a QR code that gives the recipient a link to watch a pre-recorded presentation with Santina on how to enjoy your whiskey tasting and food pairing journey.
CRAFT COCKTAILS
Craft Cocktails has released three new limited-edition cocktails for the festive season – the Yuletide Negroni, Gingerbread Punch and Festive Old Fashioned. The Yuletide Negroni is the ideal afternoon aperitivo, a Christmas twist on the Italian classic with winter spices, rich red vermouth, Italian bitters and orchard fruits, all stirred down over Tanqueray Gin. The Gingerbread Punch mixes Ketel One vodka, sloe gin and ruby port with cranberry, gingerbread spices and clementine for a cockle-warming seasonal punch. The Festive Old Fashioned is a slow winter sipper for after the kids have gone to bed, made using Bulleit Bourbon and seasonal flavours of fig, caramel, orange spiced bitters and a dash of Grandma’s top tipple, PX sherry. The new flavours join Craft Cocktails 12-strong range of premium Irish bottled cocktails, made by award-winning bartenders using only 100% natural ingredients – fresh fruit, handmade syrups, cordials and infusions. Ready to serve straight from the bottle over ice, they are available in two sizes. The 200ml size (€12.50, serves two) makes a great stocking filler, while the large 700ml size (€35, serves seven), is perfect for sharing. The brand’s popular ‘message on a bottle’ personalisation service also makes an excellent gift, whether celebrating in person or remotely over the festive season. The message is designed, printed and shipped on the cocktail of choice within a week on their core range.
METHOD AND MADNESS
Irish Distillers has launched METHOD AND MADNESS Rye and Malt – the fi rst aged experimental distillate created at the company’s innovation hub in Midleton, the Micro Distillery. The new release was handcrafted in the Micro Distillery under the care of Distiller Katherine Condon, who originally joined Irish Distillers as part of the company’s Graduate Distiller Programme in 2014. First experimenting in the lab to discover the ideal ratio of 60% rye to 40% malt, Condon and the team then took advantage of the Micro Distillery’s manual processes, trialling varying rates of refl ux and distillation to achieve the perfect crisp yet spicy fl avour. Katherine Condon said: “It has been an honour to be part of the Micro Distillery team from its inception in 2015 to today, sharing the fi rst ever drops of whiskey produced there with the world. We have been inspired by the innovators in Irish whiskey who came before us. In turn, we have questioned tradition and challenged convention to follow their inspiration and drive the Irish whiskey category forward for a new generation of creators, consumers and indeed, suppliers.”
Coca-Cola HBC is proud to announce the return of its Designated Driver initiative, the annual Christmas campaign that rewards those who stay sober on nights out to ensure their friends and family members get home safely. In anticipation of a particularly special festive season, Coca-Cola’s Christmas mission will be to celebrate the simple joy of human connection and the 2021 road safety campaign will bring this real magic to designated drivers.
Once again, the campaign will o er drivers two free soft drinks or water from the Coca-Cola HBC range throughout December, at participating venues in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The brand will also reward designated drivers by providing free parking spots at Q-Parks in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast.
Available each weekend in December, designated drivers simply need to present themselves to security hubs at the Q-Park stations to benefit from parking free-of-charge when on a night out.
To spread this ‘real magic’ across the country, social media personality James Kavanagh and influential broadcaster Melissa Riddell will also take on the role of designated driver and their followers will, in turn, be in with a chance to win the ultimate night out in Dublin and Belfast. More information will be shared on their respective Instagram channels in due course - @MelissaRiddell and @
JamesAlanKavanagh.
Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland’s
General Manager Miles Karemacher said: “We’re very proud to announce the return of our award-winning designated driver initiative, which will play a special role in this year’s Christmas campaign. Coca-
Cola will celebrate ‘real magic’ this December, and what better way to remind ourselves of the true spirit of the festive season than by giving the simple gift of a lift!
“We want to ensure that designated drivers are rewarded throughout the month and will o er two free soft drinks at participating venues once again. We’re also proud to partner with Q-Park to further reward designated drivers with free parking in Dublin, Cork, Galway and
Belfast.”
In the Republic of Ireland, the Designated Driver campaign is supported by the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána and
Drinkaware. It is also backed by the Licensed Vintners Association,
James Kavanagh and Melissa Riddell join forces with road safety authorities and industry stakeholders to support Coca-Cola’s Designated Driver campaign
the Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation. In Northern Ireland, the campaign is supported by the PSNI, Hospitality Ulster and the NI Hotel Federation.
Designated drivers can avail of the two free soft drinks from the Coca Cola HBC range by simply making themselves known to bar sta at participating venues. Drinks from the range include Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Coca Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta, Sprite, Deep RiverRock and Fruice. Participating venues will be featured on www.coke.ie/ designateddriver and may feature in Coca-Cola’s out-of-home advertising campaign.
To register for the campaign, please contact your local sales representative or the customer information centre on ROI 1890 26 22 26 | NI 0845 608 8889.
