Beefeater Pink gin to launch in April
Pernod Ricard has unveiled a pink variation of its Beefeater London Dry gin, which is flavoured with strawberries.
Beefeater London Pink is set to launch in the UK and Spain in April, before being rolled out to 12 markets this summer. Bottled at 37.5% abv, it will have an RRP of £20 (US$27) per bottle. Beefeater Pink has been created by master distiller Desmond Payne MBE and is based on the traditional Beefeater London Dry gin expression with the addition of strawberries to complement the “classic” Beefeater citrus and juniper flavours. Revealed this morning (13 February) at the Pernod Ricard roundtable, held at the Beefeater Distillery in London, the gin comes with numerous recommended serves, including Beefeater Pink and tonic, Beefeater Pink Daiquiri, Beefeater Pink and orange tonic, and a Beefeater Pink Collins. “Beefeater Pink is very much about that London Dry citrus profile but with a natural, fresh, fruity strawberry note,” said Sophie Gallois, managing director of The Gin Hub, which was established last year as a stand-alone business to drive growth of Pernod’s three biggest gin brands: Beefeater, Plymouth and Seagram’s. Asked about why Beefeater had waited longer than its competitors to tap into the pink gin trend – such as Gordon’s which launched a pink expression in July last year – Gallois said: “It was very important for us to get it right. We feel very comfortable that this will be a very buoyant launch with huge potential.” She added: “In Spain, for example, the pink gin trend accounts for 40% of all value growth within the total gin category, so there is huge potential to tap into.” Other brands already operating in the pink gin sub-category include Pinkster, which unveiled a limited-edition Valentine’s Day bottle last month, Edgerton Pink Gin, Edinburgh Gin and Burleighs Gin.
