Pickering’s Gin moves into liqueurs

by Amy Hopkins

Edinburgh-made gin brand Pickering’s has unveiled its first liqueur, which is flavoured with pink grapefruit and lemongrass.

Pickering’s Pink Grapefruit & Lemongrass Gin Liqueur is made with real pulp and juices, and uses the original Pickering’s Gin as its base. The new product is inspired by Pickering’s signature serve with a pink grapefruit garnish and is said to “offer an alternative to traditional pamplemousse liqueurs” with its notes of lemongrass, cardamom and juniper. “Sitting at 20% [abv], our fruity new expression perfectly fits into the forming trend for lower alcoholic Spritz-style drinks,” said Marcus Pickering, co-founder and head of exports. To enable the Edinburgh firm to expand production and create the liqueur, it partnered up with Scottish producer Morrison & Mackay. Matt Gammell, co-founder and head distiller said: “We’re very proud to distil, bottle, label and wax every bottle of Pickering’s Gin from our 400 square foot distillery in the heart of Edinburgh. “We engineer ourselves clever production solutions around the space we have as time goes on, but with markets like the US and China growing for us, we must keep our focus firmly on our distilling schedule. “It’s one thing to distil, dilute and bottle. It’s quite another when you’re talking about bringing in equipment to blend distillate with fresh fruit. We simply don’t have the space. That’s why we teamed up with Morrison & Mackay in Perthshire, formerly known as the Scottish Liqueur Centre.” Pickering’s Pink Grapefruit & Lemongrass Gin Liqueur is available at £19.95 (US$26.40) from Pickering’s website, and will soon launch with national retailers.