The brand’s co-founder Xavier Baker said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of our Mermaid Spiced Rum and offer customers a slice of tropical coastal charm. Gracie: I focus on making the gin and leave the design and labeling work to the team at Quaker City Mercantile. They did a great job to visualize the inspiration for this limited release – an eye-catching butterfly motif is front and center and if you look a little closer you can see a few more of our nectar-loving flying friends on the carnation pink label design and a hint of the floral bouquet they adore so much. Initially on the palate you’ll get juniper alongside classic coriander. The earthy, herbal note of angelica is more apparent here with this serve and brings out some of the herbal notes in the flower we’ve added. Peas are delicious and great for the planet. They feed nitrogen into the soil, which helps to create healthier crops in the long term. While gin is made from distilled grain spirit, it doesn’t contain gluten peptides and is therefore gluten-free and safe for coeliacs. The verdict: Best gin 2023

The new serve is presented in plastic-free bottles with a sustainably sourced natural cork stopper and tamper-proof seal made from corn and potato starch, designed based on a Mermaid’s tail. Serving suggestion:​ Joining Bruha’s portfolio for a limited run starting this month is Bruha Porter (4.5% ABV), a rich and dark beer with notes of caramel and toffee.

Disclaimer

If you were to ask me to describe it as a style, I would say it’s unabashedly contemporary, but it reminds me a lot of some of the flavor profiles and trends I’ve tasted in Italian distilled gins during the past couple years. Mermaid Spiced Rum is crafted from a carefully selected blend of sugar cane and molasses, distilled in column stills and aged between 2-5 years in oak bourbon whiskey barrels. Firstly, while evocative, the floral notes are so overdone that that readily dial into some of the least positive associations of flowers as flavoring— it can taste like soap in some preparations— or at the best, it’s reminiscent of overwhelming soliflore perfumes of yesteryear (their popularity, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century is why some older folks might associate this scent with “Grandma’s purse satchel).

After a few years of research, we’ve created a rum that encapsulates our Island life. It now feels right as the rum category is growing in popularity, both in households and in bars and restaurants. This year we’ll be working hard to bring the brand to life and bring the trade along with us and encourage them to give peas a chance.”

The best gins for 2023 are:

Gracie: This is an enticing floral bouquet that is particularly attractive to our flying friends. As for exactly which ones, that’s a carefully guarded secret. Much like a bouquet of flowers, the flavor profile of this gin is about how the botanicals combine to create a whole, not about any one individual stem. It is not always helpful to deconstruct a liquid into individual elements, just like the way one botanical may present independently is very different from how the overall character it helps to create when combined with others. That is the magic and mystery of blending, and for me that’s the fun part. Of all the gins out there, none hit the sweet spot between classic gin flavour and moreish complexity quite like No. 3. If you have room for just one gin on your shelf, we’d make it this one. Taste: While some hints of peach and rose come on early, so does the underlying gin. Green juniper dominates the mid-palate hovering in a floral haze of lavender and lilac. Coriander and some spice comes through as the spirit recedes on the palate, revealing a green herbaceous side.

There are four different types of gin: London dry gin, old Tom, Plymouth and navy strength gin. Is gin gluten-free? The second rum in the distillery’s portfolio, which also includes a trio of gins and a vodka offering, Mermaid Spiced rum marries Caribbean rums from Trinidad and the Dominican Republic with local fruits and spices from the Isle of Wight. What’s distinct about the mid-palate is this big floral explosion. There are a lot of flowers here – flowers that are particularly adored by precious pollinators due to their striking scent, abundance of pollen and colour.

Garnishes

Dara: Who did you work with for the labeling? What was the original vision to bring this concept to life? We want Bruha to become an essential beer brand and be known for creating aspirational beers that are consistently delicious. Flora Adora’s botanical bill is rich with pungent blossoms, including lavender, rose and hibiscus and has been released as a limited edition in 2023. Tasting notes Right on the bottle, Flora Adora recommends the Wildgarden Cup. Featuring mint, lemon, cucumbers, raspberries and soda water, it’s a bit fussy but it lends itself nicely to being prepared as a summer party punch. Bruha Porter sits outside of what we typically offer, so serving it as a limited release cask beer allows us to experiment with new brews and attract new customers.”

Gracie: We’ve been busy bees working on creating playgrounds for pollinators, and we’re just putting the finishing touches on these projects and will be ready to share more information about this next month. Stay tuned!

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Some are more herbal, others more luscious, and you’ll also get the hoppy, green tea notes of the yarrow and the perfumed orris root comes forward more. Made by historic London wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd, the six-botanical spirit took two years to develop with Dr David Clutton – a man who holds a PhD in gin (yep, that exists). It was worth the effort. We wanted to offer our customers a chance to try something new, as well as introduce more people to Bruha and this is a great way for us to sample new styles and provide more choice. The marketing spiel says this is “gin, just as it should be”, and while marketing spiels are usually guff, this one happens to be spot on. It’s hard to find a gin simultaneously this archetypal – it’s a classic London Dry – this elegant, and this flavourful (the finish goes on and on). Whether you’re a G&T obsessive or martini connoisseur, No. 3 hits the mark every time. Though, for the record: we like it best with a slug of classic Indian tonic. The great thing about gin is it can be stored for years without going off, but it’s recommended to drink it within two years of opening. Even if you tightly reseal it, it’ll likely lose taste and quality if you leave it any longer. What are the different types of gin?