An award-winning Australian gin specifically distilled to ensure drinkers and non-drinkers can enjoy the same experience has gone on sale in the UK at the same time.
Brunswick Aces is the world’s first gin to have been created in both alcohol-free and a 40% ABV versions and is available through UK drinks collective Virtus Brands.
It is available in three varieties – Hearts, Diamonds and Spades – which each offer a different gin experience – warmth, freshness and zesty citrus.
Bringing the heat is Hearts which is described as being warm and rich on the palate, leading with a perfect balance of cassia bark (cinnamon), cacao nibs, orange, and clove, with star anise, native Australian wattleseed and juniper.
Spades, meanwhile is savoury and fresh. It leads with notes of green cardamom and fresh herbs, perfectly balanced by sweet citrus and native Australian lemon myrtle and with the addition of Tasmanian pepperberry to generate a bit of heat.
Finally, Diamonds is zesty and floral, leading with notes of native desert lime and lemon balanced with savoury sage and juniper and rounded out with angelica root.
The playing cards theme also extends to the distinctive profile of its bottles, while the lid also features another world first – an in-built jigger to designed to take the guesswork out of free pouring, allowing drinkers to measure their ingredients in 15ml, 30ml, 45ml & 60ml volumes.
Brunswick Aces was launched in Melbourne in 2017 by five neighbours who would regularly meet up for cocktails but who faced a dilemma when one of them became pregnant and started to feel left out of the whole experience.
To prevent them having to miss out, the friends decided to create their own botanical gin using Australian ingredients
Brunswick calls its zero alcohol gin a sapiir, which it uses during the manufacture of its alcoholic gin to reduce the ABV down from 80% to 40%, instead of using water as other brands do.
This, along with the unique way the gin was created, has helped it to build up a loyal following in Melbourne, where it is the star of the show at the Brunswick Aces bar – which was Australia’s first non-alcoholic bar and where the gin is made.
Gurdeep Dhaliwal, Global sales Director said: “Brunswick Aces grew out of a very common situation – why should people who don’t want to drink alcohol when they go out miss out on drinking the same flavoursome botanical gin their friends are enjoying?
“That approach started the Brunswick Aces story and it’s become a huge phenomenon in Australia, so I’m really happy to be working with Virtus Brands to bring it to the UK.
“So far it’s had a great impact, whether enjoyed in a cocktail or with a simple mixer. People love the taste and the bottle, and they really appreciate the inbuilt jigger, which makes sure there is no excuse to get the quantities wrong.”
Baz Kooner, founder of Virtus Brands, said: “We’re very excited that Brunswick Aces has become the first zero alcoholic gin to be available through Virus Brands.
“It’s a real coup for us. Gurdeep and the team in Melbourne have genuinely viewed their product from the point of view of the gin drinker and created a range of botanicals that can genuinely be enjoyed by everyone.
“We’ve all seen the rise of zero alcoholic gins and this has proven to be a gamechanger in Australia. Their vision, plus the bottle and the clever pouring system means that Brunswick Aces are breaking new ground and we’re extremely proud to be bringing them to the UK.”
‘Choose How You Drink, Not If You Drink’
This story was written and shared on behalf of Virtus Brands by Sarah-Louise Elton. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
