White Spirits Focus: The flavour of the future

Coffee shops have baristas. Style bars have mixologists. And, although you may snigger at these self-important titles for those who mix drinks, we need to remember we're living in a world where 'premium' has become the battle cry of the industry. Like it or lump it, the competition knows how to present itself. Invariably, straight up and with a twist.

But pubs have the opportunity to get a piece of the action too. After all, a whole host of spirits that fancy bars have available to them are also accessible to pubs. It's just that, over the years, the pub trade's not really known where to start. But with the introduction of flavoured white spirits - vodkas, gins, tequilas and sambucas - the potential for making great drinks is huge. It's easier, quicker and fairly painless. There are plenty of styles. So, take note, because the white spirits category is getting very colourful indeed.

A focus on flavours

"We're moving away from the EastEnders kind of goblet of gin and tonic or any mixed drink with a paltry slice of fruit and we're looking at creating new serves and new innovation within the category," says Helen Facey, senior brand manager for Smirnoff.

"For Smirnoff, we've been doing that through flavours," she adds pointing out that, before, most people had only consumed them as shots.

"Our campaign is very much focused on long mixed serves which seems to have proved very popular, because within two years of doing it, we have overtaken the rest of the products in the category just by giving consumers and the trade new ways to serve mixed drinks."

Diageo has invested nearly £10m in marketing Smirnoff Flavours and educating consumers on how to drink them as long mixed serves and this has helped drive growth across the overall flavoured vodka category, Helen adds.

Currently, there are three Smirnoff flavours available - green apple, lime and blueberry.

"Lime looks like the most popular at the moment. It's the more masculine and with vodka sales, vodka tends to be slightly more weighted towards men than women," says Helen.

Stolichnaya senior brand manager at Maxxium, Andrew Jack, agrees that in the UK, flavoured vodka is in double digit growth. He believes this is because people have "a growing interest in classic and new cocktails" meaning that certain flavours are now considered a core part of the market - "for example raspberry, vanilla and orange vodka", he observes.

Similarly, Hangar One vodka, which uses only fresh fruit to flavour, has variants that take advantage of the trend in an ultra premium fashion. Hangar One Mandarin Blossom works well with bitter lemon, creating an alcoholic St Clements which is perfect as a refreshing summer drink, while the Hangar One Kaffir Lime is a simple upgrade to the classic vodka, lime and lemonade, and easy to make when mixed with a good quality tonic.

But it's not just the vodka category that's getting flavoursome. "Flavours are a key area for Luxardo sambuca," says Viktoria von Kunow, brand manager at Cellar Trends. "We are going to concentrate on raspberry, spiced apple and spiced berries this year and use bright colours like a flashy green and pink with an emphasis on flavour and colour."

The most popular flavour is raspberry, Viktoria confirms, adding that Cellar Trends has "invested a substantially high amount in Luxardo lately" and has now created "a whole new awareness for sambuca as it evolves into a mainstream spirit".

Broadening the appeal

So is mainstream something that's coveted in the industry? It's certainly beginning to look that way, with more companies looking to broaden the appeal of drinks that were predominantly sold as shots and re-marketing them as long mixed drinks instead. But do pubs take advantage of the range of drinks they can offer this with? It seems many are still put off by the amount of time they think it takes to create a drink on a par with a cocktail.

"It just comes down to having a long glass, filling it with ice and having a wedge of fruit that suits the drink profile - really simple. We think that's quite straightforward, but it's not always what people get," says Helen.

Really, she adds, it's this misperception that flavoursome drinks of cocktail quality take a lot of effort and time to make that could really work in the pub's favour, because consumer's won't know how easy it really is.

"The thing that's special about the on-trade is that people go out and they're expecting high quality drinks and the on-trade nowadays needs to differentiate itself - one way it can do that is to serve great drinks that consumers don't really think of as being easy to make at home," says Helen.

Viktoria says it's the same with sambuca. "Luxardo is versatile and you can drink it in many different ways," she says. "You can have long drinks with ginger and spices, serve them in pitchers with ginger beer. We provide pubs with cocktail recipes. There are different ways to have it - as a shot, as a long drink or as a pitcher."

Peter Thornton, mixologist for Luxardo at Cellar Trends, adds: "No other category and brand has succeeded in rising from its speciality status to becoming a widely used speed-rail spirit.

"The UK market has led this astonishing evolution, and Cellar Trends' priority is to work with trade customers to show the great potential of sambuca beyond shot serves."

This year will also see Hi-Spirits build further on its Antica Sambuca range following industry figures from CGA having confirmed during 2010 that it is the biggest selling sambuca in the on-trade, by both volume and value.

According to Hi-Spirits, the Italian brand's success has largely been down to promotions

tailored to appeal to both established customers, as well as position it a broader range of venues. Licensees also benefit from point-of-sale (PoS) support, which includes the Antica Longshot pitcher and the Antica Twister glass.

The entire Antica range comes with the integrated Pro-Pour server in every bottle which improves the speed staff can pour the drink for thirsty customers.

But it's not just sambuca that's receiving an update when it comes to mixable spirit serves, Maestro Dobel Diamond tequila - a blend of Resposado, Añejo and Extra Añejo 100 per cent agave tequilas - is also being pushed as a long drink.

"The tequila market is really opening up to allow more premium brands through, shaking off the 'just a shooter' image it has," said a spokesperson for the brand.

"Dobel is best served in classic-style drinks or with a simple mixer. For a longer drink, a good quality tonic is recommended - Fentimans or Fever Tree - with a squeeze of lime."

It's all about provenance

As consumers grow more conscientious about health, provenance and natural ingredients, a few other trends within the white spirits category have begun to dance to the same tune.

One example is Boë Superior Gin and how its marketing emphasis has been squarely based on the botanicals used, such as: coriander, angelica, ginger, orris root, cassia bark, orange and lemon peel, cardamom seeds, liquorice, almonds and cubeb berry. All flying the flag for natural and wholesome.

Similarly, but this time from the white rum side of the fence, Wray & Nephew's coconut rum, Koko Kanu, which is a blend of fine white aged Jamaican rum and the natural essence of coconut, and offers a flavour that combines real full strength rum with the true characteristics of coconut. As such, it is positioned as a 'real flavour' alternative to coconut-flavoured liqueurs.

According to Whyte & Mackay's on-trade director Fraser McGuire, this trend for real flavour and high quality brand image and presentation stems from people looking to splash their cash but on anything other than the mainstream.

Fraser says he predicts a growth in super premium spirits as consumers look to trade-up when they go out. 

"Consumers may not be going out quite as frequently but they are in