Two Birds Spirits has announced the launch of its first on-trade fruit-distilled gin to celebrate seasonal British produce this week.

The distillery in Market Harborough, Leicestershire has released Strawberry and Vanilla Gin to complement its range of multi award-winning London Dry, Old Tom, Cocktail and Sloe gins.

Mark Gamble, who founded the distillery from his home in the town in 2013, said: “There has been a notable increase in people asking for fruit gins at shows and at trade level and we've worked hard to come up with a flavour that would appeal to gin connoisseurs, as well as seasonal Summer drinkers.

“We wanted a product to reflect our brand's identity as a distiller of countryside spirits and as strawberries are a British Summer staple and are grown across Leicestershire, we started experimenting.”

Mark was keen to ensure that the spirit still tasted like a gin but captured the distinctive flavour and colour of British strawberries that could be enjoyed as a long drink or mixed into a cocktail. The vanilla subtly enhances the sweetness of the strawberries without dominating the classic gin botanicals.

He added: “What we've achieved is a gin that has a really wonderful essence and you only need a small amount of it to taste the flavours coming through.

“We're recommending that 25ml poured over ice with a light-flavoured tonic as the ideal way to mix it, garnished with a fresh strawberry, a sprig of mint and a wedge of lime.

“It's also delicious topped with prosecco and we've had a great time experimenting with it in the Two Birds Workshop.”

Two Birds has been producing traditional gins and English vodkas for the last four years, and although its flavoured vodkas such as Raspberry, After Dinner Mint and Salted Caramel are already popular, they waited until now to start experimenting with gin.

Earlier in the Summer they released a Summer Fruits Gin which has only been available to buy at shows but this is the first time they have released a fruit gin to trade and online customers.

Mark said: “We wanted to do some market research before introducing gin distilled with fruit to our full range of spirits.

“The reaction to Summer Fruit Gin has surpassed our expectations and we're very excited to be launching the new flavour this week.”

In January, the distillery opened the Two Birds Workshop in which visitors can enjoy a few hours learning the history of gin, as well as distilling their own signature flavour with Workshop Manager Simon Brannon.

The spirit, priced £13.00 for 20cl and £32 for 70cl, is available from the website, www.twobirdsspirits.co.uk or by emailing sales@twobirdsspirits.co.uk

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For more information about Two Birds or to browse the online shop, please visit http://www.twobirdsspirits.co.uk, call 01858 463758 or email sales@twobirdsspirits.co.uk

Photo: Two Birds Strawberry and Vanilla Gin

About Two Birds Spirits:

Two Birds Spirits was founded by Mark Gamble in 2013, in the quaint British countryside town of Market Harborough, Leicestershire. It all started with a love for great tasting Gin, experimenting at home in the 'workshop' for months, tinkering around trying to develop the perfect drinking gin… and thus our multi-award winning London Dry Gin was created.

While our collection of great tasting British spirits has grown, all are still lovingly produced by hand using our bespoke copper stills. We produce small batches of just 100 bottles at a time, with every stage of the process produced and checked by hand, making sure that we remain a true artisan distillery. From our multi-award winning London Dry Gin to our super indulgent Salted Caramel Vodka and even our devilishly potent Absinthe; our aim is simple... To keep Britain in mighty fine spirits.

For more information contact Megan Allen at Rural Roots PR on 07730 599358 or email megan@rural-roots.co.uk