Cabal rum partners with The Explorers Club for journey of discovery

Cabal rum is the new official partner of the Great Britain and Ireland Chapter of The Explorers Club, the international organisation dedicated to the advancement of field exploration and scientific inquiry.

Together, they will be hosting a wide range of events and strategic exploration initiatives aimed at supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences, starting with a special evening event on board HQS Wellington in London on 27 November.

Claire Kinloch, CEO of Edinburgh based Harpalion Spirits, owner of the Cabal brand, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with such an inspiring partner as part of our overarching strategy. Cabal rum has been built on an ethos of truth, taste and togetherness, with collaboration and exploration wholly embedded in our product development process, and we have the utmost respect for the legacy of the rum industry and the environment in which we operate. The partnership will provide our other partners, customers and consumers with the opportunity to engage, learn and benefit from the work we will do together, adding value to what we collectively strive to offer and contribute to the sector, society and the planet.”

The Great Britain and Ireland Chapter regionally represents global organisation The Explorers Club, which was founded in New York in 1904. Chapters of The Explorers Club can be found throughout the world, creating individual communities of like-minded people from many different disciplines of exploration.

The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon – all accomplished by its members.

Patrons in the UK include Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Sir Chris Bonington, Rory Golden, Alexandra Shackleton, Felicity Aston, Levison Wood, Rod McDonald, Sir David Kim Hempleman-Adams, Kenton Cool, Alicia Colson and Neville Shulman.

Explorer, author, speaker and chairman of The Explorers Club GB and Ireland Chapter, Mark Wood, said of the partnership: “We’re really excited to be working with Cabal and the team. They have shown a real understanding of what The Explorers Club is about and what it is trying to achieve. We are really looking forward to working with such an enthusiastic, passionate, committed and engaged team to help us raise awareness and promote the incredible endeavours of The Explorers Club.”

Cabal No.1513, which was officially launched in May 2021, is created using a combination of pot and column distillation techniques with rums from distilleries in Guatemala, Guyana, Trinidad, Panama and the Caribbean, tropically aged at origin. The liquid is then finished in Pedro Ximénez casks in Speyside. There is no added colouring, flavour or sugar, leaving a high-quality, natural rum.

Cabal No.1513 was awarded gold in the super premium golden rum category at the recent Spirits Business Global Spirits Masters 2021 and a silver at the DBSB Autumn Tasting.

Cabal No.1513 is distributed in the UK through bbb drinks and is available to both on-trade and off-trade outlets and online platforms across the UK. Export will also be a key channel and Gold Medal Marketing in Alberta, Canada, has already been appointed as a regional distributor.

The spirit is strong with Original Stormtroopers as IP sees ‘huge online demand’ and new product launches

The Sourceror Ltd has called ‘all hands to the pump’ over the current surge in demand for Original Stormtrooper Beer, a licensed line produced in partnership with Vocation Brewery and Shepperton Design Studios, that has risen in popularity over the course of what had been dubbed Lockdown 2.0.

It’s according to The Sourceror’s Ben Fowler that such is the increase in online ordering of the licensed beer that supply chains for the business have been ‘massively challenged’, and that now ‘it really is all hands to the pump’ in order to meet demand.

Meanwhile, the Original Stormtrooper licensing programme is experiencing pick-up across the alcoholic beverage sector where it has recently launched three new 70cl gin variants to complement its successful Salted Caramel and Vodka liqueurs in B&M stores. The new spirits from Blue Tree Gifts strengthen the brand in the BWS category where it has already driven sales of over 150,000 Original Stormtrooper gift-sets.

Finally, licensee Beer Buddies is ready to unveil a new hand-sculpted wall mounted Original  Stormtrooper bottle opener: a sure sign of the brand’s potential in this space.  

Shepperton Design Studio’s Andrew Ainsworth, commented: “Any connection  between these products and the Stormtrooper’s failure to shoot straight is purely coincidental.” 

GQ partners with NIO Cocktails to launch luxury gift box of themed cocktails

GQ is letting its hair down through a new partnership with NIO Cocktails to develop a ‘unique and luxurious’ tasting experience through a collection of cocktails that aim to ‘fuse hedonism, style, and luxury with all five senses.’

Produced by NIO Cocktails and designed exclusively for the taste of GQ, the collection is sold as a hand-crafted gift set made with 100 per cent recyclable materials, and is available to buy online and ready to taste in the comfort of your own home.

The luxury gift box launch encompasses what it calls “an aesthetic diary for a sensorial journey: four cities, four capitals of taste, four different styles.” It delivers four exclusive cocktails created by NIO Cocktails’ master mixologist Patrick Pistolesi for GQ, four original glasses, each distinctly unique to enhance the taste, one ice mold and four luxury prints for decoration.

The collection features Milan’s The Milanese Bianco. London’s The Dandy, New York’s The Big Apple, and Tokyo’s Sensei.

The Milanese Bianco celebrates the Milanese tradition while providing a twist on a classic Negroni cocktail, mixing Tanqueray Gin, Bitter Bianco Luxardo and Cocchi Americano Bianco for a mature palate. Meanwhile, the Dandy is billed as a sober cocktail, based on Gin Tanqueray, with a touch that gives sparkle, ginger liqueur, light and of a slight amber color.

The Big Apple is the name of a cocktail that celebrates the iconic figure of contemporaneity, including a green apple liqueur with a fruity base that recalls the healthy world. The apple liqueur is suited to the sweet and deep notes of Bourbon Bulleit.

Finally, Tokyo: Sensei is described as a technically perfect citrus cocktail with a strong yellow color. The typical Japanese Yuzu liqueur, mixed with Blended Whiskey, fragrant and round with a fruity and exotic Lychee Syrup, very popular in Japan.

NIO Cocktails is the Italian startup leader in artisanal blending of ready to drink cocktails. All the cocktails are exclusively created with premium ingredients, signed by the well-known mixologist Patrick Pistolesi and contained inside a 100 per cent recyclable pack.