Scotland’s Caorunn gin marks ten years with new raspberry edition

Scottish distiller Caorunn has launched its first flavoured gin to mark ten years since the brand was founded.

Caorunn Scottish Raspberry, crafted at Balmenach Distillery in the Scottish Highlands, has been produced in small batches of 1,000 litres at a time.

The brand says that Caorunn’s distinctive aromatic flavour, created by infusing five locally foraged Celtic botanicals and six traditional gin botanicals, is “perfectly complemented by the addition of sumptuous Perthshire raspberries”.

The spirit “combines the invigorating dry, crisp taste of Caorunn enhanced by a natural raspberry sweetness”, Caorunn said.

Gin master Simon Buley continued: “We’re incredibly proud to be introducing our very first flavoured gin just ahead of our ten-year anniversary of Caorunn gin, here at Balmenach Distillery. Caorunn Scottish raspberry leverages the same trusted process that has made Caorunn gin such a success over the last decade. This process, paired with the unique infusion of Perthshire raspberries, has allowed us to create a bright, clean and fruity gin that we’re incredibly proud to be adding to our range.”

Bottled at 41.8% ABV, the flavoured gin will retail at £21 per 50cl bottle and is available to buy through independent and specialist retailers in the UK.

Its release comes at a time of renaissance for flavoured gins and, in particular, pink gins and rosé proseccos. According to the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA), the UK has more choice of pink alcoholic drinks than ever before thanks to a glut of innovations.

Figures released to coincide with Valentine’s Day show that flavoured gin grew by more than 750% between 2017 and 2018. British consumers bought 66 million bottles of gin in the past year, up 41% on the same period the year before and worth over £1.9 billion in total.

A huge part of that surge was down to sales of pink gin and flavoured gin, with hundreds of new products coming to market, the WSTA said.

Two years ago only a handful of brands were making flavoured gin, yet last year the category was valued at £165 million.

The gin category is expected to grow this year as brands launch new flavoured and pink gin products, while sales of rosé wine have recorded their first growth in five years.