Sweetdram launches on-trade campaign

Edinburgh-based distillery Sweetdram has launched an on-trade campaign to promote its juniper-free botanical spirits range.

Escubac is a botanical spirit made without juniper

The distillery, founded in 2014 by Andrew Macleod Smith and Daniel Fisher, creates a range of “citrusy, spicy spirits” that do not contain juniper.

Escubac is made with a number of botanicals, including cardamom, caraway, nutmeg and citrus, which are steeped in alcohol for 72 hours before being distilled on copper. This spirit is then lightly sweetened with raisins and vanilla, and naturally coloured with saffron for a pale-yellow hue.

MacLeod Smith said: “As creative distillers who strive to create flavoursome, innovative and modern spirits, we realised early on that we didn’t want to make gin. Anyone can make a gin. You can buy recipes nowadays, or even find one online, add one or two botanicals and call it your own. It’s become so derivative and saturated, and as a creative distiller it’s too narrow a flavour profile to find interesting.

“Taking off those shackles means Sweetdram can move into spaces, flavour-wise, that other distillers haven’t been able to touch. Without allowing ourselves the freedom to chase flavour for flavour’s sake, instead of looking to pigeon-hole a product into a rigid category, we would never have been able to create Escubac.”

In order to raise the profile of the brand, Sweetdram has launched its first on-trade campaign, called Not Another World Gin Day.

Sweetdram has partnered with bars in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh to create “a safe haven for those who do not want to celebrate or enjoy gin” between 7-11 June.

Participating bars, including The Montpelier in Peckham and Salt Horse in Edinburgh, will be kitted out with “Not a Gin” coasters and will be serving up Escubac and tonic.

Escubac is available in the UK on-trade and through select specialist spirits retailers for £27 per 700ml bottle.