Mermaid Gin moves into pink

The Isle of Wight Distillery has released a pink iteration of its Mermaid Gin, flavoured with local strawberries.

Mermaid Pink Gin is flavoured with Isle of Wight strawberries

The gin is said to have a “gentle pink hue” as a result of its use of strawberries from the island’s Arreton Valley, which is believed to receive “some of the best sunshine levels in the UK”.

The strawberries are steeped in the distillery’s signature gin for four days. Half of the liquid is then removed and redistilled before it is mixed back into the infusion. The result is a “refreshing and intensely aromatic” strawberry flavour.

In addition, the gin is made with locally foraged rock samphire, lemon zest and grains of paradise. With no added sugar, the gin is said to be “substantially less sweet than many on the market”. Its bottle is 100% plastic-free, with a wood-topped cork and a plant-based tamper-proof seal.

The product follows the relaunch of Mermaid Gin, sales of which have risen by more than 110%.

“The trade and consumer response to Mermaid’s new bottle has been amazing and has obviously kept us all very busy,” said Xavier Baker, co-founder of the Isle of Wight Distillery. “However, we’ve significantly invested in the distillery’s future and Pink represents the next big step for us.

“The pink gin category’s still got masses of potential, both here and abroad, so we’re confident our unique Island take on it will be a big hit.”

Flavoured gin sales, principally pink variants, boosted half of all gin growth in the UK in the 12 months to February 2019, according to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association.