Hocus crafts ‘game-changing’ spirit fragrances
UK producer Hocus has unveiled a line of fragrances that concentrates full-strength spirits into low-alcoholic versions, while claiming to preserve the taste.
Hocus’ spirit fragrances, which come in 33ml pump‑action bottles, offer a super‑concentrated spirit flavour. The idea is to turn a plain mixer into a drink that looks, smells, and tastes like the original spirit and mixer serve, but with a fraction of the alcohol.
Founder Mark Stone drew on his background in biochemistry and food regulation to bring this latest innovation to market. The idea for the Hocus line of spirits fragrances came when he realised that spirits are 99% alcohol and water, and just 1% is responsible for flavour and aroma. “Once I realised that, I thought: ‘What would happen if I could remove water and alcohol from drinks?’”
A decade of research, during which he developed a low‑energy proprietary process that removes alcohol and water from spirits without damaging the molecular structure of the flavour components.
Over the course of his 10-year R&D, his peers often told him he was “nuts” as the operations he explored are normally associated with machine engines and potential explosions. “I’ve nearly killed myself about 92 times, but I managed to find a way to remove the alcohol and water and not blow anything up.”
Stone does not distil the spirits himself. Rather, he takes existing products and concentrates them, creating an ‘authentic’ low-alcohol version of the original spirit.
Each bottle of spirit fragrance, which equates to 40 serves, requires 2.8 bottles of the original spirit.
The high concentration level, which Stone says ramps up the flavour by approximately 1,000 times the original concentration, is unique to Hocus.
Other brands, such as Hayman’s and Cotswolds, have created spirits around 10 times their standard concentration; however, these products still require the addition of botanicals and flavourings to recreate the original flavour. Hocus’ extra-high concentration level removes the need for additives by stripping the alcohol without compromising the spirit’s original flavour.
Cost-effective solutions
Stone is reluctant to explain exactly how the process works as the method is currently under IP, with patents pending. To offer some insight, Stone introduces Joe Kelly, founder and head distiller of Chew Valley Distillery in Bitton, Bristol, with whom he has now worked for six years.
Chew Valley’s London Dry gin is one of the spirits used to create one of Hocus’ fragrances, which are currently being trialled in luxury London retailer Fortnum & Mason.
The products carry both Hocus and Chew Valley branding – something which Kelly says he was happy to agree to after he and his customers had signed it off as a true representation of the brand’s London Dry gin.
“Being able to turn a brand non-alcoholic is something all distilleries eventually are going to want to do, especially with the [no-and-low] trend going the way it is.
“We did blind tastings in my distillery, and I’ve also got a taproom bar as well, so our customers were helping us with blind tastings. Eventually, people didn’t know whether what they were drinking was alcoholic or non-alcoholic. At that point, I was happy to put our brand on the bottles,” he says, adding that “as soon as we got the taste right, it just sort of took off from there.”
Kelly explains that as a small independent brand, being able to get into places like Fortnum & Mason with Chew Valley’s own branding “is a dream come true.”
However, he caveats that it is now the brand’s job to make consumers aware of how to use the spirit fragrances, “because it’s so different. But as soon as people get their head around it, it’s just a game-changer.”
Chew Valley’s partnership with Hocus is also cost-effective, Kelly explains. “You can buy off-the-shelf machines that will take the majority of the alcohol out, but it also takes a lot of the different flavour elements. I worked really hard for years to make this London Dry, and Mark is the only person who can actually give me back something that tastes the same as what I got. [Doing it myself] just wouldn’t work out very well.”
There is a sustainable and circular element to Hocus, as the alcohol and water removed during concentration are sent back to Chew Valley for reuse in fresh distillations, creating a circular production loop.
Furthermore, each bottle saves up to 95% in weight and space compared with a traditional spirits bottle.
Hocus is also going to start transforming Chew Valley’s rum, which is made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses on site, into a spirit fragrance. “We’re ‘unofficially’ the smallest British rum distillery, and that’s something hopefully we’re going to roll into working with Mark as well,” Kelly says.
How to serve
Stone chose the term ‘spirit fragrances’ because they behave like perfume for your mixer – intensely concentrated, used in drops, and presented in a small, refillable bottle.
Each 33ml bottle provides approximately 40 drinks, and just three pumps into a mixer is required for each serving.
The result is said to deliver the same aroma, flavour and alcoholic feel as a 50ml spirit serving. However, the ABV of each serve made with Hocus equates to 0.5% ABV.
Stone shares that the consumer response from the Fortnum & Mason trials has been positive and has accelerated since Hocus implemented a fresh design for the bottles. “As soon as we did the rebrand about six weeks ago, it’s just gone crazy,” he says, noting that Hocus has seen repeat and multi-unit purchases of the product since.
He also shares that retailer sentiment has been confident, with many asking for their own versions or exclusives.
Each bottle of Hocus spirit fragrance is sold for RRP £29.99 (US$41), which Stone says equates to 75p per serve for consumers. This compares with a typical alcohol-free ‘spirit’ landing around £1.10 to £1.40 per serve.
Hocus also plans to offer a 15ml bottle – enough for roughly 18 serves – with a planned RRP of £18 (US$24.60). Resembling a tiny lipstick, Stone says this edition will be perfect to carry in bags or pockets.
In 2020, Hocus released its debut innovation that allowed consumers to mix spirit essences with a neutral blended spirit to recreate the flavours of different spirits.
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