The base spirit for HYKE is made from some of the 713 tonnes of fresh table grapes deemed not suitable for fresh consumption each year – thus reducing food waste.
The UK’s love affair with gin shows no sign of fatigue with sales both on and off trade soaring. Britain’s bars, pubs and restaurants enjoyed a sales growth of 56% in the period to December 2018, lending further support to the popular notion that gin makes everything better. (Disclaimer: Always drink responsibly.)
Enter Foxhole Spirits which has created a premium new gin that is made from sustainably sourced grape spirit produced from the 1.4 million punnets* of fresh table grapes previously discarded during the global supply chain every year, a neat and highly palatable solution to a significant food waste issue. HYKE Gin will be aptly released for on and off-trade sale on Global Recycling Day – Monday 18th March.
James Oag-Cooper, MD and co-founder of Foxhole Spirits at the launch of HYKE, Spring restaurant London
A sister product to the company’s other sustainably produced Foxhole Gin which launched in 2016 using by-products from the English wine harvests, HYKE Gin is distilled from table grapes sourced from Richard Hochfeld Ltd, one of the UK’s biggest fruit importers, flavoured with a blend of botanicals inspired by the grapes’ African and South American origins: juniper, coriander, angelica root, angelica seed, orris root, liquorice, aniseed, cumin, rooibos, myrrh, lemon zest, bay leaf, nigella seed, green cardamom and black cardamom. The result is forward flavours of rich, sweet citrus characters, followed by velvet-textured spice and complex aromatics.
HYKE (70cl) will be available to the on-trade through Highball Brands, Foxhole Spirits’ exclusive UK distribution partner. Meanwhile, HYKE (50cl) will also go on sale exclusively in 300 Tesco stores nationwide helping to support the retailers’ targets, as part of Champions 123 which aims to halve food waste by 2030.
James Oag-Cooper, MD and co-founder of Foxhole Spirits comments: “We knew that there was something special that could and ‘should’ be done with this quality by-product, so we applied our expertise and craftsmanship to the challenge. The result is a totally unique product which tastes exceptionally delicious, is beautifully presented, sustainably conscious and yet still affordable.”
Traditional African fabrics inspire the geometric label design on the bottle in a further nod to the origin of the table grapes. In addition, every element of the bottle is made from recyclable material, with each detail of the process and materials considered, and the environmental impact reduced where possible.
Three signature serves to showcase HYKE’s versatility and distinct taste, have been developed by Jamie Jones, director of drinks at Scotch + Limon; HYKE G&T, HYKE Spritz and a HYKE Martini.
HYKE signature serves:
HYKE Gin & Tonic
Glass: Lowball
Method: 50ml HYKE Gin
Top with Schweppes 1783 Crisp Tonic
Garnish lemon slice
Fresh thyme sprig
HYKE Spritz
Glass: Copa
Method: 35ml HYKE Gin
20ml Rhubarb & ginger cordial
Top with 75ml sparkling rosé wine
Top with 50ml soda water
Garnish lemon twist
Fresh thyme sprig
HYKE Martini
Glass: Martini
Method: 60ml HYKE Gin
15ml Crème de cacao blanc
15ml Amontillado sherry
Squeeze of lemon zest
Garnish green olive
*Approx. 713 tonnes of fresh table grapes per year are not suitable for fresh consumption from a total volume of 500,000 tonnes; 2.7%, which equates to approx. 1.4 million punnets of grapes. The base spirit created from surplus grapes helps to reduce food waste in supply chain.
