Fancy a gin and tonic?

Claire Rowan is group technical editor, magazines, FoodBev Media. This is a personal blog and views expressed are her own.

Well, it’s not often (this might even be a first) that I drink gin and tonic at 4pm in the afternoon, but the lure of seeing Sidral Sweet Express’ gin and tonic kit in action had me supping colourful gin well before the sun had gone over the yardarm at ISM in Cologne.

There were a wealth of different flavour options to choose from including rose petals, cardamom, anise, strawberry silver, hibiscus flower, and juniper berries, all available in easy to serve long sachets of brightly coloured powder or crystals ready to splash into your gin and tonic. With a fizz, the crystals dissolve and disperse throughout the drink turning it rapidly into the colour of the added powder.

“Gin and tonic is a great trend in areas of Spain and the Gin & Tonic kits are proving immensely popular as they turn the standard drink into a cocktail, which for the young and trendy consumers in bars is a great hit!” explained Ma Dolores López, managing director of Sidras Sweet Express who was sipping gin with me on the stand. “We have the technology available for creating effervescent powders and granules, so we can customise them into specifically branded blends for individual outlets, bars or companies.”

At the show to discover the interest in other European countries and to seek distributors, Sidras Sweet Express was certainly attracting attention during the show. But don’t worry, if you are not a distributor and fancy trying this for yourself, Sidral Sweet Express has created very attractive display cases of the Gin & Tonic kits, including a long spoon and containing a selection of different blends for consumers to try at home. Cheers!