THE team at Edinburgh bar Nauticus has played a role in the development of a new pre-batched cocktail range from Scottish drinks company William Grant & Sons.
Nauticus was one of five bars from around the world to work on the Batch & Bottle project, helping to develop one of the launch products: a ready to pour Martini made with William Grant’s Hendrick’s Gin.
The creative process involved each bar developing three gin Martinis, with Hendrick’s master blender Lesley Gracie and brand ambassador Ally Martin then using those drinks to decide on the final recipe.
Nauticus co-owner Kyle Jamieson said the Martini “has constantly evolved, and stayed a staple of every cocktail bar menu since it was first created over 100 years ago”.
“The fact that we can play a part of this modern bottled version is amazing,” he said.
“An excellent quality gin is where a great Martini starts. Hendrick’s is the perfect example of this. For us, keeping it simple is key, dry and a twist is the way for us, allowing the gin to shine through.”
Martin at William Grant & Sons said Nauticus was asked to participate because the bar “has a great way of looking at Scottish heritage – they take Scottishness and move it in a modern direction”.
“It’s fresh, interesting and their drinks are amazing as well,” said Martin.
“They really only have Scottish products in the bar, and we wanted to work with them for that reason.”
Other than Nauticus, William Grant worked with Yaldy in Frankfurt, Nutmeg & Clove in Singapore, Maybe Sammy in Sydney and Brujas in Mexico City on the project.
The Hendrick’s Martini is one of four cocktails in the Batch & Bottle range.
The others include a Glenfiddich Scotch Manhattan, Reyka Vodka Rhubarb Cosmopolitan, and Monkey Shoulder Lazy Old Fashioned.
William Grant & Sons global innovation manager, Karen Murphy, said the range “provides an opportunity to showcase the world-class brands in our portfolio, while also providing an uncomplicated solution to perfect cocktail serves created and produced using our industry expertise”.
