The brainchild of husband-and-wife team Neil and Jane Pinel of Dunell’s Premier Wines, Pink Granite is the latest product demonstrating the ongoing revival of gin.
Since its debut in early July, Pink Granite has been stocked by a wide range of bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels, as well as suppliers such as Victor Hugo and Corkscrew.
Mr and Mrs Pinel showed off the product to customers at the launch event at their Beaumont store in St Peter, and a few weeks later did a brisk trade at the Havre des Pas Beer Festival.
‘It’s been really, really positive so far,’ said Mrs Pinel. ‘What’s most pleasing is that it’s been equally popular with existing gin drinkers and people who tried it having told us that they didn’t like gin. We also wanted something that would appeal to both male and female drinkers, and have had really good feedback about that.’
The idea for the new gin dates back around two years, when Mr Pinel made a sales call to the Bella Luce Hotel in Guernsey and spoke to Luke Wheadon, the proprietor of Wheadon’s Gin.
‘Gin was getting really big at the time, and we’d started expanding our range from 20 to 30 gins – there are around 100 today,’ said Mr Pinel. ‘We were looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of Dunell’s and wanted to do something different. This was the first time we’d had a concept of this type and developed a totally new product.’
Pink Granite takes its flavour from 14 different ingredients, known as botanicals. As well as juniper – the primary ingredient for all gins – the prominent character of Pink Granite stems from fresh raspberries and pink grapefruit, as well as hibiscus flowers and pink peppercorns.
After a lengthy process of trialling prototype versions, as well as working on the branding and packaging, the new spirit was finally ready for its launch last month.
Currently Pink Granite is made at the Wheadon’s distillery in Guernsey, although production is set to switch to a new location in St Helier before the end of 2019. This will be part of the new Channel Islands Liquor Company, a joint venture between Mr Wheadon and Jersey restaurateur Mark Taft of La Bastille Bar & Brasserie.
Suggested serves for Pink Granite include mixing the gin with three different tonics and garnishes, and a growing number of cocktail recipes, including Mr Pinel’s favourite which uses Japanese rice-drink sake.
