Fruit cups were a Victorian invention - a mixture of fruit, liqueurs and spices with a base spirit of gin and usually made in the kitchen for home consumption. Plymouth Fruit Cup, launched in 2003, is a direct descendant of these traditional nineteenth century fruit cups. It contains full strength Plymouth Gin blended with high quality Bols Orange Dry Curacao, Heering Cherry Liqueur and Punt e Mes bitters. To this is added pure citrus fruit extracts. At a robust 30% abv it is higher strength than other well known fruit cups marrying the diverse flavours of the fruit, liqueurs and aromatics perfectly together. With no artificial flavourings or colourings Plymouth Fruit Cup is spicy and sweet on the nose with strong citrus notes and a long, fresh, fruity finish.

Once upon a time all the major distillers made a wide variety of fruit gins and Plymouth Sloe Gin and Plymouth Damson Gin are reminders of this heritage. Plymouth Sloe Gin is made by steeping sloe berries, the fruit of the blackthorn tree, in full strength Plymouth Gin and reducing the resulting blend to 26% abv. Plymouth Damson Gin is made on the same principle but with damson plums. Both are becoming increasingly fashionable as alternatives to port and brandy after a meal or as a key ingredient in delicious new cocktails. Indeed so popular are Plymouth's Fruit gins and Fruit Cup proving with all ages that new recipes are constantly being created for them. Check out Cocktails & Recipes for new and exciting ways to enjoy them.

Key Off-trade outlets

Plymouth Fruit Cup is exclusively available at Waitrose supermarkets. Plymouth Sloe Gin can be purchased from Asda and Safeway. Plymouth Damson Gin is stocked exclusively by Waitrose. All three can also be purchased at the Distillery Shop in the magnificently refurbished Black Friars Distillery Visitor Centre.

See also Plymouth Gin »

Website: www.plymouthgin.com