Caorunn Gin has only been around for a year but what a year it’s been! Since last August Caorunn’s exceptional quality has bee recognised by a string of impressive awards with a double gold medal win at the 2010 Gin Masters the latest accolade. It adds to a gold medal at the 2009 Gin Masters, gold at the Travel Retail Masters and a further gold for design and packaging at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge. Caorunn has also made its mark across the Atlantic, being awarded a gold medal by the US Beverage Tasting Institute. Silver medals were secured at the 2010 International Cocktail Challenge and at the Starpack Industry Awards. In addition, Caorunn will appear as a finalist at this year’s UK Packaging Awards.

Ben Murdoch from Tonic Bar in Edinburgh has just been crowned the winner of an innovative Summer Cocktail Competition hosted by Caorunn Scottish Gin.  The Caorunn Cocktail Challenge, which took place in Hawke & Hunter’s Secret Garden, put Edinburgh’s best bartenders to the test during an afternoon of cocktail creativity and showmanship.

The contest, which was hosted by Caorunn during a unique Highland Garden Party, was devised to challenge, celebrate and showcase Edinburgh’s bartending community like no other. The city’s high standard of mixology skill shone throughout the evening with entries from leading bars including Oloroso, The Voodoo Rooms, Tigerlily, Tonic, Below Stairs and Sygn amongst others.
£200 prize money and bottles of Caorunn were up for grabs as bartenders battled it out by creating one original Caorunn cocktail concoction to present to the judges. Caorunn’s crisp dry taste provided the perfect base for a host of cutting edge cocktails and bartenders wowed the crowd with their innovative drinks. After the highly competitive contest, Ben was declared the winner with his impressive creation that was praised for its overall balance, simplicity and fantastic taste. Ben was closely followed by Ben McFarlane from Tigerlily who scooped second place.

Ben’s Winning Cocktail
Don’t Thistle my Pink
50ml Caorunn Scottish Gin,
20ml Glenlivet Whisky
20ml Raspberry Gomme Syrup
1 Lavender Stem
Thistle Garnish

Method – Stir ingredients in a Martini glass. Rub lavender around the glass rim and stem. Garnish with a thistle

To showcase the brand’s unique botanical infusion and give visitors a taste of the Scottish Highlands, Caorunn Gin commissioned internationally renowned body artist, Emma-Jane Cammack to create a Botanical Body design in Caorunn’s signature art-nouveau style for last week’s Bar 10 in London.

Featuring Heather, Bog Myrtle, Rowan Berry, Coul Blush Apple & Dandelion, the gin’s Celtic botanical infusions, the Celtic Botanical Body design perfectly captured the brand essence and ensured that Caorunn Gin stood out from other exhibitors. Show visitors flocked to the Caorunn stand during the morning to watch the body painting take place and enjoyed an afternoon sampling session with Caorunn’s stunning model.

Since its launch in August 2009, Caorunn Scottish Gin (pronounced ‘ka-roon’) has become a major hit with gin lovers across the UK and key European gin markets. The handcrafted small batch distilled gin has inspired even the most discerning drinkers with its clean, crisp aromatic taste and long dry finish. The launch of the Caorunn Celtic Botanical Body forms part of an integrated marketing and promotional strategy that the brand will be rolling out throughout the year.

As Caorunn’s Brand Manager, Ibolya Bakos,  explains: “We were delighted to be part of Bar.10 this year and really wanted to cause a stir amongst visitors. Caorunn is a classy and artistic brand with Celtic prominence and through Emma-Jane’s inspired creation, this really came across. It was tremendous to have our Celtic Botanical Body as part of the team at such an exciting event.”

Caorunn Scottish Gin last night crowned Scott Ingram of Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow the winner of the new nationwide cocktail competition The Caledonian Bartenders Cup. Held at the LA Group’s state of the art bar academy in Glasgow, Scott dazzled the judges by showcasing his exceptional mixology skills as he triumphed over stiff competition from 18 of the country’s top bartenders.

Scott and his fellow entrants were tested to the limits in a contest, which included rounds of neat and blind tasting and a mixology innovation challenge, where they had to prove their creativity against the clock. Entrants’ cocktails were judged on flavour, aroma, technical ability, presentation, discussion and name by a panel of industry experts.

The contest, which was launched by leading bar consultancy the LA Group in partnership with Caorunn Scottish Gin and anCnoc Highland Single Malt Whisky, was devised to challenge, celebrate and educate Scotland’s leading bartenders.  £1000 prize money and an engraved crystal punch bowl trophy were up for grabs as competitors battled it out by creating two original cocktail concoctions to present to the judges – a ‘Mid Summer Night’ cocktail using handcrafted small batch Scottish gin Caorunn and an ‘International Innovation’ themed masterpiece using anCnoc.

Infused with five Celtic botanicals Caorunn’s crisp dry taste provided the perfect base for a host of cutting edge cocktails and after a highly competitive round, Scott was declared the winner with his impressive Caorunn and anCnoc creations. Yan McPherson from the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh and Dean Evans from Glasgow’s Blythswood Square Hotel were named runners up.

The competition was judged by some of the industry’s foremost experts in taste, style and bartending namely Barry Chalmers, General Manager of Eau De Vie in Sydney, Australia’s most influential speakeasy, Adrian Gomes from LPNY Consultancy, Caorunn Brand Ambassador Ervin Trykowski and Michael Lovedale from the LA Group Ltd.

Ibolya Bakos, Brand Manager, Caorunn Gin: ‘Caorunn were delighted to be involved in this exciting new competition which champions creativity within the bartending industry. Many first class bartenders create cocktails that capture the spirit of the moment and the Caledonian Bartenders Cup is the perfect platform to celebrate and highlight bartending as an art form.’

Scott’s Mid Summer Night Caorunn Cocktail

• 40ml Caorunn,
• 10ml Tempranillo,
• 20ml Calvados,
• 12.5 Cointreau,
• 12.5ml Grenadine,
• 3 drops Bitter Truth orange bitters,
• 2 drops Angostura bitters

Method – Shake and double strain

For further details on Caorunn visit: www.caorunngin.com

Caorunn Scottish Gin and anCnoc Highland Single Malt Whisky in association with the LA Group are hosting the Caledonian Bartenders Cup in Glasgow on the 9^th of June at LA Group’s state of the art Bar Academy. The first of its kind, the competition will see thirty of the UK’s hottest mixologists battling it out to win the title of Caledonian Bartender Champion and £1,000 prize money. If you’re a bartender with innovative cocktail ideas visit: http://www.la-group.co.uk to get involved in this fantastic new event. Otherwise, keep an eye out for the up-and-coming bartenders who will be showcasing their winning cocktails in a bar near you soon!

Caorunn, Scotland’s handcrafted small batch gin, is taking UK gin lovers on a sensory adventure with a series of cutting edge cocktail master classes. Created using an authentic fusion of five Celtic botanicals, Caorunn’s crisp dry aromatic taste is currently going down a storm.  The new Masterclass series kicked off in March in Edinburgh, where guests were taken on a unique tasting tour showcasing the gin’s new range of Spring cocktails. Hosted in Harvey Nichol’s atmospheric top floor bar, Caorunn’s brand ambassador and gin connoisseur Ervin Trykowski stirred up the crowd with contemporary twists on cocktail classics and an internationally inspired three-way almond gin fizz. Enjoy a taste of the Scottish Highlands and sample one of Ervin’s delicious Caorunn Spring Cocktails for yourself with the recipes below.

Ervin got to the final of Drinks International Cocktail Challenge with the Good for the Gander Cocktail designed to showcase Caorunn’s clean floral notes.  Adding the same amount of Lillet gives the cocktail a slight dryness. Goose Island IPA from Chicago is a very subtle style of IPA, which adds a really nice malt flavour to the drink as well as a bitter aftertaste. Then the drink is finished off by adding a small amount of St Germain (elderflower liqueur) to lift all the other flavours giving the drink a fresh, clean light taste.

Good for the Gander

• 25ml Caorunn Gin
• 25ml Dry Vermouth or Lillet
• 25ml Goose Island India Pale Ale
• 12.5ml St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Serve in a chilled Martini glass with a grapefruit twist.

Poppy Blush

• 37.5ml Caorunn
• 12.5ml Poppy liqueur
• 12.5ml Dubonnet
• 25ml lemon juice
• 25ml apple juice
• 25ml rhubarb syrup
• Egg white

Place all ingredients in a Boston shaker, shake without ice and then with ice (this helps get a froth from the egg white).  Double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

With summer just around the corner Caorunn Gin has come up with a range of delicious fruity cocktails that showcase its unique botanicals profile. Mmmm now where’s that deckchair?

Apple Dream

Ingredients

37.5ml Caorunn

25ml St Germain

12.5ml Lemon juice

1/3 Pink Lady apple

1.5 sprigs thyme

Charged with soda water and crowned with Creme de Mure

Method: Muddle apple well, add sprigs of thyme and gently press. Add all other ingredients (except soda and mure) and shake well over cracked ice. Fine strain into glass, pack with crushed ice and finally top with soda and mure.

Garnish: Lemon (or Orange) twist with sprig of thyme threaded through it or a lemon (or Orange) corkscrew and a blackberry

Glass: Brandy Balloon.

Wee Pink Rose

Ingredients

35ml Caorunn

15ml Lemon juice

10ml sugar syrup

2 strawberries

25ml Sauvignon Blanc

15ml Rose Liqueur or Rose Syrup

1/2 egg white

Method: Muddle strawberries well, add the rest of the ingredients and shake well over cracked ice. Fine strain into glass and serve.

Garnish: Strawberry segment on rim of glass

Glassware: Champagne Flute

Ginger Love

Ingredients

35ml Caorunn

15ml Kings Ginger liqueur

2mm Root ginger

15ml Agave nectar

35ml ruby Grapefruit Juice

Bar spoon Campari

Method: Muddle root ginger, add the rest of the ingredients and shake well with cubed ice. Fine strain into glass and serve.

Garnish: 2mm thick slice of fresh toot ginger on rim of glass

Glass: Cocktail Glass

Sunny Rennie

Ingredients

35ml Caorunn Gin

15ml Sweet Vermouth

100ml Orange juice

50ml Grapefruit juice

5 drops Peychaud bitters

Method: Shake all ingredients and strain over cubed ice in a chilled glass and zest fresh grapefruit over the top.

Garnish: Fresh grapefruit

Glass: 12oz Highball Glass

Caorunn Gin is seriously capturing the imagination of bartenders and Ervin Trykowski’s unusual combination has just got into the final of this year’s International Cocktail Challenge. Gin, vermouth, elderflower and beer, yes beer – here’s the recipe:

Good for the Gander.

25ml Caorunn Gin

25ml dry vermouth

25ml Goose Island ipa (flat)

12.5ml St. Germain Liqueur

Method: stir in a Boston glass, double strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish: orange zest

Here’s something to warm you up in these dank days – two lovely new tea based cocktails from Caorunn Gin.

Caorunn G&Tea

• 35ml Caorunn
• 15ml rosemary infused gomme syrop
• 250ml hot Apple & Pear green tea (Twinings) infusion

To prepare the tea infusion add the following to 1 litre hot water

• 3 Apple & Pear green tea bags (Twinings)
• 3 broken cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise
• 9 cloves
• 1 inch square piece of fresh ginger, sliced
• 5 ‘grates’ nutmeg

Leave on just enough heat to keep the mix hot (do not need to simmer or boil) for 30 min. Strain thoroughly before using and serve hot in a 10oz glass/cup. The mix can be re-heated as appropriate.

Highland G&Tea

• Add 1 bag of Camomile & Spiced Apple tea (Twinings) to hot water, steep for 1 min and remove.
• Add 25ml Caorunn
• 15ml fresh lemon juice (approx juice of ½ lemon)
• 15ml Heather honey

Stir thoroughly before serving and serve hot in a 12oz cup/glass