As part of our vision to be the most dynamic and admired leader in wines and spirits, over the last 18 months, we have been working on a very special project around our spirits portfolio. Launched at our Annual Portfolio Tasting in February this year, our new Agency Spirits portfolio promotes quality, provenance and sustainability. On Wednesday 5th June, we shared some of the fruits of our labour with a group of our customers at York Minster Refectory at our first (of many to come) Spirits tasting events.

The event in York was focused around introducing people to our new exclusive spirits producers, providing education and a deep dive into the categories of spirits they produced, and then showcasing how each producers’ spirits could be used to improve drinks offerings by adding excitement to back bars or retail shelves. 

As a premium wine and spirits supplier to the UK trade we see it as our main purpose to providing a holistic service to our customers. We are so often inspired by the producers we partner with for the quality of what they do, that it is important that we can share this knowledge and passion to everyone. In the UK marketplace, this is regularly achieved in wine, but often overlooked in spirits – we want to change that!

For many customers, this event was a new experience, which helped broaden their knowledge and also encounter spirits in a different way:

“Enotria have done nothing but help our business when it comes to wine, so it was great to see this side and a similar level of commitment to Spirits.”

“The bar managers don’t get to come to many wine events, as these events are reserved for the Somms in their businesses, so this was a great way for them to engage with Enotria and see what else they do.”

So who are these mystical new spirits producers? Chosen for their provenance, quality and sustainability credentials, these brands are representative of the key categories of spirits required for any operation. Not all were shown in York, as a few are still being shipped from source, but here is a brief breakdown of them all:

So who are these mystical new spirits producers? Chosen for their provenance, quality and sustainability credentials, these brands are representative of the key categories of spirits required for any operation. Not all were shown in York, as a few are still being shipped from source, but here is a brief breakdown of them all:

NEFT

Premium rye vodka from Austria made using locally sourced rye grains and Alpine, glacial meltwater.

Bladnoch

The oldest privately owned distillery in Scotland creating everything from blended scotch to amazing single malts from the lowlands of Scotland.

Kakira

Amazing aged rums, vodkas, and gins from a sugar cane grower on the edges of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile. A true grass to glass operation.

Ron Roble

Extraordinary-aged rums from Venezuela the first and only country to create a D.O.C for rum production.

Audemus

Vacuum distilled gins and liqueurs made in the heart of Cognac. Incredible focus on aromatics and unique flavours.

Bone Idyll

Gin and vodka made in a micro distillery in London from British only grains. True style and quality with stand out labelling and character.

Castarède

The oldest Armagnac producer and 6th generation family owned. These did it first and are still doing it best!

Vedrenne

Liqueurs and syrups made in the heart of Burgundy. A French heritage company that both distil and macerate fresh fruit for amazing flavour.

Nucano

Family made Mezcal from Oaxaca with a focus on the highest quality flavour and taste.

CKC

Pre-mixed cocktails from Northern Ireland that will knock your socks off thanks to their unique citrus mix program made with local fruits.

Old Mule

Incredible Bourbon from Tennessee (made near the mule capital of the world, Columbia).

This is our new dream team of agency producers we are bringing to the UK market to invigorate the spirits offering from Enotria&Coe. We’re not disruptors - we are passionate advocates of great spirits. Our aim is to improve our customers’ connections to the spirits category with great products made by great producers, with great stories, and by great people. It’s all about the LOLs for us (liquid on lips obvs), which is why tasting and education events are so important to how we want to engage with you, our customers. The more we can fill your minds and palates with amazing spirits and amazing stories, the better the experience you can offer to your guests when they ask you “what spirits have you got?”.

We are in the throes of planning our next agency spirits event that will be held in October this year. It is likely to go even further outside of the norm from an Enotria&Coe tasting event as, aside from getting to know our great producers, our plan is to immerse attendees in cocktail culture and the people who expertly put them together for you behind the bar. Look out for details when they become available.