Wednesday September 20, 2017
Our partner supplier Plastico has just launched a unique, new Flexy-Glass Hi-Ball disposable tumbler – the latest addition to its range of market leading polypropylene tumblers. Its slim, refined shape lends itself perfectly to long drinks – so we thought we’d look at some of the exciting long-drinks fashionable in 2017:
Gin and tonic
Gin sales have exploded, with predictions that sales will exceed the £1bn mark in 2017. There’s a focus on provenance, flavoured gin and aged gin – and mixologists are making fascinating cocktails using gin with more complex flavours.
The fashion has partly been driven by new ‘micro’ or ‘boutique’ distilleries playfully introducing unusual, botanical and herbal flavours to this traditionally juniper based drink.
Frosé
Frozen rosé, or frosé, is made by freezing rosé wine with lemon juice and sugar. The resulting long-drink combines the sophisticated taste of rosé with the texture of a children’s Slush Puppy drink.
The popularity for Frose is partly due to its fantastic visual appeal – customers who see other people drinking them immediately want to try one for themselves. Waitrose said its rosé sales have doubled compared with the same time last year.
Craft beer
Beer has been reinventing itself – across the country, small breweries are refreshing, reviving and reinventing beer as we know it. There are now more than 800 breweries in the UK – higher than at any time since the 1940s with about 80 openings each year. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has seen membership more than double in the past decade, and its beer festivals now sell out in advance.
GlobalData forecasts that the trend for craft beer is set to continue in 2017, as consumers are increasingly drawn in by the innovation in craft beer, such as using different types of hops and malts, interesting flavour combinations.
Non-alcoholic alternatives – like Seedlip
Data from the Office for National Statistics says that alcohol consumption has dropped by more than 18 per cent since 2004. There’s a demand for a sophisticated soft drinks solution, for those who want a ‘grown-up’ drink, and are bored of coke, fruit juice or water.
The introduction of a drink called Seedlip, produced by Ben Branson and promoted as ‘the world’s first non-alcoholic distilled spirit’, provides a sign that soft drinks are getting serious. Designed to be served with a mixer like tonic – mixologists and sommeliers in London’s smartest bars and restaurants are all desperate to have it on their back-bar.
A slave to fashion – the Flexy-Glass Hi-Ball
So, what do all these fashionable long-drinks have in common? Well, they all look great when served in a long, clear glass or tumbler. And for bars, restaurants, contract caterers, street food vendors, or for outside events – a practical option is often a disposable one. The disposable Flexy-Glass Hi-Ball tumbler is a product extension to Plastico’s existing pint and half pint flexy tumblers, but it contains more material that the half pint, so it provides a heavy weighted product – ideal for long drinks like gin and tonic or craft ales.
Made in the EU, and packed in a compact case of 700 tumblers, the packaging is suitable for even the smallest venue. The Flexy-Glass Hi-Ball can also be bespoke printed with a logo, to promote a customers on-trend drinks offer to its full potential.
Samples are available to try out now – gin and tonic not included!
Images sourced from:
https://www.flairprojectsb.com/greek-gin-and-tonic/
https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Frose-5
