Wild card proves a winner for Lothian cocktail innovators

Buck & Birch, based in Macmerry, have created a selection of limited edition, ready-to-drink, hand-crafted cocktails, inspired by nature and available online for direct delivery.

As the team behind the award-winning liqueur Aelder Elixir, they decided to respond to the shut down of the hospitality trade by offering consumers premium, bar quality drinks to enjoy at home - with no need for the equipment, skills or the vast array of ingredients normally associated with cocktail making.

By hand harvesting ingredients from shores, woodlands and hedgerows, all within a walkable radius of their base, founders Tom Chisholm and Rupert Waites aim to give their customers a real taste of the Scottish wilderness.

“The last few months have definitely rocked the industry and our markets look very different to a year ago. But thankfully for us as a small and therefore quite agile, company we have been able to innovate both our product ranges and sales avenues quickly during the last few months,” says Tom.

“With consumers not able to go to retailers, bars and restaurants, our online platform has seen considerable growth over the last three months with sales up over 620% over the same period last year.”

As the ready-to-drink cocktail range grows in popularity, the pair are already working with some other major brands to expand the selection.

“As the hospitality and retail sectors slowly open up again we are also committed to support them in whatever way we can,” adds Tom.

The current range of six cocktails includes the Thornstar, the Rowan Atkinson and the Dandy Lion and is available on the Buck & Birch website at www.buckandbirch.com.

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