America's love affair with tea liqueurs looks set to cross the pond, as a new boozy ice tea hits shelves.
Drinks importer Babco Europe is rolling out Beaux Ice Tea Liqueur (rsp: £12) to the off-trade nationally from 1 December, having tested the tipple regionally from July.
At 27.5% abv, the liqueur is designed to be served with lemonade or ginger ale as a "lighter" alternative to other spirits, said Babco chief executive Mark Wilson.
The liqueur is "freshly brewed" from vodka infused with Oolong and Assam teas, and then flavoured with lemon and black tea extracts.
The Beaux Ice Tea Liqueur launch comes two months after Diageo rolled out its American sweet tea brand Jeremiah Weed into the JD Wetherspoon pub chain.
"With the likes of Diageo set to invest in the category and accelerate the inevitable migration of such a huge US trend to the UK, the timing of the Beaux Ice Tea launch seems perfect," said Wilson.
"Ice tea liqueurs are a relatively new product and although we don't sell any currently, we are always open to innovation in the ready-to-drink category, which has grown by more than 40% at Asda in the past year," added Chris Brooks, spirit buyer at Asda.
In October, Diageo GB managing director Simon Litherland described tea liqueur as a drinks sector with "exciting potential".
Drinks importer Babco Europe is rolling out Beaux Ice Tea Liqueur (rsp: £12) to the off-trade nationally from 1 December, having tested the tipple regionally from July.
At 27.5% abv, the liqueur is designed to be served with lemonade or ginger ale as a "lighter" alternative to other spirits, said Babco chief executive Mark Wilson.
The liqueur is "freshly brewed" from vodka infused with Oolong and Assam teas, and then flavoured with lemon and black tea extracts.
The Beaux Ice Tea Liqueur launch comes two months after Diageo rolled out its American sweet tea brand Jeremiah Weed into the JD Wetherspoon pub chain.
"With the likes of Diageo set to invest in the category and accelerate the inevitable migration of such a huge US trend to the UK, the timing of the Beaux Ice Tea launch seems perfect," said Wilson.
"Ice tea liqueurs are a relatively new product and although we don't sell any currently, we are always open to innovation in the ready-to-drink category, which has grown by more than 40% at Asda in the past year," added Chris Brooks, spirit buyer at Asda.
In October, Diageo GB managing director Simon Litherland described tea liqueur as a drinks sector with "exciting potential".
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