By Sacha Delfosse
William Grant & Sons will be launching Solerno, a premium Italian blood orange liqueur, into the high-end on-premise market in March.
Solerno is produced by master distiller Lesley Gracie, the creator of Hendrick's Gin, and is made in Sicily using blood oranges that are plucked by hand from groves on the slopes of Mt. Etna.
The fruit is then processed within 24 hours at the Agrumeria Corleone, where the essential citrus oils are extracted. These oils are mixed then blended with Sicilian lemons, a quality neutral spirit base and natural sugar to create Solerno.
Packaged in a striking and stylish bottle, Solerno offers bartenders a well-balanced product with a distinct taste that can work well as either a base spirit or modifier in a range of cocktails and drinks.
Solerno's brand ambassador, Jackie Patterson, demonstrated the versatility of spirit at the recent Sydney launch of Solerno, where she also explained how the product has become one of the fastest growing liqueurs in the US since it first launched there three years ago.
"We launched nationally as of last year. I think we were up 136 per cent from the year before. We are being careful, going slow and steady and letting it grow organically within the trade," said Patterson.
"It's figuring out its identity and place since it is a new brand, its not stuck in a box which is exciting. This is a new tool for bartenders to play with, another flavour profile in their arsenal to create cocktails with a flavour they haven't been able to access before.