Belvoir Farm launches new Botanical Soda range
If months of hot toddies and calorific cocktails have left tastebuds craving a refresh, Belvoir Farm is offering its low calorie Botanical Sodas. From the garden, into the glass, its three flavour creations Floral Fizz, Bitter Orange Spritz and Spicy Ginger Fizz (each 500ml, £2.25) are bringing something different to adult soft drinks and ‘low & no’, says the company. The drinks can be enjoyed on their own, mixed with a favourite tipple or as a splash to elevate summer cocktails and mocktails.
Inspired by nature, the trio of non-alcoholic, sparkling drinks also delivers a healthier hit of hydration with less than 4.5g of sugar and fewer than 20 calories per 100ml. They launch in Sainsbury’s and Booths on 22 February, with Ocado listing them after Easter.
Bridging the gap between soft drinks and mixers, the botanically infusions are blended with sparkling spring water to make the new ready-to-drink sodas the a alternative replacement for alcohol without compromising taste or drinking experience – ideal for the six million Brits who don’t drink alcohol and one third actively reducing their intake.
Belvoir Farm has also worked with the Chelsea Physic Garden to explore the process through which botanicals are used to create different thirst quenchers and the history of the plants that add the flavour to its three new drinks. The company outlines the flavour profiles of each beverage and their ‘perfect serve’ suggestions:
Floral Fizz – created with Belvoir Farm’s elderflower infusion, made at their family farm for almost 40 years, and complemented with geranium and hibiscus. Aronia juice gives Floral Fizz its soft, pale pink colour and the flavours are sweet, fresh and aromatic.
Perfect serve – an ideal non-alcoholic alternative to a floral G&T. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender. For an alcoholic version, add a shot of floral gin. For a more elevated serve , add crushed hibiscus flowers and dried juniper berries.
Bitter Orange Spritz – sweet but sharp Sicilian blood orange juice blended with pressed rhubarb juice, bitter gentian root, and cinchona bark extracts to deliver a bitter and citrusy orange sparkling drink inspired by Mediterranean-style aperitifs.
Perfect serve – with its naturally cloudy appearance and notes of marmalade, it is perfect to drink as a non-alcoholic alternative to an Aperol Spritz. For a super citrusy Bitter Orange Spritz cocktail, add a shot of citrus vodka and serve over ice with a slice of blood orange. For a more elevated serve, pour into a tall glass and top with a splash of prosecco and shaving of fresh rhubarb.
Spicy Ginger Fizz – a step up from a classic ginger beer and inspired by Asian flavours, this punchy fresh root ginger infusion is blended with pressed ginger juice, lemon juice and yuzu juice for a citrus twist, plus spice notes of Japanese Sancho peppercorn, Thai lime leaf and gentian root extract for a slightly bitter finish. Pale yellow in colour and opaque due to the presence of natural fruit juices, shake before serving.
Perfect serve – offers a non-alcoholic alternative to a Dark & Stormy. For an alcoholic version, add a shot of white rum and serve over ice in a tumbler with a twist of fresh lime. For a more elevated garnish, add some pink peppercorns and lime leaves.
Belvoir Farm Botanical Sodas are vegan-friendly and contain no preservatives, flavourings, artificial colours or artificial sweeteners. In keeping with Belvoir Farm’s commitment to sustainability and minimising its impact on the planet, the range has been designed in new retro 500ml glass bottles that can be upcycled or fully recycled. The drinks will also be some of the first to be ‘bottled by sunshine’ after the installation of an array of solar panels across Belvoir Farm’s bottling hall that will generate up to one third of the company’s electricity needs, helping them towards their goal of achieving energy independence.
Belvoir Farm MD, Pev Manners, said, “Creating these recipes has been a really exciting and fascinating project for us to work on. It has been a great opportunity to look outside the ingredients we usually use to make a range of drinks that are quite different to other current drinks in the soft drinks and mixers category. We started with almost 20 different concept ideas and spent many hours in our kitchen exploring lots of different botanical combinations, inventing hundreds of recipes and making and tasting each one, before we were completely happy with the final three flavour profiles.”
