William Grant & Sons launches Discarded, a sweet vermouth infused with cascara, the discarded fruit of the coffee berry. Until recently, cascara was regarded as a waste product in coffee production and is often discarded or used as fertilizer on coffee plantations. As an ingredient, it’s deep red in colour, rich and fruity in flavour. The perfect heart of this unique vermouth.
Every year, billions of tonnes of cascara are wasted in coffee production after the bean is extracted. Discarded takes what would be wasted and re-purposes it to bring a new flavour dimension to create a vermouth like no other.
The idea behind Discarded originated from the brand ambassador community at William Grant & Sons, in particular Joe Petch, Global Brand Ambassador for Monkey Shoulder. Inspired by emerging trends in vermouth and coffee, Joe started working with baristas to understand more about cascara, learning of its taste and blending capabilities.
Joe Petch, Global Brand Ambassador at William Grant & Sons comments:
“The inspiration behind Discarded came from the world of coffee and cocktails becoming ever closer as day and night cultures start to combine. Two years ago, one of my barista friends gave me some cascara which I started to experiment with and blend with a variety of vermouths.
What I found was that cascara is deep, complex, rich and fruity in flavour which makes the sweet vermouth more accessible and versatile in mixology. I have tried many vermouths in my career and Discarded is nothing like what I have tried before.”
To make Discarded, cascara is steeped into alcohol to produce the extract, once the infusion is ready, it is blended into the base of a fortified wine and other botanicals to achieve the profound flavour finish.
Tom Stannard, Global Marketing Manager, Innovation at William Grant & Sons adds:
“We live in an age where single use is increasingly untenable. What others have wasted we have welcomed and made the distinguishing feature in Discarded. In everything we do, we want to embody our brand purpose and to champion the Discarded.”
On the nose, Discarded is deep, rich and aromatic with an easy natural warmth. The taste is full and sweet and the indulgent fruity notes merge with the characteristic bitter notes of vermouth which dominate the clean, lingering finish.
The Discardier, is the signature serve. A twist on the popular Boulevardier cocktail. It combines Discarded vermouth with Monkey Shoulder whisky and Campari, stirred over ice and garnished with a refreshing orange twist.
Source: William Grant & Sons
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