THE owners of a Borders-based drinks company are looking to further boost the profile of their Scots-Italian vermouth brand with the opening of a centre of excellence, complete with bar, sampling room and retail store.
Brothers Dominic and David Tait, who trade as Tait Bros, secured listings for their Valentian Vermouth in prestigious outlets such as The Balmoral in Edinburgh and The Gannet in Glasgow before the pandemic struck a year ago.
After moving into direct-to-consumer sales and selling through independent retailers still able to trade during lockdown, the brothers have now launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the development of a brand home for Valentian.
The Borders town of Melrose has been earmarked as the location of the tasting room and experimentation studio, which would offer consumers the opportunity to try and buy products and drinks companies facilities for product development.
Valentian Vermouth is based on a combination of Scottish new-make malt spirit with Italian white wine and botanicals grown in both countries. It is marketed as a base ingredient for drinks and cocktails such as the Valentian & Tonic (V&T) and Negroni.
Dominic Tait said: “Consumers are always looking for the next thing in drinks – they want new flavour experiences with a focus on quality ingredients and provenance, lower-abv, cocktail credentials – few products have all these elements, and Valentian Vermouth is one of them.
“The vermouth and aperitif market is growing in the UK and globally, but Scotland is being left behind, and we believe that by creating a centre of excellence for vermouth in the Scottish Borders, we will place Valentian Vermouth at the forefront of the sector, building provenance and a reputation for craft with consumers and the UK drinks industry.”
He added: “The past year was tough, but it enabled us to underpin the work we had done to market the brand through traditional models, where bars and bartenders serve as your advocates, by pivoting towards independent outlets who filled that role. Our direct-to-consumer sales were also strong, and it puts us in a brilliant position to launch the next phase of pour ambition.”
Tait Bros revealed its plans as the Scottish hospitality industry prepares to gradually reopen from April 26. Initially, outlets will not be able to sell alcohol indoors, and will have to close interior spaces by 8pm, though alcohol sales will be permitted in outdoor areas. External areas will be allowed to stay open until 10pm.
The restrictions will be ease further from May 17, when bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes will be able to open until 10.30pm, with alcohol sales permitted indoors.
Mr Tait has aspirations for the Valentian Vermouth to become “the drink” of the summer. He said: “When people try Valentian Vermouth, they buy it, the key has always been to get it onto their lips.
"People in Scotland and across the UK are desperate to get out and enjoy hospitality venues this summer, and we want them to do so with a Valentian Vermouth in their hand. They may not be able to go abroad, but we can bring a taste of abroad to them.”
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