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Going viral

By Daniela Walker 26 : 11 : 2015 Spirits Resurrection : Viral Distilling : Liqueur

London – What’s a drink without a distillery? An exciting proposition, according to the founders of Sweetdram, a ‘viral’, liqueur-crafting collective of no fixed abode.

Produces liqueurs at select ‘host’ distilleries in what it has termed a ‘viral’ relationship
Enables the collective to focus on recipe design rather than the logistics of running a distillery

Escubac from Sweetdram, London

Founded by Andrew MacLeod Smith, Vangeli Moschopoulos and Daniel Fisher, Sweetdram was born out of the trio’s desire to explore a gap in the alcohol market – liqueurs. Rather than channelling their efforts into setting up a distillery, they decided to focus on recipe development and search for a distillery to collaborate with. After 18 months of experimentation and the securing of a partnership with French distillery Combier, Sweetdram’s first product, Escubac, was created.

‘We deliberately chose not to build a distillery,’ MacLeod Smith tells LS:N Global. ‘We choose to be viral because it keeps us fluid and progressive, and enables us to focus on recipe design, which is what we do best. Being viral also means we get to collaborate with some really talented, innovative people all over the world.’

The drink, which features a heady assortment of botanicals, is a clear sign of what’s to come from the experimental collective poised to open its own workshop in December.

The Big Picture

Escubac is made using an ancient recipe tweaked for modern palates. For more on the revival of age-old drinks, read our Spirits Resurrection microtrend, part of our Food & Drinks Futures report.