Huel founder and CMO Julian Hearn has teamed up with former professional rugby player Kennet Newell-Hearn to launch an upmarket sambuca brand.
Called Cimbroni, the Italian liqueur has launched initially via DTC in 33 Classic and 33 Coffee variants (rsp: £45/70cl).
The 33 is a reference to the 33-day ageing process the liqueur undergoes “to enhance depth and structure”.
The ageing process meant Cimbroni was “notably deeper, drier and more refined” than other sambuca brands, according to the brand. This made it “the first true luxury sambuca to arrive on the UK drinks market”, it claimed.
33 Classic contains botanicals myrrh, orris root, damascus rose, cardamom, clove, liquorice, cassia bark, star anise, elderflower, fennel and petitgrain. The botanicals are married with organic agave to create a liquid with “remarkable depth and balance”.
33 Coffee, meanwhile, adds “rich coffee character” to the signature expression, to deliver “roasted complexity and a refined, lingering finish”.
“At its core, Sambuca embodies ritual, clarity of flavour and celebration,” said Hearn. “Cimbroni refines these elements, bringing a level of craftsmanship and luxury that the category has never seen before.
“Sambuca has unfairly garnered somewhat of a cheapened reputation as a “shot” drink in the UK market, and we’re here to transform that; giving it back the elegance it was originally created with in Italy, centuries ago.”
Cimbroni is not the only new sambuca to launch in the UK this year. Earlier in March, Global Brands unveiled Nottari Sambuca, in Bianca and Nero variants (rsp: £20/70cl).
Nottari had been developed to get consumers to “re-engage with sambuca and bring the category out of the shadows”, Global Brands said.
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