Edinburgh distillery creates Christmas G&T in a can for M&S

The Old Curiosity Distillery Christmas G&T cans are available now.

The new G&T can features two measures of the distillery's sell-out Christmas Dry Gin, which includes spices ideal for the festive season.

The Distillery has collaborated with M&S since summer 2018, but this is their first G&T in a can and a fitting pairing, as Marks and Spencer were the first retailer to launch canned cocktails in 1987.

As well as the G&T cans, shoppers and gin fans can also pick up mini bottles of the Christmas gin, a full sized bottle and gin baubles.

Jenny Rea, M&S drinks product developer, who has worked for the retailer for over 20 years, said: “At M&S we’re committed to delivering the very best products for our customers.

“We’ve worked with Hamish, the distiller at the Old Curiosity Distillery in Edinburgh, and spent months researching how to incorporate new innovations and flavour trends into our world class gins - so creating something magical for Christmas was very important to us.

“Our sell-out Christmas gin proved a favourite tipple among our customers last year, and this year we’ve even put it into cute 5cl bottles with added hangers, so they make perfect Christmas decorations to put on your tree. I’m going to use these instead of crackers on my Christmas table this year – it’ll be far more fun.”

The Secret Herb Garden, in the south west of Edinburgh, was set up by Hamish and Liberty Martin to celebrate ‘ the magic of herbs’, and the Old Curiosity Distillery are a natural progression of this.

Hamish, who left his career in wine to set up the project, has created a garden of 600 naturally grown and tendered varieties of herbs and flowers as well as a distillery that offers visitors the chance to learn about the garden and enjoy handcrafted drinks.

Gins available from the Secret Herb Garden include the popular colour changing gin, which transforms from a light blush to a vibrant pink when mixed with tonic water.

The distillery released its first trio of colour changing gins in October 2018, with flavours Apothecary Rose, Lavender & Echinacea, and Chamomile & Cornflower.

As well as the colour changing gins, this year saw the launch of the UK’s first truly wild gin from the Old Curiosity Distillery, with 20 per cent of proceeds going to RSPB Scotland’s work in preserving the Flow Country’s threatened peatland.

The Flow Country is the world’s largest blanket bog and acts as a natural store for carbon, holding twice that of all the trees in the UK and the addition of Wild gin to the range is a tribute to this spectacular landscape and vital work of RSPB Scotland.

The M&S Christmas G&T cans are in store now, with more info here.