On 7 November, Archie Rose launched its new on-premise orientated range, Fundamentals, at an event held for the hospitality industry.
Archie Rose Fundamentals sits below the distillery’s more premium Signature Range, and currently consists of True Cut Vodka and Straight Dry Gin, with a Double Malt Whisky to follow in 2023.
Cocktails were served up by the PS40 team, with guests among the first in Australia to taste the new range. Menu highlights included a ‘Mango Weiss’ cocktail, which was made with cold pressed mango cream, lime, coconut oil and Archie Rose’s True Cut Vodka. Twists on classics, such as a ‘Fig Leaf Martini’, a ‘Vogue Spritz’ and a ‘Gladys Gimlet’ were also on offer.
At the event Archie Rose’s Brand Ambassador Dan Ritchie thanked PS40 for “being massive supporters of Archie Rose since day one” and explained that the new range had been “eking its way into the trade over the last four weeks.”
Dan was joined by Archie Rose Founder Will Edwards, who introduced the range, and outlined the scale of the long development process.
“So Fundamentals – it’s been a hell of a journey. We’ve been working on this range for about three years,” Will said.
He also explained that the distillery now felt they occupied a market position where they could introduce a new, entry level range.
“We’ve fully designed the pack once and then scrapped it, and we completely built out whole and plan and strategy of what the liquid was going to be like very early on early – but then didn’t feel that we were strong enough as a brand to release yet,” Will added.
Will illustrates that the range fills a gap in the market for Aussie distillation too.
“For us, it’s a huge milestone for Archie Rose, but we also feel that hopefully it’s a huge milestone for the Australian spirits industry as well,” the Archie Rose Founder said.
“The one thing that, in our minds, Australian spirits always struggled with was accessibility. Because there’s so much great spirit out there like this. There’s literally more great spirit that you can possibly pour and get in front of customers.
“But the challenge is that at a $75/80 price point for gin, you just can’t buy that sort of gin every day. You can’t afford it, particularly when you’re coming up against the big international brands, there’s some commercials that come into play.”
The range has also been designed to introduce a new market of drinkers to Australian spirits, as Will illustrates.
“The fundamental reason we wanted to do it was to get more Australians drinking and appreciating Australian spirits. And we knew that we had to start predominantly, as much as we like to start with a liquid, that we had to start with a price point.
“It was going to be that entry point into the world of local spirits, from which you can go anywhere once you’re in. You can go crazy and spend $20,000 on a bottle of whisky from Tassie!”
One of the key elements in producing a range like this is always going to be economy of scale, and in this regard, Archie Rose are well placed, having recently constructed a new distillery in the Botany area.
“The new Botany distillery for us is one of the big things that opened up the efficiencies of scale to be able to get the spirit to where we need to get it to,” Will said.
This new distillery has also allowed Archie Rose to make more sustainable choices in production.
“We’re able to get enough scale to be able to use that reclaimed orange peel that we use in the Signature Dry Gin into these products as well.”
Will also told Bars & Clubs that as a result of this new distillery, he didn’t expect there to be any material impact on Archie Rose’s ability to produce its signature range.
Another immediately eye-catching element to the Fundamentals range is the redesigned bottle, which has been made with bartenders in mind.
“Completely new look and feel for the pack, making sure that all the packaging costs were maintained, and then also making sure that it was actually going to work in a rail, because you know, our Signature Spirits are great, but they’re pretty heavy, and they’re pretty fat,” Will continued.
Finally, Will contextualised how the range fits in with Archie Rose’s commitment to R&D, and to pushing the envelope with experimental Australian spirits.
“For us, it’s also an opportunity to showcase all of the innovation that we work on in the distillery,” Will said.
According to Will, the distillery’s standard range is influenced by “some of the really gnarly limited releases like Trials and Exceptions – so you’ll see wild ferments, and the cold distillation, which first found its way into Bone Dry Gin.
Will said these techniques “trickle down, and as we refined them and we work out where they best sit within the range, they trickle down through all the products.”
