Food & Drink

Alex Lawrence and Pietro Collina unveil Whitebox RTDs

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Business consultants Alex Lawrence and Pietro Collina have launched a spread of eight canned cocktails by way of their new model Whitebox, The Spirits Enterprise can solely reveal.

Whitebox team
The Whitebox crew, l-r: Roman Shabodalov, Pietro Collina, Alex Lawrence and Jack Wareing

The ready-to-drink (RTD) sector is prospering, with spirits giants and unbiased firms alike seeking to faucet into the thirst for comfort cocktails. Now two internationally famend bartenders are placing their very own stamp on the class.

Lawrence, the global director of bars for Mr Lyan Group, has teamed up with Collina, the bar director for the NoMad Resort in London, to launch a spread of RTDs, known as Whitebox.

The primary eight serves within the assortment embody classics, signature recipes and drinks produced in collaboration with acclaimed bars. The eclectic nature of the vary and its design – every can includes a distinctive, daring label – is a vital component of the Whitebox model.

“We’re sick of the rinse-and-repeat, cookie-cuttered, sterile and buzzworthy method that appears to have washed over the RTD class,” mentioned Lawrence, who can also be the co-founder of Langstane Liquor Firm, maker of Porter’s Gin and Glasshouse Whisky.

“By protecting solely the Whitebox stamp as a compulsory on the can, we now have artistic freedom to develop every thought to be one of the best it may be with out limitation or compromise.”

The model’s full launch has seen delays as a result of Brexit and the pandemic – “it’s going to be an ongoing downside”, Lawrence mentioned – however the crew has taken steps to regulate as a lot of the method as potential by bringing design, manufacturing and growth in-house.

“We take pleasure in having our personal canning line, which permits us to check recipes on the spot,” Collina defined. “Creating fascinating and balanced drinks is all about tweaking and experimenting with completely different merchandise and this piece of kit permits us to do this.”

Constructing the vary

Lawrence and the Whitebox crew, which additionally consists of Jack Wareing and Roman Shabodalov, unveiled their first cans in 2020 and 2021.

Amongst these preliminary releases was the Pocket Negroni, a stout 100ml model of the basic drink that has offered greater than 25,000 cans since its launch, and the Hippy Fizz, made with Porter’s Gin and a pineapple shrub.

Whitebox
The Whitebox vary options drinks developed in collaboration with acclaimed bars

Whitebox’s new additions embody the Freezer Martini, Chipper’s Cherrywood Previous Customary, a Tropical G&T and a Whisky Soda, which includes a label created in collaboration with photographer Liam Wong.

In the meantime, two drinks within the new vary have been made in partnership with bars. Golden Throat Charmer, a mixture of Porter’s Gin, fino Sherry and lemonade, was produced with Melbourne bar Fancy Free; and Disco Child, with vodka, watermelon, lemon thyme and soda, is a recipe from Three Sheets in London.

“It’s nice to see bartenders take their information of making drinks and put them by way of a brand new medium,” Collina commented. “It’s additionally essential that they know that may cocktails usually are not bar cocktails. It must be constant, shelf steady and approachable.”

Finally, Lawrence and Collina hope that the versatile method they’ve constructed into Whitebox will enable the model to “develop the vary and develop the attain”.

“We’re simply actually excited to see all of the cans out there and perceive what most people will gravitate in direction of,” mentioned Collina.

“We presently have slightly below 100 retailers carrying Whitebox for the time being and can be concentrating on doubling or tripling that by the tip of the yr.”

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