Great Taste Awards: Booze-free drinks brand from Suffolk wins big

CROSSIP’s alcohol-free spirit selection wowed Great Taste judges – totting up a total seven gold stars. . .

With the no-and-low sector booming - it’s projected to be worth more than £450 million by the end of next year - alcohol-free brand CROSSIP has won Great Taste gold stars for all three of its core spirits.

Born in Suffolk, the brainchild of cocktail buff Carl Anthony Brown and gin distiller Tim Blake, formerly owner of Benson Blakes Bar & Grill in Bury St Edmunds, CROSSIP’s Fresh Citrus scored a top three-star rating, awarded to just 2% of products annually, while both the Dandy Smoke and Pure Hibiscus were given two stars.

Founded in 2020, CROSSIP is already stocked in some of the world’s most famous hotels, restaurants and bars, including The Savoy, Dishoom, Nobu, Homeboy, Sushisamba and Atlantis at The Palm, Dubai.

Billed as “unapologetically bold”, all three CROSSIP zero-percent spirits impressed Great Taste judges with their flavour profiles, with Fresh Citrus deemed “exquisite. . . it’s a great achievement to handle such big, intense flavours so well”.

Says Carl Anthony: “At a time in the low/no sector when consumers want more than a pretend gin, rum or vodka, it’s important to offer up products that are a triumph of both form and function. CROSSIP provides bartenders all over the country with ways to create delicious, original cocktails and not be hamstrung by what has previously been available.”

Judged annually by a panel of more than 500 industry experts, the Great Taste awards are known as the ultimate seal of approval for food and drink in the UK. This year’s awards also saw three gold stars awarded to Suffolk’s Greene King Ice Breaker Pale Ale and Fishers Gin and two to both the Beef Wellington and Chicken Kyiv from Cambridge farm shop The Gog.

* Find out more about CROSSIP drinks, priced £22 per 50cl bottle, at crossipdrinks.com and view the full list of local Great Taste award winners at greattasteawards.co.uk