The trio includes; Whiskoffy, a honeyed blend of malt Scotch whisky and 100% Arabica coffee; Tequilomile, tequila blended with herbs, chilli and orange and Whinger, whisky and ginger with a fiery kick.
Triple-award winner
The start-up company was created by former biotech researcher, Joel Gallagher supported by his wife Lisa, in 2017 after using his science background to experiment with drink product development.
“As a whisky lover, but with friends who found spirits too challenging, I was keen to create a drink that captured the taste of premium spirits but in a more approachable way, to be enjoyed by spirit and non-spirit drinkers alike,” he said.
“The concoctions I made received rapturous feedback so I realised I had to get serious about making more.”
The decision paid off with the brand winning three awards at the IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition) in July; with Tequilomile winning ‘Silver Outstanding’, Whinger achieved a Silver medal and Whiskoffy was awarded Bronze.
“We were delighted to win triple awards at the IWSC 2018 in only our first year of trading,” said Gallagher.
“These wins are testament to the quality of our products that underpins the core value of our brand. We are extremely excited about the future of Marvolio’s Nostrums’ as we continue to increase production to bring our liqueurs to more consumers.”
Judges in the IWSC awards described Tequilomile as: “vegetal blue agave with a hint of salinity and a touch of citrus, lime and orange. Initial flavours of agave spirit: clean and soft with a hint of smoke. The chilli then follows, gradually building with an impressive heat that lingers on the palate and stays with the drinker for minutes after.”
On-shelf appeal
Ideal for gifting, Marvolio’s Nostrums are packaged in apothecary bottles for on-shelf appeal.
“After so much experimentation to perfect the recipes, I wanted a laboratory-style/apothecary bottle to reflect this. Finding something suitable was surprisingly difficult but eventually Lisa (Joel’s wife and business partner) tracked down them from a company in Germany,” added Gallagher.
“We bought a couple of each but after hours of staring at them, realized a decision wasn’t going to be made without labels. Inspired by old fashioned travelling quacks and their potions, my final design was a mixture of wild west victoriana against a much more contemporary solid block of vivid background color with a different color for each product.
“The company we hired to create our website, IM London, loved our packaging design and did a great job of polishing them up to the finished design we have today.
“To get the labels printed we used a company based in Wimbledon, UK, called PR Products and all the labels are applied by hand with batch number, ABV% and units of alcohol.”
Marvolio's trio small batch liqueurs are available for £24.95 per 500ml bottle, c20% ABV, at Majestic Wine and online via Amazon, Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange.