PINCER VODKA:

When PINCER VODKA set about creating the perfect vodka, they didn’t just follow market trends or look towards their competitors for ideas. They put their minds - and their taste buds - to producing something so unique, there wouldn’t BE any competition.

And the result? A delicate vodka that is not only great in cocktails with its gentle infusion of Milk Thistle and Elderflower, but is also crafted using nothing but natural ingredients!

Infused with Milk Thistle

For over 2000 years medicine-makers, chemists and caring mothers have used the healing powers of Milk Thistle to treat liver disease and protect against toxins. In short, it’s proven to help the body fight that dreaded curse of the party-lover: The Hangover. That’s why Scotsman Jonathan Engels first came up with the idea of infusing the wonder-plant into their luxurious new spirit.

Pincer Vodka combines centuries of distilling heritage, 100 per cent selected grain and the finest Scottish mountain water with the natural botanical extracts of Milk Thistle and Wild Elderflower. It’s distilled to 38 per cent - the ‘perfect’ volume for vodka - and uses no artificial ingredients.

BOTANICAL - But NOT flavoured!

Not to be confused with flavoured vodkas that use synthetic syrups to add flavour, Botanical Vodka is a new emerging category of spirits pioneered by Pincer using fresh natural ingredients, infusing them with the finest possible spirit for up to six months in a slow and artisan process, creating an intriguing flavour profile that works equally well mixed with tonic or as part of a luxurious cocktail.

Pincer - THE drink of the glitterati!

Beth Ditto was so excited by it, she personally chose the cheeky tipple for the launch of her Evans clothes line. And then her friends Kate Moss and hairdresser James Brown picked the drink to launch the trendy crimper’s new salon. And you don’t get much higher style credentials than that. The fashionistas even invented a cocktail with Pincer, called Scandalous, after Brown’s product range.

Pincer was the main sponsor of the London Fashion Fringe 2009 events and Nicola Roberts enjoyed it so much, she asked if she could take a bottle home. It was also enjoyed by stars including Orlando Bloom at the star-studded Mummy Rocks event. Tracey Emin had to be surgically removed from her Pincer Cucumber Collins at the Terrence Higgins Cocktail Club. And Snow Patrol are also fans, and designed a limited edition box for the drink. Cult couture designer Ziad Ghanem, graffiti master Remi Rough, Matt LeBlanc and Neve Campbell also enjoyed the vodka and the grog-free morning after, at a recent secret tasting. And Liz McLarnon insists it’s the only spirit
she drinks, because of its low calorific content.

The Company

Jonathan Engels was inspired to develop a high-quality spirit which would naturally infuse its botanical properties, after taking Milk Thistle for years to combat a heavy night on the town.

Milk thistle has a distinctive herbaceous apple leaf flavor, which can be quite bitter on its own but combining it with the sweet floral taste of wild elderflower a combination more than the sum of its parts was created. Approaching 30 JE decided to make the brave move of abandoning a career in architecture, sell his flat and spending the next 3 years developing the idea of producing this botanical vodka. Finally launching Pincer at the Boutique bar show in Billingsgate in Oct 2008, and went on to win several awards at the
International Spirits Challenge in 2009.

Based in Glasgow, it has been able to take full advantage of Scotland’s world-class distilling industry, while bringing to life a spirit that is unique on the international market.

The Brand

The Pincer name comes from the military term, “the pincer movement.” It refers to the company’s approach to tackling problems from both sides.

Pincer’s dark purple bottle is recycled from a historic bottle mould once used by the now-defunct Clyde Forth Company.

Its striking colour protects the vodka’s natural botanical properties, which can be damaged by exposure to UV and means no artificial antioxidants need to be added, which might destroy Pincer’s purity.

The thistle and elderflower drawings on the packaging were designed by celebrated local Glaswegian artist, Faye Ward.

The Product

Pincer Vodka is made in Broxburn, outside Edinburgh. And the company has offices in Glasgow and London. Their unique 38% spirit is made from: