Secco Makes Creating Gourmet Gin & Tonic Cocktails a Cinch! [Review]
I love a good Hendrick’s G&T but I must admit, sometimes I feel like I’m splurging on this delicious carefully crafted gin and I’m just not doing it justice. Sure I could use the best tonic water to make sure the taste is crisp and clear but what about bringing out those all beautiful rose and cucumber flavours that Hendrick’s is famous for – how do I make sure I capitalise on that? That’s where Secco Drink Infusion comes in – I can’t tell you how excited I am to have discovered this incredible range of pre-packaged freeze-dried fruit and spices – these little wonders have changed the way I enjoy my G&Ts and I’m so obsessed I’ve even thought about carrying them around in my handbag with me to add to my drinks orders at bars and restaurants!
The brain-child of Cape Town-based food scientist and entrepreneur, Wessel Pieterse, Secco Drink Infusion is the key to turning any boring old G&T into a taste sensation of note. These individually packaged sachets of specially selected dried fruit and spices are the key to bringing out the flavours in some of your favourite craft gins and really allowing you to get your money’s worth from the bottle you splurged on. These clever drink infusions enable gin lovers to easily and naturally infuse their drink of choice in the comfort of their own home without very much know-how at all.
The idea came to Pieterse on a visit to Paris when he noticed trendy bars mixing and infusing their gins with botanicals to offer customers signature drink experiences that weren’t likely to be duplicated elsewhere. This creative approach to mixology inspired Pieterse to create a product that would allow South Africans and gin lovers the world over to re-create this unique flavour and aesthetic experience at home without a barman in site. Now, with the help of Secco you can create G&Ts at home that are not only delicious but also beautiful to look at.
The Secco range offers four different varieties (including Citrus Cinnamon, Pepper Berry, Raspberry Rose Hibiscus, and Spiced Fig). The infusion blends are freeze-dried in order to preserve the taste and structure of the fruit and spices contained in the sachets and because no additives are used during the drying and preserving phase, Secco is an all-natural food product.
I got the chance to try the product and these little sachets of joy do indeed make a huge difference to your G&T experience at home. Each sachet goes a long way to enhancing the specific flavours crafted in a good bottle of gin and the most difficult thing about using them is finding out which flavour combinations you enjoy the most.
Of course, you don’t need to be a gin drinker to enjoy these flavour enhancing wonders, you can also enjoy Secco flavour enhancers in your favourite soft drink or even sparkling water. To add flavour simply add one sachet of Secco to a G&T, cocktail or soft drink of your choice, leave to infuse for a little bit, and enjoy.
Secco is available in 8-sachet boxes at a recommended retail price of R110 per box of 8 sachets. Secco is available at various liquor stores, select TOPS at SPAR stores and online at Yuppiechef. For more information visit the Taste Lab website.
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