This Luscombe Grapefruit Tonic is the refreshing change we are after!
Feb 15, 2018
Follow the trail of the pure Dartmoor water used in Salcombe Gin Start Point back to its source, and you’ll find yourself in the neighbourhood of Luscombe Farm. Discover the beautiful spot that the tonic in your February Gin of the Month box – made with lush grapefruit and pure Dartmoor spring water – calls home.
Perched on the edge of the rolling foothills of Dartmoor National Park is the Luscombe orchard. This is where, with meticulous care, Luscombe Drinks crafts their award-winning Grapefruit Tonic Water – just an hour by car from the coastal location of the Salcombe Distillery Company.
Like Salcombe Gin Start Point, this tonic water is Devon, through and through.
As Luscombe Drinks’ Sophie Kukor says, “Devon is a beautiful part of the country – with both lush wild moorlands and exquisite golden beaches. We source many of our ingredients from the Devon hedgerows and orchards, taking our inspiration from the quintessentially English scents and flavours around us.”
Luscombe as we know it today was founded in 1997, when Gabriel David took over the business from his father. Apples have grown on his farm for 1,000 years and been used to make cider. However, it was Gabriel, a lifelong devotee to the true flavours of fruit, who introduced ingredients sourced from around the world to create an extraordinary range of premium adult soft drinks.
Luscombe’s fruit juices and crushes have been raking in the awards ever since, winning everything from Taste of the West awards to a staggering haul of 73 prestigious Great Taste badges.
However, only recently have the obsessive Luscombe team turned their attention to tonic water – and, as with everything they do, they have created another amazing drink that is equally good when mixed with an artisan craft spirit or when served on its own with crushed ice.
By pairing succulent pink grapefruit with the classic, slightly bitter notes of the finest Indian quinine, and naturally soft Devon spring water, Luscombe has created a delicate, citrus-y tonic that makes the lemon, lime and ruby red grapefruit in Salcombe Gin Start Point sing – and, in fact, it’s beautiful when paired with any London Dry Gin.
As Sophie continues, “With our new tonic waters, Luscombe has focussed on creating a subtle range of flavours designed to complement and release the often complex mix of botanicals in artisan spirits – rather than compete and overpower.”
So, raise a glass to the glorious bounty of Devon – because the fragrant G&Ts you’ll make with Luscombe Grapefruit Tonic and Salcombe Gin Start Point are truly a tribute to their region.
