Crossip Pure Hibiscus

Just wow. This is one of the most original spirit alternatives I’ve ever tasted. I suspect it may be love or hate, although reviews are generally very positive.
It opens with smooth silky flavours of rhubarb and hibiscus giving a perfect blend of fruity tartness with a slight syrupy sweetness. This uncomplicated prologue lingers as a baseline but yields to the bitters which come through in the middle with astonishing boldness – you really do have to like bitters to enjoy this drink. Finally, there’s a long finish with cayenne and ginger leaving the mouth tingling with fieriness and bitterness. It’s refreshing, it’s sweet, it’s bitter – it gives nods to Campari and Amari, but the flavours are very much its own. Whereas most spirit alternatives need the sophistication of a good tonic to kick them into life, this does an amazing job with just mineral water. The website says it’s designed to use in cocktails, and I can see myself having a lot of fun with that, but even the simplest mix of soda and Crossip Pure had a three-ring circus going on in my mouth. All three of their signature flavours contain a core base of eucalyptus, ginger, cayenne, gentian and glycerine. I’m tempted to add nitro- to that last ingredient.