Ace+Freak is joining the Ten Locks portfolio this month, marking its entry into the booming ready to drink sector and strengthening the company’s portfolio of brands working hard to drive positive change.
Ace+Freak alcoholic canned cocktails come in three flavours – Mint & Elderflower Spritz (5.5% ABV) Ginger & Lemongrass Mule (5.5% ABV) and Watermelon & Cucumber Sangria (4% abv) – all available to UK retail, bars, restaurants, festivals and venues focused on outdoor spaces, and ready to shake up drinking occasions.
Every can of Ace+Freak is made with high quality craft spirits, 100 percent natural ingredients, pressed fruit juices and purées, and wines sourced directly from co-operatives. The team at Ace+Freak distils their own botanical spirits specifically for each recipe, and continually assesses and refines every aspect of the product, supply chain and distribution to ensure they operate to the highest standards and lowest possible carbon footprint.
The result is a contemporary, unrivalled drinks range of exceptional quality in a ready-to-drink format, with huge appeal for cocktail fans, retailers, and bartenders.
Ace+Freak’s recipes are designed by Thomas Soden, a multi-award-winning mixologist and co-owner of Nine Lives cocktail bar in London. Soden co-founded the brand after writing two books, over 300 cocktail menus and racking up 15,000 hours of cocktail-making-experience. Far from the sugary, synthetic and low-quality drinks dominating the canned RTD sector, Ace+Freak appeals directly to the millennial consumer; bar quality drinks that look and taste great, made to the highest standard and in the most sustainable way possible.
Becky Davies who heads up Greater Manchester drinks firm, Ten Locks, said: “Ace+Freak is bold in its proposition and in its ambitions. With so much competition in RTDs we needed to come to the market with a competitive proposition, while staying true to what we believe; brands can be an incredible force for good. In Ace+Freak we’ve found a kindred spirit. It offers a clear point of difference and demonstrates innovation. We’re confident the trade will embrace the brand above the competition.
“There’s a huge consumer thirst for exceptional quality, craft canned cocktails which have a clear, sustainable brand proposition[2], so Ace+Freak was created to give consumers bar-quality drinks in a convenient format – be it for garden drinking, picnics, festivals, train journeys and beyond.”
60 percent of RTD drinkers are millennials, with these consumers demanding more from the brands they choose than ever before. A huge 41 per cent of the market are happy to pay more for transparency when it comes to their drink choices, and 44 percent of consumers feel that there are too many synthetic ingredients in RTDs. 2
As well as striving for transparency in every aspect of the production process, Ace+Freak also supports The Great Oven Project, which builds giant community ovens in conflict zones and refugee camps in the Middle East. With every sale of Ace+Freak, 5p is donated to the project.
Three of Ace+Freak’s expressions – the gold award-winning Mint & Elderflower Spritz (5.5% abv)**, Ginger & Lemongrass Mule (5.5% abv) and Watermelon & Cucumber Sangria (4% abv) – are available now to the UK on and off trade via Ten Locks, perfect for refreshing serves and outdoor drinking occasions.
The Ace+Freak range joins premium spirits brands Salford Rum, Mary White Vodka,Nusa Caña Rum, Applewood Gin, Diablesse Rum, Banhez Mezcal, El Tequileño, Langley’s Gin, Redwood Empire and West Cork Irish Whiskey in Ten Locks’ progressive portfolio of drinks brands with a difference – visit www.ten-locks.com for further information.
