Meet the Maker - Nicole from CopperFox G&T

Photo courtesy of CopperFox™ Gin and Tonic

Ready to drink gin and tonic.

My first thoughts on this type of product were not very optimistic to be honest. I am passionate about gin, good gin at that and I feel a premix would be aiming more for convenience than taste and quality.

That was of course, until I tasted CopperFox™ Gin and Tonic. The second it hit my lips, I could taste that it was a superior product and for sure, one that I will be drinking again and again.

But let’s start off with Nicole Warden.

Meet the Maker

She is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met.

I contacted her last week regarding their stunning product and she agreed to meet with me over coffee (and possibly some morning g&t’s) whilst passionately describing her product.

It is hard to believe that she is the co-owner of a premium premix that is already such a heavy weight in the market after such a short time.

CopperFox™ is owned and run by Nicole and Jonathan who are both business partners and real life partners.

“Jonathan has been in the liquor industry for many years. He is my partner and my partner.”

In the beginning

What began with a distribution company called Copper & Malt, soon became the creators of a premium G&T as their first brand.

Together they put every cent that they had into research and development. The label and design are immaculate; from the floral detail in the fox’s tail to the botanicals that are drawn onto the inside of the label. There is also an in-depth description of the botanicals on the bottle.

The difference is in the taste, just one sip is enough to convince anyone. This type quality can only come from passion.

I could eat this photo up if I could - Image by CopperFox™ Gin and Tonic

Purity and harmony

“We are purists at heart when it comes to gin. We know exactly what it should taste like so we are a little bit more critical of RTD gin’s.”

So critical in fact that when you taste a CopperFox™, you can pick up all the subtle flavours that make it a harmonious drink.

Conceptualised in March last year, much research went into the creation of this stellar product along with the pivotal search for the right gin and alchemist, for this reason, they only bottled in October, which indicates the level of effort put into crafting the best product possible.

“ We saw an obvious gap in the market for a ready to drink that is firstly natural and not made with essence, convenient, and still sticks to the integrity of the perfect pour,” says Nicole.

Nicole describes the alcohol content as a “decent serve but not heavy, just short of a double. So you can have four and it’s not going to be too strong.”

A local gin

I think my personal favourite part about this drink is that their gin is distilled at Time Anchor Distillery.

The gin is specifically for CopperFox™, making it as local as you can get.

Nicole herself specialises in the branding, marketing and the drinking of it!

With consumers becoming more health conscious, CopperFox™ has kept those values in mind.

It is preservative; colourant and flavourant free making it 100% Natural.

13 African botanicals go into this drink- Photo by CopperFox™ Gin and Tonic

The botanicals (obviously)

For any interested in the more technical aspects, CopperFox™ uses 13 African botanicals. Some of the unique botanicals include Rose geranium, Sour Sea figs, Citrus, Fynbos and Honey bush (which also gives it the copper colour). Finally they use natural quinine imported from the Congo, who it turns out has the best Cinchona trees in the world.

As I mentioned, I feel like premixes struggle to meet up quality with convenience, but CopperFox™ has put proper thought and energy into procuring quality ingredients. For this reason, their cost of manufacture is much higher than some of the other options available, but you can taste it from the very first sip.

The cost

An individual bottle of CopperFox™ retails from R28.99 for a 330ml bottle and around R113 for a pack of four.

A premium price for a premium product obviously, because you get what you pay for as I have learnt with gin.

“Our goal was to convert people who never drank gin before, to change gin naysayer’s perception about gin itself,” in reference to those who had a bad gin experience with cheap bottle of gin.

According to Nicole, CopperFox™ “tastes like summer in a glass,” a description which left me no choice but to sample the drink in a coffee shop at 10am on a Friday morning.

“I’ve done this before” she cheekily smirks as she popped the lid off a gin and tonic using nothing but her car keys.

Grapefruit and Rosemary are the recommended garnish - photo but CopperFox™ Gin and Tonic

But how do you garnish it?

This sexy drink goes well with grapefruit and rosemary as a garnish but as you would have seen in my Sipping with Sam video earlier this week, a more wintery serve is with smoked cinnamon and figs.

The future

What is in store for CopperFox™ this year you may be wondering?

“We are looking at launching some exciting things closer to the end of the year. We are aiming to grow the CopperFox™ brand; alternatives and the range itself.”

CopperFox™ can be found in select Liquor City’s, Tops @ Spar, Independent Bottle stores and Norman Goodfellows – which I might add is no small feat. There are a number of other large stores in their pipelines so do keep your eyes peeled over the next few months.

“It’s been an incredible journey so far” proclaims Nicole and I have to agree that with all they have achieved in such a short span on time, they are well on their way to being the leaders in the market. For more info, check out their Instagram or Facebook pages: CopperFoxginandtonic / CopperFox G&T

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