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The best April Fools’ Day jokes in the drinks trade
A number of wine and spirits brands took the opportunity to celebrate April Fools’ Day with some tongue-in-cheek press releases.
Famille Hugel
With the growth in the low- and no-alcohol category, it was difficult to be certain whether this release about a 0.0% ABV Riesling from Alsace producer Famille Hugel was real or not.
Of course, as clarified by the producer, it was a joke, when the Riquewihr-based winery said “in our eyes, the only true alcohol-free alternative is water”.
It said: “Famille Hugel is not embarking on the production of alcohol-free wines, at least not right away. Not to mention the disastrous carbon footprint of such an energy-intensive process, requiring volumes to be moved in tankers to specialized factories, this principle runs counter to our entire family culture.
“Because that’s what we’re talking about, industrial processes whose aim is to strip wine of a part of itself. While we spend days trying to preserve the raw material as much as possible, harvesting just enough to avoid suffering from the dilution of rain or a lack of maturity. Ancestral knowledge, repeated attention and effort, only to rob the wine of a part of itself….What a waste of time! What a lack of consideration for the product! What disrespect for the drinker!
“Because yes, the best version of wine is still the one with alcohol.”
James Gin
In celebration of his classic cheese meme (see below) which includes a 10 hour long version on YouTube, motoring journalist, broadcaster and drinks entrepreneur took advantage of April Fools’ Day to ‘launch’ his own ‘cheese gin’
Introducing my long awaited Cheese Gin. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/qV948Nbcph
— James Gin (@jamesmaygin) April 1, 2024
Enjoy a ten hour loop of his infamous meme here…
Funkin’s blue raspberry farm
Perhaps a bit easier to guess was Funkin’s release on the UK’s first blue raspberry farm.
Claiming to be “spread across a two-hectare plot” the fruit was apparently being produced for the cocktail producer’s blue raspberry martini.
In it’s release, the brand said: “It’s the only one in the world belonging to the GLUM (Growing Labour Under Melancholia) vegetation family, meaning they have a different growth cycle to traditional raspberries, and are instead known to thrive in colder, darker environments.
“Whilst their unique blue hue can come and go in a seasonal pattern, it’s typically more apparent during the gloomier winter months.”
Beer goggles
Alcohol delivery firm Saucey launched its ‘Saucey beer googles’ on 1 April.
Describing the tech as “cutting-edge”, the goggles “upgraded your visual perception”.
The company’s chief augmented reality officer Clyde Garland apparently said: “It turns 7s into 10s” and the product was “in the final stages of testing”.
CEO of Saucey said the launch date was “definitely soon”.
Pandemik bar
A new Covid-19 theme bar has opened in Manchester.
Pandemik is an exclusive bar hidden away in Ancoats. Customers must adhere to social distancing, no more than 6 to a group, masks must be worn at all time and guests must buy a substantial meal. pic.twitter.com/TWOFCSu4KD
— Eugene (@eugeneh84) April 1, 2024
One clever digital marketer took to X to claim that a new bar was opening in Manchester themed on the COVID-19 pandemic’s socialising restrictions.
He wrote: “A new Covid-19 theme bar has opened in Manchester.
“Pandemik is an exclusive bar hidden away in Ancoats. Customers must adhere to social distancing, no more than 6 to a group, masks must be worn at all time and guests must buy a substantial meal.”