To give your spirit a name like BOLD, you’d have to be pretty ballsy. Giving a drink an audacious title like bold gives an assumption of strong flavour with a unique taste that can’t be compared. And BOLD is thankfully promising just that.

This spirit is concocted by bartender Tomas Lenko who set out to create something completely unique that could be used by other bartenders when crafting the perfect drink. He was inspired by the lack of bitter spirits around and enraptured by British fruity flavours. BOLD is made quite similarly to gin and could be described as an aperitif. The spirit is distilled and infused with tart sour cherries and 15 botanicals.

The spirit has also been christened with a very daring circus theme complete with a beefy man sporting the label. Again, this speaks volumes and evermore promising a strong flavour from its 36% abv.

BOLD has a very inky look and slides like oil into the glass whilst giving off a very floral aroma. The flavour is dominated by cherry which is complemented with a bitterness that comes from the use of cassia bark. I also get a touch of anise and spices. The creator, Tomas, is very passionate about Negronis and it is very apparent in this concoction- I think it could rival aperitifs that are usually dominated by the European market like Campari.

Just like the meaty man on the bottle, this is a champion aperitif that could be enjoyed neat over ice but is also delicious in an old-fashioned. It’s not as sweet as you might imagine which makes it a less of a flouncy type of beverage and more butch than your average liqueur. Having BOLD in my alcohol collection has also attracted a lot of interest from friends, and I found, sadly, that a bottle won’t last very long.

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