It’s funny how, in our darkest moments of the current global crisis, a small story of human kindness and community spirit can lift your spirits in quite a remarkable, profound way, isn’t it?

That’s how we felt when we heard how the distillery behind our April 2020 Gin of the Month, Perfume Trees Gin, has been stepping up and launching a fantastic campaign to support those affected by the Coronavirus-induced economic crash.

When the crisis hit, the Hong Kong-based distillers immediately began to ask themselves what they could do to help, using their skills and business the best way they could.

Perfume Trees founder Kit explains: “We realised that many of our fellows in the bar community were (and are) at the forefront of the repercussions from the lockdown.

“For many bartenders, they are the sole or main breadwinner for their family, and are responsible for taking care of both the young and older relatives in their families. Now they’re unemployed due to the pandemic - and they have little financial aid from the government.

“We wanted to make a humble effort to support those in need during these desperate times.”

So, as of the end of March, Perfume Trees Gin vowed to donate $50,000 Hong Kong Dollars to the Catering and Hotel Industries Employees General Union and, through the Bartenders & Mixologists’ Union of Hong Kong (BMUHK), have issued an emergency fund to those economically challenged.

In addition to this very generous donation, the distillers then set about creating 300 special batches of pre-made Negroni cocktails, with three slightly different (delicious-sounding) recipes. Anyone who made a minimum donation of $150 HKD toward their fundraising efforts for bartenders affected by the crisis was promised a one of these fabulous cocktail sets in return.

Perfume Trees launched the campaign on Facebook on 31 March, unsure of what the response would be. They didn’t need to worry…

“We launched our campaign at 1pm local time and had an unbelievable reception,” laughs Kit. “All 300 bottles had sold out by 1:39pm!”

In total, Kit and his co-founder Joseph anticipate that they will have raised an amazing $100,000 HKD through this campaign!

It’s a truly incredible result for this small, artisan business, and an inspiring tale of what we can all achieve when we pull together.

Here at Craft Gin Club, we couldn’t be prouder to be partnering with Perfume Trees Gin this April - they truly bring new meaning to the phrase" “community spirit”!

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If you would like to try one of the alternative Negroni recipes that Perfume Trees developed for this fundraising campaign, they have exclusively provided the cocktail recipes for Craft Gin Club! Check these out below.

Perfume Negroni

30ml Perfume Trees Gin
30ml Mancino Sweet Vermouth
30ml Campari
1 drop Orange bitters (optional)

Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add all your ingredients, stir. Add a twist of orange peel to garnish and serve.

Earl Grey Tea Negroni

45ml Perfume Trees Gin
20ml Suze
30ml Earl Grey-infused Dolin Blanc vermouth*
10ml Lillet
1 drop lemon bitters

First, infuse your Dolin Blanc vermouth by leaving 1g Earl Grey tea in 300ml of liquid for about 25 minutes. Add ice to your glass, then add all your ingredients, stir. Garnish with lemon peel and serve.

Coffee Negroni

30ml Perfume Trees Gin
30ml Mancino Sweet Vermouth
30ml Coffee-infused Campari*
1 drop Orange or Grapefruit bitters (optional)

Add 10g high-quality coffee beans to 700ml Campari and leave to infuse for at least 25 minutes. (Leftover infusion can be kept in the fridge.) Add ice to your rocks glass, add all the ingredients and stir. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.