Award-winning farm craft gin brand Penrhos Spirits has unveiled its hottest flavoured gin yet using rescued fruit from mission-led food company Oddbox – a limited-edition Pear and Chilli Gin, launched on Saturday 1st November just in time to bring the heat for Bonfire Night. Only 500 bottles have been crafted, fighting food waste by using Oddbox’s imperfectly perfect pears and odd-shaped locally grown jalapeño chillies at risk of going to waste.
This is the first time a ‘Pear and Chilli’ flavoured gin has been launched in the UK making it an innovative “sweet heat” flavour combination in the gin category. Sweet heat also known as “swicy” — continues to be a top flavour trend across all food categories in 2025 with many new flavour combinations hitting the global food and drinks market.
The fiery new spirit marks the second collaboration between the two pioneering waste-fighting brands, following 2023’s sold-out Cucumber and Apple gin success. Each collector’s edition bottle contains rescued pears and characterful British jalapeno chillies that couldn’t make supermarket shelves due to being “too odd”.
The British summer’s record temperatures have delivered an unexpected bonus for spice lovers, with this year’s West Sussex-grown jalapeño crop producing a spicy harvest. Determined to celebrate and support the growers behind this exceptional harvest, Penrhos Gin embarked on an extensive recipe development process, testing over 20 different formulations to achieve the perfect balance.
The final blend was selected following rigorous evaluation by Penrhos’ dedicated Chief Gin Taster panel, who conducted multiple tasting sessions comparing various chilli variants and spice configurations. The meticulous process ensured the resulting gin delivers serious heat alongside traditional botanical complexity, making it the perfect Christmas present for adventurous gin drinkers and spice enthusiasts.
Harriet Evans, co-founder at Penrhos Spirits, said: “We are incredibly proud of our new Pear & Chilli gin which has been our most challenging Gin to create to date. Oddbox has again worked with us on this exciting flavour combination and this year’s wonky and incredibly spicy jalapenos means we have had to completely rethink our approach to achieve the right balance of flavours. This is a gin for those who can handle the heat. Our Gin Tasting panel had an absolute blast fine-tuning the unique flavour – there were some seriously ‘heated’ debates about spice levels. The winning blend delivers a serious kick of warmth to complement the sweet pear notes which will delight spice and gin lovers alike!”
Emilie Vanpoperinghe, CEO and co-founder of Oddbox, commented: “Our new collaboration with Penrhos Gin proves that the best flavours often come from the most unexpected places. We know that our customers love the variety and discovery they get from rescuing fruit and veg, so this collaboration with Penrhos gives them a unique way to enjoy these perfectly tasty chillies and pears in a sophisticated gin blend. It all helps to support growers and show what’s possible when we rethink food waste.”
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