Resurgence for Kwai Feh Lychee Liqueur As Cocktail Trend Continues

An interest in cocktails has been awakened in the past two years and now, one of the oldest companies- 325-year-old De Kuyper - is raising a glass to a cocktail ingredient that is one of its newest inventions, Kwai Feh Lychee Liqueur.

This is an exciting, innovative ingredient that meets the need for ever more exotic and enticing cocktail ingredients.

Whilst the drink has been around since the early 1990s, Kwai Feh Lychee Liqueur is only now gaining prominence and becoming a valued fixture on the back bar in bars, restaurants, hotels and clubs as well as in home drinks cabinets.

Kwai Feh captures the essence of fresh lychee juice and is delicate pink in colour. Named after Lady Yang Kwai Feh, it is sweet and elegant, without being overly sugary in taste. This 20% ABV drink comes in a distinctive, 70cl pink glass bottle. It adds a richly exotic, contemporary taste note to martinis and fruit-based cocktails and works as an aperitif or a digestif due to its versatility.

This delicious and elegant liqueur is made by the masters of liqueurs, De Kuyper, who also produce Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur and the world-famous Cherry Heering Liqueur.

De Kuyper, based in the Netherlands, has been named a ‘Brand Champion' and has been selected by the International Spirits Challenge as ‘Liqueur Producer of the Year' for three successive years. De Kuyper is one of the world's top 60 spirits companies which is enjoying fast progress, having seen nearly 5% growth in 2021.*

Patrick Rijnaard, Senior International Sales Manager at De Kuyper, said: "We have ambitious growth plans for Kwai Feh and aim to double the business in the UK in the next three years. It is one of the stars in our range and ticks all the boxes for current trends in the on-trade category. Most people have not yet experienced lychee liqueur so it's an exciting new category for many consumers. We predict that bartenders and consumers alike will embrace the bright, contemporary taste notes in Kwai Feh."

For those who love to experiment with martinis other than the very dry variety, the Lychee Martini and the Rose Petal Martini are delicious additions to a martini menu. Cocktail lovers also appreciate other simple serves such as the Lychee Daiquiri and Lychee & Lemonade.

Unlike some quirky cocktail ingredients that cost a fortune and only lend themselves to one serve, meaning that they languish after that first use, Kwai Feh is versatile and, at just £22 a bottle (RRP), affordable too.

As well as serving this neat as an after-dinner drink, served slightly chilled, it works well poured over ice creams, sorbets and dishes containing lychee fruits.

Recipes

Kwai Feh Lychee Martini

Ingredients

A lychee fruit

25 ml Kwai Feh Lychee Liqueur

50 ml vodka

25ml Lychee juice

10ml Sugar syrup

15ml White vermouth

10ml Lychee syrup

To garnish: one whole lychee

Method

Muddle one lychee in a shaker. Add plenty of cubed ice followed by the remaining ingredients. Fine strain into a martini glass. Garnish with the whole lychee and lime peel.