World’s first sugar-free coffee liqueur
Perfume Trees Gin chose to name this coffee liqueur “Pale Ink” as an expression of the weighted emotions settling in Hong Kong. Pale Ink is a traditional Japanese grey colour (Usuzumi-iro), and an art expression in traditional Chinese landscape paintings that uses a technique that dilutes black ink as a way to capture the humility and virtues steeped in Eastern philosophy.
Using spirits as a canvas to tell the stories of a city
Pale Ink uses Perfume Trees Gin as the spirit base, capturing the memories and fragrance of Hong Kong. There are countless ways to retell the stories of a city, but nothing does it quite as well as using locally grown botanicals and the stories and culture each one carries.
Carefully selected coffee beans by industry expert
The coffee beans used in the first batch of Pale Ink were selected by Gary Au, founder of “Urban Coffee Roasters”. The beans are from Ethiopia and roasted in Hong Kong. Using a double, cold brew method - developed by Perfume Trees Gin - the roasted beans are then infused into the spirit, preserving their true, floral notes.
Revolutionary sugar-free coffee gin liqueur
Pale Ink uses Natvia - a zero-calorie natural sweetener extract - as a substitute for sugar, so every 100ml of Pale Ink has less than 150 calories (20% less calories than vodka). This is a healthier alternative for the health-conscious consumer since commercial coffee liqueurs generally contain up to 60g of sugar which is around 400 calories.
Natvia is a stevia sweetener made from 100% natural sources, and it is a healthier alternative to artificial sweeteners and sugar recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety (CFS).
A symphonic duet between Coffee and Gin
Pale Ink has floral and fruity tasting notes from the coffee beans, with White Champaca and Indian Sandalwood coming through from the Perfume Trees Gin spirit base. The aftertaste of the liqueur is of the rich coffee notes.
The average coffee liqueur is often used as a mixer - and almost never drunk neat - since it’s generally heavily sweetened. Since Pale Ink uses Natvia instead of sugar, it is much less sweet and can be enjoyed neat. Perfume Trees Gin recommends trying Pale Ink for the first time either neat on the rocks, or with a dash of soda or tonic water to taste. These methods will enhance its coffee aroma to the fullest. Besides making classic cocktail recipes, like an Espresso Martini, Pale Ink would be a great addition to desserts, like the classic Tiramisu.
Continuation of the story beneath the Joy Perfume Trees
Pale Ink follows the design ethos of Perfume Trees Gin, using the same elegant rectangular glass bottle. The team worked with same local contemporary calligrapher Sellwords 賣字 to come up with the styling of Pale Ink 淡墨, an exemplar of traditional “Dry Brush, Pale Ink” (枯筆淡墨) techniques. The semi-translucent label was designed by the team that helped develop the original Perfume Trees Gin label too, which won The World’s Best Label Design Competition in the UK. The dark espresso-coloured spirit fills the transparent label patterns which are like the brushstrokes of a traditional Chinese landscape painting, fading as the liquid level lowers.
