Gold Standard: BATCHED Shines at the 2025 New Zealand Spirits Awards

When the weather cools down, cocktails get richer, warmer and a little more indulgent, exactly where the Espresso S’moretini comes in. Blending bold cold brew coffee with smooth vodka, toasted marshmallow and chocolate notes, the Espresso S’moretini is inspired by the nostalgic flavours of classic s’mores, reimagined into a premium cocktail made for winter nights. "The beauty of Batched is that you shake and pour, and the perfect cocktail awaits."   Pour the Espresso S’moretini into a shaker with ice, shake for 20 seconds and strain into a glass. Then, all that is left is to decorate the glass with your favourite sweet treats. Look like a cocktail expert with the perfect serve of S’moretini, by rimming a glass with melted chocolate and crushed biscuits, and then garnish with toasted marshmallows.   Perfect for entertaining or a cosy night in, it’s a playful take on a classic serve, and a reminder that sometimes the best ideas are simply delicious together. Inspired by the classic campfire treat, the indulgent new release blends bold cold brew coffee and smooth vodka with notes of toasted marshmallow, rich chocolate and biscuit. The result is a playful reimagining of the brand’s award-winning Espresso Martini, delivering a dessert-like twist while maintaining the bold coffee flavour cocktail lovers know and love. “By taking our gold-winning Espresso Martini and adding an indulgent s’mores twist, we’ve created something nostalgic, comforting and just a little decadent,” says Jenna Lee, Marketing Manager at BATCHED. “With rich coffee, chocolate and toasted marshmallow flavours, the Espresso S’mortini is playful, indulgent and leaves you wanting S’more.”

At BATCHED Premium Cocktails, quality has always been at the heart of everything we create, and in 2025, that commitment was recognised on one of the country’s biggest stages.   We’re incredibly proud to share that two of our standout cocktails, the Espresso Martini and the Strawberry & Rhubarb Gin Sour, were each awarded Gold Medals at the 2025 New Zealand Spirits Awards. This achievement is more than a milestone. It’s a celebration of craftsmanship, flavour balance, and the growing recognition of premium ready-to-serve cocktails as serious contenders in the spirits world. A Gold-Winning Espresso Martini Our Espresso Martini is all about delivering bar-quality indulgence, without compromise. Rich coffee notes meet smooth spirit character, creating a perfectly balanced cocktail that’s bold, velvety, and effortlessly drinkable. Winning gold is a testament to the precision that goes into every bottle, from ingredient selection to final blend, ensuring every pour feels like it was made fresh for you. Strawberry & Rhubarb Gin Sour: A Modern Classic Bright, refreshing, and layered with natural fruit character, the Strawberry & Rhubarb Gin Sour brings together sweetness, tartness, and botanical depth in perfect harmony. The gold medal recognition highlights not only the flavour profile, but also the innovation behind the cocktail, showing how modern RTD cocktails can deliver complexity, structure, and true craft quality. Raising the Standard for Ready-to-Serve Cocktails The New Zealand Spirits Awards celebrate the very best products available in market, judged by industry experts and designed to highlight quality, innovation, and excellence across categories. For BATCHED, receiving two gold medals in the same year reinforces our mission: To make premium cocktails more accessible, without ever compromising on quality. What This Means for Our Drinkers For our community, these awards are reassurance that when you pick up a BATCHED bottle, you’re choosing cocktails recognised at the highest level of New Zealand spirits. Whether you’re celebrating, gifting, or simply elevating a night in, you can trust you’re pouring award-winning quality into every glass. Looking Ahead This recognition fuels what we do next. We’ll continue pushing boundaries, refining recipes, and creating cocktails that bring bar-quality experiences into homes across New Zealand and beyond. Because at BATCHED, great cocktails shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions,they should be ready whenever you are.

Gifting should feel effortless, thoughtful, and a little bit special and that’s exactly where the new BATCHED Gin Sour Giftset steps in. Designed for people who love great cocktails but don’t want the fuss, this set brings together everything you need to create the perfect Gin Sour experience at home, making it an ideal choice for Valentine’s Day or any moment worth celebrating. Inside the giftset, you’ll find two signature wave glasses, a 725ml bottle of BATCHED Gin Sour, and a BATCHED shaker, a complete cocktail ritual in one beautifully packaged set. No extra tools, no complicated ingredient lists, no guesswork. Simply shake, pour, and share. Valentine’s Day is all about connection, and this giftset is built for exactly that. Whether it’s a romantic night in, a Galentine’s catch-up, or a simple toast to someone you love, it creates a shared experience. The wave glasses elevate the moment, the shaker adds a touch of theatre, and the perfectly balanced Gin Sour ensures every pour tastes like it was made by a professional bartender. BATCHED has been steadily growing its presence in the gifting space, recognising that modern consumers want premium experiences that are also convenient and accessible. This shift towards ready-to-gift cocktail solutions means more people can enjoy high-quality cocktails without needing a full bar setup or specialist skills. It’s about opening up cocktail culture to everyone, from seasoned enthusiasts to first-time shakers. And when you consider what’s included, this giftset is genuinely a steal. You’re getting the cocktail itself, the tools to make it properly, and the glassware to serve it in, all curated to work perfectly together. It removes the friction and keeps the focus on the experience: the moment you shake the cocktail, pour it into the glass, and share it with someone special. Because at the heart of it, BATCHED isn’t just about cocktails. It’s about bringing people together.