Rhubarb gin

Is a ‘love it or hate it’ crop, in the same vein as Marmite, rhubarb sales have traditionally been quite steady, but now a new trend has come along and breathed new life into the category.

The launch of rhubarb gins, ciders, vodkas and juices at British supermarkets has sent sales of bulk product through the roof, with growers planting more roots to match demand. Last year Lidl got in on the act, releasing its Hortus rhubarb and ginger gin in time for Christmas. And at the other end of the spectrum there’s gin specialist Warner Edwards, which sells its luxury rhubarb gin at Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. The producer says that since launching the UK’s first commercial version of the product back in 2014, rhubarb gin has become one of its best sellers.

“Orders for bulk rhubarb just keep increasing,” says Janet Oldroyd of Yorkshire Triangle grower E Oldroyd & Sons. “One customer was wanting 500 tonnes this year, and we’ve never seen anything like that before. In previous years you’d be lucky to sell a customer 100-200t.”

The experienced grower, known in West Yorkshire as the ‘High Priestess of Rhubarb’, supplies processors of rhubarb concentrate who then sell it on to drinks manufacturers. This season her product has commanded a high price thanks to a shortage of production in both Poland and the Netherlands, which has been hit by flooding.

As a result both countries have been looking to import forced British rhubarb – an unusual scenario given that the plant is shipped in the opposite direction – however English growers were unable to capitalise on the situation, with some reporting low yields of the Timperley variety. Oldroyd, however, enjoyed a strong season, with forced yields “the best they’ve been for quite a number of years.”

“Things could have been even better if we’d put more roots into the sheds,” Oldroyd adds, explaining that over the last 10-15 years the outdoor season has been starting earlier and earlier. With growers looking to avoid a major overlap between outdoor and forced supply, it has therefore become a “financial gamble” to bring fresh roots into the sheds and force through a new batch.

Unusually, Oldroyd faced the opposite problem this season. Rather than trying to avoid an overlap, she was left trying to close a gap. And with warm weather pushing back the start of the outdoor season until late April, the grower was forced to slow down the forcing sheds and feed the outdoor crop early.

“We were lucky to get in by the skin of our teeth and avoid a gap but really there was a potential gap of a fortnight there,” she says. “Sainsbury’s is our main customer and we can’t let them down. We had to manage it so the forced crop continued on.” The grower is largely focused on retail supply, reporting steady sales of both forced and outdoor crop.

On the wholesale markets, meanwhile, demand for forced rhubarb has been rising thanks to a growing preference for seasonal British produce. “Rhubarb has become more popular among chefs with all the interest in seasonal produce,” says Marcus Rowlerson, managing director of New Covent Garden trader Le Marché.

But as the summer approaches and the warm weather continues, rhubarb drinks are emerging as a new star of the show.

“The price of bulk commercial rhubarb has risen quite a bit as everybody’s looking for it at the moment,” says Oldroyd. “You’re looking at price rises of 15-20 per cent.”