I’d been vaguely thinking I should write something about a Fairtrade product this Fairtrade fortnight when an opportunity presented itself in the unexpected form of a Goji-based liqueur called Fair. It’s produced in the Cognac region – along with a quinoa-based Fairtrade vodka – by a couple of young Frenchmen who have formed The Fair Trade Spirits Company.
All sorts of health claims are made for Goji – including on the company brochure which claims it is considered to be “one of the most nutritious fruits on earth . . . worshipped by the locals [in the Himalayas, where it’s grown] as a source of eternal happiness”
I can’t really believe that a shot of Goji is going to transform your life but it’s good to see another Fairtrade product and such a glamourously packaged one. I suspect it tastes rather better in cocktails than it did neat and warm when it bore an uncanny resemblance to cough mixture (albeit a pleasant one). The brochure suggests Goji-based versions of modern cocktail classics such as the Cosmopolitan and the Mojito but I suspect it would make rather a good Singapore Sling.
You can buy it in Harvey Nichols for £23 a bottle – and the vodka for a pricey £37. Think I’d rather have a whole lot of Fairtrade coffee for that . . .