At this year's Royal Cornwall Show there were over 18 new products on display in the Cornwall Food and Farming Pavilion. One new product, "Gwires", (Cornish for "alcoholic spirit") is to be launched there by Ninemaidens Mead renowned for their award winning meads and honey. 

"Gwires" is a crystal-clear spirit, with a powerful strength of 40% alcohol by volume, distilled from mead giving it a subtle honey after-taste. Sold in 35 centilitre bottles, it will be priced in the same band as a single malt whisky.

"It is very much a luxury item and won't be cheap", said Ninemaidens' Carole Allen, "but we believe there is a good market for it. We think the Royal Cornwall is the ideal place to launch Gwires as we can meet and talk to so many different people and organisations there."

Carole continued: "When I go abroad I always try to sample the local food and drink and have found inspiration in the spirits of Brittany, northern Spain, Ireland and Scotland to try to produce an equally distinctive drink in Cornwall using our own mead. I think the result in Gwires is quite unique - certainly I haven't come across anything similar."

With a production capacity of 2,000 litres a year, Ninemaidens hope the spirit will be available through all the current stockists of their products, plus new outlets and via the internet.