Toast the End of Dry January with KFC's New Gravy Cocktails

We all know KFC's chicken is fingerlickin' good, but now the fast-food chain has gone one better in its latest campaign, claiming their gravy is so good you can literally drink it. 

Inspired by the growing bar trend for 'stocktails' - savoury broth-based cocktails - Mother London has teamed up with an expert mixologist to create a trio of cocktails based on the iconic gravy, which is freshly made every day to the Colonel's original recipe and available in all of KFC's 900 UK and Irish stores.

The campaign, which builds on the TV advertising for the KFC Gravy Megabox, is made up of a series of online videos shared on KFC’s social channels across the UK and Ireland. The hero film sees a mixologist introducing the concept, accompanied by a series of 30-second recipe films, which provide a step-by-step guide to preparing a KFC twist on a classic cocktail at home.

There are three different cocktails to choose from - all selected, according to the brand, "as they can all be elevated from the umami tones within the freshly prepared KFC gravy". Probably the least intimidating is The Gravy Mary (tagline: "it's bloody good"), a riff on that hangover classic, the Bloody Mary. Meanwhile, the bourbon-based Southern Twist ("it's all gravy, baby") is served hot in a parsley, brown sugar and lemon-rimmed glass and the Fingerlickin’ Sour ("a sweet ride on the gravy train"), which combines frozen mezcal, gravy, lemon juice and cherry liqueur, might tempt adventurous tequila fans. 

Though gravy-based cocktails might seem like a fad, in fact they've been around for centuries, spearheade by the infamous Bull Shot, a beef consomme-based cocktail and legendary hangover cure. 

Patrick, the expert mixologist who led the development of the recipes, said: “When KFC came to me with the idea of creating genuine gravy cocktails, based on the growing trend of stocktails, I just couldn’t resist. The key was to find flavours and ingredients which perfectly complimented the distinctive taste of KFC gravy. For example, the Kentucky bourbon in The Southern Twist brings mellow, sweet spice notes to stand up against the savoury gravy. The herbal note of parsley on the rim brightens the sip with the brown sugar softening the kick of bourbon and uniting the flavours.”

“From extensive research and testing, we discovered the handy fact that KFC gravy is, literally, good enough to drink," added Hermeti Balarin, partner, Mother. "All a happy coincidence when we’re approaching the end of January.”