PANTHER M*LK STORY
Made by cats in Glasgow
HISTORY
Our incredibly delicious beverage is inspired by 'Leche De Pantera’, a potent cocktail that has its origins in the hedonism and indulgence of 1920's Spain. There are several theories on the birth of 'Leche de Pantera' which translates directly from Spanish to Panther Milk". According to the most accredited, it originated when General José Millán-Astray of the Spanish foreign legion commissioned one of the most well-known bartenders at the time, namely Perico Chicote of the Hotel Ritz in Madrid, to create a drink for his soldiers that was simple, cheap and easy to prepare and store and to carry around during the various missions. It is said that the military were so satisfied with the result that they all went to congratulate the bartender personally.
A different legend states that the recipe was created by the military that were injured and confined to the infirmary, who had the genius idea of mixing alcohol for medical use with condensed milk, later replacing this alcohol with gin, brandy, rum or other spirits they had available.
OUR STORY
You may have first spotted us on Dragons' Den making a deal with Deborah Meaden but where did we begin?
Our founder Paul (who at the time owned Glasgow's iconic Sub Club) discovered the drink in a little bar in the backstreets of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, during an action packed weekend during Sónar, a popular electronic music festival. The bar Avesta, now sadly shut down, served the drink in three different flavours, white, pink and green all finished off with a dusting of cinnamon. Every year the bar was full of Glaswegians sampling and getting merry on Barcelona's best kept secret, and the concept for the Panther M*lk Bar was born.
Panther M*lk launched in Glasgow in 2015 as a secret pop up bar. The Panther M*lk Bar originally planned to be open for three short and sweet months, but the public had other ideas. Demand popularity was so high that our bar became a permanent fixture across 4 and a half wild years, managed by local legends Queenie and Sobhan. Exclusively opening its doors on Friday and Saturday nights, our permo pop-up established Glasgow as the second city of Panther M*lk after Barcelona, with occasional pop-ups across the city including 'Pantera' in 2019. Since our humble beginnings, demand has soared – so we decided to invite the world to the party, by making Panther M*lk available to everyone. We do miss it though, Viva Leche De Pantera!
We’re committed to sustainability and care of the planet, so from October 2020 all our products are 100% vegan, using oat m*lk supplied by Minor Figures.
OUR PACKAGING
We wanted our logo to nod back to the fun, glamour and spirit of the 1920s, when 'Leche de Pantera' was first popular in Spain. We found various cigarette cards from that era featuring sleek panthers, geometric forms and sunburst motifs so we wanted to translate this inspiration into to our logo.
We decided on a luxurious art deco style design featuring an elegant panther and a butterfly basking in the glorious rays of the sun.
All of our large bottles are printed with organic ink straight to the bottle as this is the most sustainable labelling process. We endeavour to use the same process for our smaller bottles by 2023.
