A LOCAL drinks firm are putting a poignant message in a bottle as they celebrate pride in Inverclyde with their newest tipple.

The Start-Up Drinks Lab, the team behind the hugely popular Inverclyde Gin brand, have released a limited edition 'InverPride Gin'.

The rainbow tipple, released to mark Pride month, aims to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community, with a percentage of sales going to the Pride Glasgow charity.

Brand manager Karis Johnston says it was important for the team to back the month which commemorates the Stonewall Riots in 1969 which catalysed change for the gay community.

Karis told the Tele: "We were really keen to do something to mark Pride month, so we decided to take the plunge and created this limited-edition run.

"We have created 200 bottles with the rainbow pride flag as the label and the progressive pride flag wrapped around the cork.

"Donating 10 per cent of our profits to Pride Glasgow means we are able to give back to the communities who support us.

"It's an exciting project and undoubtedly will become a regular fixture in the calendar."

The latest charity partnership follows hot on the heels shortly of the brand's work with Ardgowan Hospice to create a special bottle to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Karis says there already has been 'huge support' for the exclusive bottle that became available from yesterday.

She added: "We've had some venues get on board who plan on using our gin in cocktails for events.

"We've got a real loyal following of people who collect the bottles, so we have already had a great number of pre-orders.

"It's a show of ally-ship from our brand."