Posts Tagged “drink”
It’s summer and sometimes the sun peeps through the clouds. When it does our thoughts turn to al fresco dining and garden parties. Fizz is often the beverage of choice, but how about something that looks beautiful, tastes of summer fruits and even matches flowery sun dresses? Roséfine from Marrenon The teardrop bottle with a…
Sidecar is a delicious and classic cocktail with both sweet and sour elements. Vary the ratio of these to find your perfect combination. Ingredients 1 oz. Cognac 1/2 oz. Orange liqueur 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup Method Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake till well-chilled and strain into…
The Black Pig is a cocktail for lovers of those drinks that shout aniseed. The Vodka tastes of berries but both Sambuca and Pernot offer distinct non-fruit flavours of fennel-like herbs. Ingredients Black Liquorice Sambuca 25ml Pernod 25ml Eristoff Black Vodka 25ml Method Put all the ingredients into an ice-filled shaker and…
Devil’s Margarita is a deliciously different cocktail from The Plough Inn, Lupton Ingredients 75ml tequila 25ml lime juice 25ml sugar syrup Red wine to top up Method Fill a martini glass with ice to chill whilst you make the drink. Put tequila, lime juice and sugar syrup in a shaker over lots of…
What san-gria is to summer, this crowd-pleasing punch is to winter. Brockmans Warm Winter Mull: so much more interesting than mulled wine. Mull over the joys of the season whilst this sharing-recipe prepares itself in a slow-cooker, filling the room with a wonderfully festive aroma. Brockmans Warm Winter Mull SERVES 6 150ml Brockmans Gin 1…
Hayman’s Sloe Gin is a classic with the fresh fruitiness of the autumn. This plum-coloured gin displays great balance on the palate with gin at its centre, but being neither too sweet nor too tart. The berries are macerated for several months to allow the characteristic flavours to infuse. This well-crafted Sloe Gin is perfect…
Scotch Whisky – The Essential Guide for Single Malt Lovers will make the hearts of so many discerning sippers beat just a little faster. Single Malt Whisky from Scotland sets the benchmark for other similar drinks from across the globe. The book gives a history of the world’s best-loved drink with an illuminating overview. This…
A small glass of El Dorado 12-year-old Rum by Demerara Distillers will waft the lucky sipper back to the days of sailing ships and sugar plantations, and perhaps some romantic pirates. Guyana has always produced rich rums, and this bottle is a fine example of what many of us would view as an adult and…
It seems a long way off, but the gift-buying season will soon be here. What do we give to family and friends? is the question on so many lips. Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Guide could be the solution for any lover of good wine, and those who would want to learn more. Wine…
Gin: The Essential Guide for Gin Aficionados offers a wealth of information. Gin is one of the world’s best-loved spirits. It has a rich history – made in medieval monasteries it was thought to protect against the plague. The science had come from the Arab world with their elevated knowledge of medicine. Gin’s botanicals were…
Originally produced in the Val-de-Travers region in Switzerland and in Pontarlier, France, Absinthe is a distilled anise-flavoured spirit made from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the plant Artemisia Absinthium, also called Wormwood. It’s the same botanical as used in Vermouth. Although it is sometimes termed a liqueur, absinthe has no added sugar and…
Jack Daniel’s Black Label Tennessee Whiskey remains the flagship product of Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the foremost international drinks companies. Jack Daniel’s has a range of high-end whiskeys in their portfolio. Old No. 7, also known as Black Label, is the original Jack Daniel’s and is now available as part of a cocktail, in convenient…
Balham isn’t the first neighbourhood in which one might think to find a distillery. But here it is on a small industrial estate, and looking thoroughly contemporary with white walls and crisp painted logo. The first impression is of, perhaps, a drinks warehouse, but this building houses heritage, history and a distilling revival. This is…
Beer has changed its image over the last decade. It was once the chosen beverage of older folks who had their favourite brew and they stuck to it. Then there were the beer anoraks who viewed with professional disdain anything that was widely popular with the general public or not brewed in a barn. Good…
Willow & Stone Sparkling Rosé British wine is selling at £4.99 and has 8.5% alcohol, so a light-in-every-way alternative to more robust traditional wines. It has a blush peach colour in the glass and is an unchallenging beverage that would be perfect for summer picnics. Reminds me of a Victoria sponge Kingsland’s research showed a…
The first thing one notices about Caorunn gin is, well, the gin! Its rather classy bottle presents mountain-stream-clear aromatic alcohol in its purest form. It invites the prospective drinker to anticipate the cool, crisp gin within. For me, Caorunn is a classic gin. It’s well-crafted and balanced. Its infusion is delicate, a few of the…
Christmas isn’t far away. The ads on TV herald the coming season and offer the threat of Yuletide gift giving. Men are famously difficult with regard to pressies but for those chaps and indeed ladies who have a passion for whisky then the problem is solved. Whisky – The Connoisseur’s Journal is the must-have accessory….
Mezcal? Isn’t that a brand of tequila? No – they are slightly different beverages but with great similarities in both taste and production methods. Tequila and mezcal are made from agave which grows in many parts of Mexico. Most mezcal is made in Oaxaca. Tequila must be made from blue agave and mezcal should not…
The name ‘lobby bar’ might give the impression that this is something of an after-thought. Perhaps a venue through which to pass. A prequel to the main event. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It now has a trolley! One Aldwych and its Lobby Bar occupy one of the most important Edwardian buildings in…
Independently-owned Alhambra Beers, a celebrated brewery in Spain, was founded in 1925 and is named after the Alhambra Palace in its home town of Granada. Alhambra Reserva 1925 is the foremost artisan beer of the Alhambra Company and expresses its tradition and quality. Tasteful elegance One might not know too much about beer but the…