Wondering where to head for that drink gift or bottle for the Christmas table? Here's my Top 25 Best of British Drinks Shops for 2012. These places all offer more than just their own creations. Many offer foodstuffs too, and all offer an inviting welcome, where you can generally taste before you buy and get as much advice as you like. All are worth a detour.
You know me, I love a good selection. So it’s the mixed cases that I always favour. and when there’s a few foodie bits tucked in, that’s me hooked.
And don't forget, if there's somewhere else that you know of that should feature, let me know.
That’s what I love about British drinks. Even when you’re being healthy, there’s so much variety out there.
In our latest Drinks of the Month we have all tastes covered, from Britain’s freshly crowned Champion Winter Ale, Alfie’s Revenge from Cornwall, through to a tangy, toothsome apple juice from the National Trust’s Killerton Estate near Exeter and Belvoir’s ethereal Elderflower Cordial.
These three berry-based liqueurs in varying brilliant shades of red are all especially appealing at this time of year. They're dark, sumptuous, intensely aromatic and offer the warming comfort of a mulled wine or port, with the added appeal of being made with English-grown fruit. All three expressions - sloe, black cherry, and elderberry port - are new additions to the Lurgashall range, thanks to the stellar efforts of owner and producer Sarah Thompson who only took over the operation a year ago and has spent her time fruitfully by befriending producers in her area with gluts of berries to share.
Jo Hilditch rose to fame in 2008 when she was awarded a Great Taste Award for her British Cassis, a blackcurrant wine made with fruit from her Herefordshire family farm.
Essentially a British reworking of a French staple, this is like a little black dress - highly versatile and equally at home on many occasions.
This is an inspiring book. For all we hear about Grow your Own, this is the first book I’ve come across that makes Make your Own seem not just feasible but fun.
While I'm never happier than when visiting producers, sometimes I leave in such awe with the magic they perform that I feel I could never attempt such creations. Well with this book I just might.
Housed in a complex of 17th and 19th century rustic farm buildings on a 38-acre estate, the Lurgashall Winery is a family-run business specialising in fruit wines and meads. However, inside, it's anything but rustic, being self-contained with fermentation, maturation and bottling vats, and modern, high quality equipment in a sterile bottling room and fully equipped laboratory – all elements of the process that will be learned about when taking a tour around the facility.
Head to Biddenden’s Vineyards to sample your way through the best that the county has to offer – and all in aid of charity! Each year Biddenden supports Kent Air Ambulance by hosting this event, with over 20 producers present who have won Best of Kent awards, from honey to chutney, pies to game, liqueurs to cider, beer and – of course – wine.
This is the most popular of the five styles of mead created by the people at Lurgashall, a winery who specialises in traditional English liqueurs, meads and fruit wines made from natural ingredients.
12.5% £7.50/50cl; £45, case 6x50cl; from the winery & online
Wondering where to head for that drink gift or bottle for the Christmas table? Here's my Top 25 Best of British Drinks Shops for 2012. These places all offer more than just their own creations. Many offer foodstuffs too, and all offer an inviting welcome, where you can generally taste before you buy and get as much advice as you like. All are worth a detour.
This is an inspiring book. For all we hear about Grow your Own, this is the first book I’ve come across that makes Make your Own seem not just feasible but fun.
