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.
Gin features strongly on this year's London Cocktail Week schedule, with Ginstitute blending classes alongside Hendrick's Gin Mobile Library and cocktails galore at a variety of top bars and restaurants around the capital.
This year's action is based at Seven Dials, Covent Garden, with a number of pop-up bars, masterclasses, and local shops offering cocktails so you can sip while you shop.
All masterclasses must be booked in advance. For details on timings and all activities, see LondonCocktailWeek.com
Bars in Melbourne, Mumbai and San Francisco will be joining gin lovers in Blighty this year to celebrate the fourth World Gin Day on 9 June.
The brainchild of Neil Houston, the 20-something gin lover behind YetAnotherGin.com, this day is all about celebrating the distinctiveness of this most British of spirits, whether it’s out and about Birmingham’s own gin palace, The Jekyll & Hyde in hip London bars Callooh Callay or a new one to me (must get out more!), the London Gin Club.
Bitters are very much in vogue. Their distillation of myriad specially chosen botanicals into a liquid that can transform a drink, soft, spiritual or otherwise, with just a splash, are finally being appreciated.
This little brown bottle, which looks decidedly antiquated and medicinal, contains some home-grown bitters crafted by enterprising bartender and drinks consultant Alex Kammerling.
Previously of London’s 69 Colebrooke Row, that hotspot of cocktail creativity, Alex has been devising this recipe in his north London flat for some time now – around five years I believe! The end result is a liquid that’s been infused with over 45 botanicals, and is an aromatic and complex as you might imagine.
The Tate Modern’s much anticipated Damien Hirst exhibition will be running between April and September this year, and to pay homage to the Bristol born artist’s roots, the gallery will be serving a specially curated British drinks list.
Luckily the Tate’s bar manager and drinks buyer Alex Stevenson isn’t taking the theme too literally, so there won’t be any deftly shaken shots of formaldehyde making their way into classic cocktails.
Instead, expect to see spirits and liqueurs from English producers such as Bramley & Gage, Chase, Sipsmith, The Somerset Cider Brandy Company and Compass Box expertly crafted into drinks that will change as the British summertime comes and goes.
If fluffy pink bunnies or greenhouse-raised red roses are not your style, what about a masterclass with the “heston” of the cocktail world?
The mixology maestro Tony Conigliaro is running the Beefeater 24 Molecular Masterclass at his latest N1 hide-out, The Drinks Factory, for one session only, on Saturday 18 February.
Tony is renowned for his inventiveness – think grass-scented cocktails and glowing martinis – and has long worked with Beefeater’s distilling guru, Desmond Payne.
Created by Johnny Neill whose family has been in the gin business for four generations, the botanical mix in Whitley Neill is both deft and delicate, with a nod towards the South African homeland of Nikki, Johnny’s wife’s.
Scooping the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Gin Trophy this year, alongside the expected juniper berries, it's Cape Gooseberry – aka physalis – and the fruit from the Baobab tree – aka the Tree of Life – that join half-a-dozen other botanicals.
From field to Martini glass, one of Britain’s newest hotshot distilleries, Chase, is opening its doors to the public for three festive days and teaming up with DrinkBritain.com to offer its readers a special insight.
There’s one pair of tickets up for grabs and, in a unique offer, DrinkBritain readers are eligible for a third off the £15 ticket price.
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.
If fluffy pink bunnies or greenhouse-raised red roses are not your style, what about a masterclass with the “heston” of the cocktail world?
Created by Johnny Neill whose family has been in the gin business for four generations, the botanical mix in Whitley Neill is both deft and delicate, with a nod towards the South African homeland of Nikki, Johnny’s wife’s.
From field to Martini glass, one of Britain’s newest hotshot distilleries, 