Cin – a zero-sugar, zero-calorie spiced tonic made in Melbourne with real Ceylon cinnamon, a spice native to the founders home country, Sri Lanka. Unlike the harsher Cassia cinnamon used elsewhere, Ceylon cinnamon has a naturally delicate, layered flavour. Cin is crafted for people who care about what they drink…

The first premium apple juice from renowned cider makers, Aspall, is a winner. Using purely English Bramleys and Coxes, there’s a tart tang from the Bramleys to balance the oh-so-rosy Cox’s. With the eighth generation in charge, Suffolk-based Aspall has supplied the trade with juice for decades. Using primarily local…

Adnams First Rate certainly is first rate. Best known for its beers, chairman Jonathan Adnams – also a brewing engineer – got inspired by the craft distilling scene in the US, deciding to convert the family firm’s orginal brewhouse into a distillery. In due course there’ll be a whisky from…

Cracking copper ale from the guys at Skinner’s named after the Cornish folklore legend herself. A Champion beer on more than one occasion, its inviting pine-needle hop aromas lead to a palate where citrussy hops balance the fruity bitterness well. 4%

Produced just like Champagne, with a second fermentation in the bottle, this off-dry gentle sparkling cider has been made more celebratory with a hint of pink from a splash of raspberries. Winner of a Great Taste of the West Gold medal, it is created from dessert apples – Aval is…

Great presence with hints of strawberries on the hazelnutty nose, Palmers’ Tally Ho! is dark and rich on the palate with sweet malty notes and bitterness in balance. Brewed since 1949, it is definitely more-ish in a contemplative sort of fashion.  5.5% RRP: £2.22/50cl, Palmers Wine Store, Bridport; available online in cases…

A cider with dinstinct pinkish hue, this Cornish Organic has a yeasty, biscuity nose and slight flavours of bruised/brown apples. It certainly feels like food matching potential has been considered during the making of this cider, thanks to it’s restrained fruit, high acidity and dry finish. 5%/50cl/RRP £2.30 or £24.84…

Poacher’s Choice would indeed go with whatever a poacher might put in the pot for his or her dinner. And the ‘extras’ thrown in the beer add a little je ne sais quoi as well. There’s liquorice, which adds an intriguing aniseed hint to the lightly malty nose, appearing again on a…

Delightfully hoppy – as the name suggests – this is an uplifting golden ale that both refreshes and acts as a versatile food matcher. But then head brewer Toby Heasman was like a conductor in charge of directing a talented trio of hops. First Gold provides the bitter platform upon…

Tutts Clump are fairly unusual in the way that they shun cider apples in favour of extolling the virtues of eating, cooking and crab apples for their products. The result, perhaps unsurprisingly, is something which doesn’t immediately showcase any immediate cider traits. This Traditional Farmhouse cider is pale green with…

The UK’s first biodynamic wine begins as a modest little number. With clean, gentle aromas, the palate is full of orchard fruits on top of a base of mandarin and lemon with a crisp backbone and finish. A blend of Bacchus, Rivaner and Solaris from the 2010 harvest, the texture…

We’re in traditional rosé country here, with Plumpton’s Dean Blush NV. Wild salmon pink in colour, it has a steady stream of fine bubbles. On the nose there’s aromas of roasted peach and tinned strawberry. Light to medium in body with redcurrant and raspberry flavours, this has a good, dry,…

Made at the UK’s only viticultural college by the students from the college’s own grapes, Plumpton Estate Rosé 2009 is one to blow the winter blues away. With great strawberry notes on the nose, there’s plenty of raspberries and redcurrants on the palate. Finishing dry, a classy aperitif with the…

Living up to its Ruby Ale description, Harveys Georgian Dragon is delightfully bright in the glass, offering aromas of apricots and ripe peaches, followed through by light caramel notes and a medium hoppy bitterness on the finish. I’d call this versatile in food terms – it went equally well with…

Wild strawberries on the nose, the bubbles in Gusbourne‘s Rosé are both fine and lively. Drawn solely from the 2008 vintage, this is full of raspberry, cherries and strawberries, has lasting texture and a mouthwatering finish. Pleasingly versatile, it has the fizz to open proceedings as an aperitif and the structure…

Bright mahogany in colour, with hoppy notes on the nose, this is a popular festive favourite from Buckinghamshire’s oldest brewery. Inspired by the famous London porters of the 1700s, this was first created on the brewery’s 20th birthday in 2000 with the hops chucked in by the then Lord Lieutenant…

From the oldest independent Buckinghamshire brewery, Chiltern Brewery 300s Old Ale is a complex beast. But then it is named after the historic region, the Three Hundreds of Aylesbury, that surrounds the brewery. Orangey amber in colour, this is a fab blend of dark and light malts, reflected in a…

Another example of Bolney’s Sam Linter being innovative – it’s not often you see a Pinot Grigio this side of the English channel. In this cool climate, we’re heading into northern Italian style, with lemon, pear and apple flavours on the palate, and good crispness to balance.

The first  beer to emerge from Meantime’s brand spanking new Greenwich brewery made its debut by going on tour. Hailing a ride in a specially-suited London cab, London Lager travelled the length and breadth of London, towing a similarly-liveried caravan full of said bottles. Head brewer and Meantime founder Alastair Hook has…

Master distiller Desmond Payne has modified his traditional recipe for Beefeater’s Winter Edition. Along with extra Seville orange peel, he’s thrown in cinnamon, nutmeg and pine shoots for this great wintry interpretation. Good solo and in G&Ts,  it’s definitely most fun in cocktails. We were split between a warm apple…

This is such a smooth malt to drink that it’s easy to miss the complex sophistication. The nose is fruity, in a light citrus vein, and there’s just a suggestion of cloves. The palate is sweet with citrus and tropical fruit, and a peppery note, as if someone has dusted…