Amber with copper hints , Harveys Tom Paine Ale is named after the sometime Lewes resident who left for America and is credited with helping to draft the US Declaration of Independence. Balanced and powerful, this richly malty mouthful with an orange honey tang on the finish was brewed to commemorate…

Light amber in colour, the English & American hops jump out of the glass. With true Meantime style, Alastair Hook has reinvented a classic. Refreshing with a cleansing bitter finish. 4.3%

Aberlour is a  fruity, spicy malt, with a light seasoning of sherry flavours. The nose has hints of tangerines and oranges, with plenty of toffee. The palate gives more of the tangerine, plus lots of warm spices like ginger or cinnamon. The most popular malt whisky in France, this is…

Auchentoshan’s standard malt is popular with casual whisky drinkers, because it’s so approachable. Auchentoshan are the only Scottish producer to triple distill all their malts, and it gives a style which is always very smooth, although Auchentoshan is certainly richer than most Irish whiskies. The theme of lightness and balance…

A young, pale-looking whisky, the Isle of Arran Machrie Moor immediately sends up a puff of dry smoke to signal its origins. This is followed by a malty or cereal character, very like the ten year old, but lighter. And, yes, there’s the same minty note too.   Come back…

The eighteen-year-old expression of Highland  Park takes all the elements that are found in the twelve year old and polishes them into a supremely smooth, harmonious  dram. So you find a rich malty note blending easily into a mix of dried fruits and nuts, which gives way to the tang…

First brewed in 1990 as a warming winter ale, Jennings’ Sneck Lifter continues to do the trick. There’s a great tale behind the name – a “sneck” is that last sixpence with which you lift the latch of the pub before using it to pay for your pint, the hope…

Amber in colour and mellow in mood, Jennings Lakeland Stunner has light citrus aromas and is smooth and clean on the finish. Perfect with light foods and fish, and for whiling away the afternoon in your pub garden of choice. 3.9%

An exceptional perry from the award-winning Ivor & Susie Dunkerton in the apple and pear hotspot of Herefordshire. Perry pear trees can cut quite a dash, often being strikingly tall and surprisingly ancient – some are over 300 years old. Lightly fragranced, Dunkerton’s organic perry has plenty of elegant pear…

Developed specially for Wetherspoons by Denbies as the English contender in its World Cup Wine Festival for the summer of 2010 – it was all World Cup countries – this fruity yet crisp wine is slightly off-dry and swathed with the characteristic red cross on white of the English Flag. Following a visit from…

Winner of double gold in the 2009 Great Taste Awards  – the drink equivalent of a Michelin Star – Riggwelter from the Black Sheep brewery is a rich tipple, with the aroma of roasted coffee and a complex palate and classic Goldings hoppy flourish on the finish. So good they cook with…

Continuing its ability to turn heads as it evolves, RidgeView‘s Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2006 latest bit of silverware is the International Trophy for sparkling wine over £10 in the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards. The first international trophy to go to an English wine, the Grosvenor beat off champagnes at…

Bolney’s first sparkling red is named after one of the most visible stars in the night skies, the super red giant, Antares – its radius is about 800 times that of the sun. Made in the traditional manner from Dornfelder, a grape that does well in the cooler climates of England,…

As Ian the brewer says, “Why Einstein on the label? It’s not rocket science… but it is thinking drinking.” And when you take a sip, you’ll see what he means. With an inviting nose of bananas and cloves, enjoyable hoppy flavours from the fresh German hops marry the pale malt…

Jancis Robinson MW’s wine of the week in late April, this shows that, with the right care and attention, good reds are possible in the UK. They may not pack the punch of an Aussie Shiraz, but as with good Beaujolais, the best can offer flavour and finesse on a…

Organic salmon pink in colour, this is a versatile, refreshing rosé. Crunchy redcurrants and raspberries on the palate plus a lovely sparkle that makes it equally at home as an aperitif or with fish and chips, chicken fricassée and other lightly-flavoured creamy dishes. No wonder Dragon Bannatyne left his lair…

Brewed to commemorate 350 years of brewing at the current site, Sole Bay is a 75cl, 10% Belgian-style beer that arrives chicly disguised as a sparkling wine, complete with tin. Look more closely and you’ll see that the bottle livery is a depiction of the brewery and its home town…

Expect something roasty, toasty from St Austell’s man with the Midas touch, Roger Ryman. An advocate of Cornish barley – he’s now sourcing over half his needs from Cornwall – Roger has created a feisty dark brew. It’s been aged in Tomintoul whisky casks lured down from Banffshire, before being…

Not so much a drink this one, but the final element in our Ultimate DrinkBritain Case: a chance to meet the UK Winemaker of the Year, Sam Lindo, on one of Camel Valley’s popular afternoon tours. You’ll have to make your way there under your own steam, but it is in…

This year’s star from Plumpton College, the UK’s viticultural centre of excellence in Sussex, The Dean Brut scooped a Gold at the 2011 South-East Vineyard Association Awards, and the President’s Trophy for best small production (less than 1500 litres) in the 2011 English and Welsh Wine of the Year Competition.…

If you are famous for making the most strongly flavoured whisky in the world, where do you go next? Well, in the case of Laphroaig, that meant an experimental programme of maturation in specially commissioned casks, a quarter of the normal size. The smaller the cask, the faster the whisky…