Category Archives: Alcohol Reviews

Festive Cocktail Ideas : Amarula Edition

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This week we welcomed in December and also snow in some parts of the UK so wherever you are, we wanted to offer you something super comforting, decadent and spicy to keep you warm from the inside out.
This week our cocktail has come from the delicious South African liqueur Amarula and has the inspiration of a hot toddy and a mulled wine all rolled into one quintessentially festive tipple.

Amarula Spiced Dram

Ingredients:
35ml Amarula Cream Liqueur

20ml Spice – infused whisky (clove, cinnamon, juniper, star anise & cardamom)
Method:
Stir ingredients in glass beaker with ice until chilled. Fine strain into a chilled champagne glass.

Amarula is available to purchase from multiple major retailers priced at £12.50 per 700ml Bottle

Festive Cocktail Ideas : Greenall’s Sloe Gin Edition

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Take it Sloe Toddy

Every week until Christmas we have teamed up with some fabulous drinks brands to bring you some wonderful festive cocktail ideas. This year Greenall’s have launched a new Sloe Gin recipe combining the eight botanicals which make up the Original Greenall’s with rich sloe berries to create the perfect warming winter tipple.

Greenall’s Take it Sloe Toddy

Best enjoyed by a roaring fire

Ingredients:
50ml Greenell’s Sloe Gin

100ml Cloudy Apple Juice

50ml Orange Juice

Cinnamon Stick

2 Cloves

Method:
Pour Sloe Gin into a toddy glass. Warm juices gently with the cinnamon and cloves for 5/6 mins until infused. Pour the warm liquid into the Greenall’s Sloe Gin. Garnish with orange wheel and cinnamon stick.

Greenall’s 1761 Royale

Perfect for dazzling your party guests

Ingredients:
25ml Greenall’s Sloe Gin

50ml Prosecco

Blackberry to Garnish

Sprig of Rosemary

Method:
Pour Sparkling Wine over ice into a coupe glass. Lightly bruise rosemary then drop into glass. Slowly pour Greenall’s Sloe Gin so it sinks to the bottom.

Greenall’s Sloe Thyme

A refreshing tipple

Ingredients:
50ml Greenall’s Sloe Gin

150ml Cloudy lemonade

Sprig Thyme

Lemon Slice

Method:
Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in Greenall’s Sloe Gin. Slowly pour in cloudy lemonade or lemon tonic. Garnish with a sprig of thyme and a lemon slice.

Greenall’s Sloe Gin
New recipe Greenall’s Sloe Gin will be available to customers in the UK through Amazon from November
R.R.P £18

Christmas Cocktail Ideas

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If you’re planning on staying in this weekend why not gather some friends round, take out your cocktail shaker and try our simple Christmas cocktail ideas inspired by cocktail classics.

Chocolat Luxe Gold

Made with: Baileys Chocolat Luxe
Inspired by: The White Russian
Perfect for: After Dinner.

We love this indulgent and silky dark chocolate version of Baileys

Ingredients:
30ml Baileys Chocolat Luxe


70ml Hazelnut milk

Gold edible colouring and edible gold leaf

0.5 units per serve

Method:
Shake in a cocktail shaker and fine strain into the glass.

Finish by garnishing a simple sheet of edible gold leaf.

If you’re feeling fancy, pre-dip a raspberry in edible gold colouring to add an extra touch of glam.

Gordon’s Pink Spritz

Made with: Gordon’s Pink Gin
Inspired by: Wine Spritzer
Perfect for: Cocktail Reception

The Gordon Pink Gin has a natural sweetness from infused strawberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:
50ml Gordon’s Pink Gin


50ml lemonade


25ml Prosecco


Garnish of cranberries and pomegranate

2.1 units per serve

Method:
Fill a prosecco glass with ice and add everything together

Garnish with pomegranate and cranberries.

Mezcal Cocktail Recipe for Dia De Los Muertos

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This Saturday we celebrated National Mezcal Day and we thought it was just about time this smokey agave plant made a comeback to claim it’s place proudly in your drinks cabinet. Here in the UK, Mezcal is making a comeback and we would love you to try this smoking hot cocktail perfect for Dia De Los Muertos which is coming up on November 2nd.

Mortar & Pestle, craft cocktail specialists with bars across the West Coast of USA have kindly supplied us with a cocktail which is evocative of their signature style. Full of show-stopping panache.

Mayan Calander
created as a libation for the end of days.

With flavours of;

Wahaka Joven Mezcal
Creme de Cacao
Habanero Syrup
Blackstrap Bitters

You will need:

One Martini Glass

¾ oz Lime juice
½ oz Habanero Syrup (cut 50/50 with 1:1 Simple Syrup)
1 ½ oz Wahaka Espadin Joven Mezcal
½ oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao
3 dashes Blackstrap Bitters
5 drops Saline Solution

Garnish: Flamed Lime Boat with Grated Cinnamon.

Method:

Combine ingredients into shaker.
Long shake and double strain into martini glass.
Garnish with lime boat filled with Overproof rum to fuel flame.
Torch, then grate cinnamon over time boat to create sparks.

Last Chance for Fiz in Soho…

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We all dread the toll of the bell when “Last Orders” are up, but we’re here to give you plenty of notice to try out Fizbar in Soho for one last time before they close there doors this Saturday. London’s first sparkling wine bar opened it’s doors 9 weeks ago for a 10 week residency at iconic London haunt, Lights of Soho. Started by three friends, their quest was to bring a hint of Barcelona’s backstreet Cava bars to London. With a playful and eclectic list of international fizz, the aim was to take a step away from the pretentious wine bars and over-priced, bourgeois culture associated with drinking sparkles in the Capital. As well as a damn good list of drinks to make your way through, the food here is also well curated and carefully selected to pair with your drinks. The atmosphere here is like no other, you can enjoy your bubbles whilst watching the Chef’s cook your food to order right at the bar.

Just to give you an example of how eclectic this wine list was, we made our way from House Fiz which was a crisp Cava at £4.5 a glass all the way to the unusual ‘Black Queen’. Hailing from Barossa Valley Australia, Black Queen is a red fizz with hints of dark cherry and fruit. Not for the faint hearted, this was described by one of the owners as the Marmite of Fiz. There are of course a few Proseccos that feature on the menu but our stand out fizz by far was a lot closer to home, all the way from Kent. Balfour Estate by Hush Heath winery in Kent was an example of something very elegant, dry and sophisticated. The production of this fizz is very similar to Champagne and is unsurprisingly award-winning. If an adventurous journey through fizz is more of what you’re after, there is something for everyone at Fiz, alongside the sparkling red, there is an Italian Sparkling wine with notes of lemon and lime and also something from Brazil too. The wines on the list go from £4.5-£10 a glass to give you an idea of how casual and affordable this joint is. The food offerings include a cheese board, a meat board and a selection of sliders to name a few, we recommend the Pastrami which we are told is made on site. As well as a bottomless brunch available on the weekend. We really enjoyed the little quirks and added extras to the place including a couple of alcoholic ice pops to choose from and of course the striking backdrop that is Lights of Soho featuring many neon light designs.

We highly recommend you checking out Fiz before they close there doors this Saturday before they move on to their next location so stay tuned for more info…

https://www.fizbar.com

Bellavita Showcase the Best of Italy in London

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Bellavita are set on bringing the best of Italian food and drink across the globe. Being the ambassadors of Italian Excellence, their expo is designed for traders to try out their best exports and see if they fit into the UK market. We went to their annual expo held in London to see what is traders are dying to supply the UK market and we picked our top brands to look out for;

Cipriani – With their iconic blue packaging and their notorious chain of restaurants including the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice, Cipriani are set on bringing out their famous Bellini Bottled and available to buy on the UK market.

Cà Rovere – Italian Sparkling Wine – Currently not no the UK market, Cà Rovere winery explain that despite being made in a Prosecco region they are an Italian Sparkling Wine made in the same way Champagne is produced with Chardonnay grapes. This was probably one of the most satisfying and luxurious products we tried at Bellavita Expo and we hope that it is available very soon. Despite this, you can still visit the winery if you happen to be in the Vicenza region.

La Gioiosa – This brand are already making a mark in all good UK retailers. One of Italy’s leading producers of Prosecco, La Gioiosa are set to introduce their Superior edition without added sulphites. This will join a very small range of Organic Prosecco currently available in the UK.

Bellavita are committed to bringing you the best and if you can’t wait to see the best of Italy, check out the Bellavita shop online bellavitashop.co.uk

Champagne Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvée Rosé M.V. Review

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We are always happy at Frost when we get to review champagne. Call us a lush if you want, but a good glass of champagne really is one of life’s pleasures. We love rosé champagne in particular so Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvée Rosé M.V. was sure to be a huge hit.

First of all, the colour is a beautiful pale golden copper. It came during a heatwave and is just perfect for the summer weather. It is fresh and fruity. It has just the right hint of red berries and a sophisticated finish. It is a well balanced rosé which is not too sweet. This is a lively wine which is incredibly refined and high-quality. A divine champagne which was a huge hit in the Frost office. We will be drinking this again.

Based in Reims, Champagne Bruno Paillard is a young, dynamic, family-owned, Maison, run by Bruno and his daughter, Alice.

Bruno Paillard founded his Maison back in 1981; he was a passionate 27 years old with no vineyards or money, and resorted to selling his beloved old Jaguar to raise the starting capital of 50,000 Francs. 13 years later he bought his first vineyards – 3 hectares in Oger – and today the House owns 32 hectares, supplying 50% of the total grapes needed for an annual production of around 500,000 bottles.

Stylistically, Bruno Paillard is renowned for Champagnes which are pure, mineral and elegant.

Only the best grapes from the best crus are selected, and from these grapes, only the first pressing “première cuvée” is used. The ageing process is particularly important at Champagne Bruno Paillard; it is three to four times longer than the legal requirement and Bruno Paillard has always been a strong advocate of displaying disgorgement dates on the label: he was the first Maison to pioneer this, back in 1985.

The Multi Vintage Rose is produced mainly from Pinot Noir, with some Chardonnay – the amount of which remains a house secret.

 

Stockists

Selfridges.com ~ £56.99
The Whisky Exchange ~ £47.15

 

Bring some Zest to your Cocktail Cabinet with Pococello

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It’s going to be another glorious weekend and if you’re wondering how to liven up your cocktail cabinet, why not add some Pococello to the mix. This limited edition collaboration has been developed by world-renowned Chase Distillery and Pizza Pilgrims with the lemons grown in Amalfi and then distilled right here in the UK. But fear not, Pococello is almost not even comparable to Limoncello or ‘the finisher’ as I like to call it. The quality and clarity of this beverage comes directly from the carefully picked lemons picked which are used to make Pococello, packed with essential oils, this sets it apart from your average limoncello.

Pococello recommend;

Poco-Tonic

Ingredients:

35ml Pococello
10ml Fever Tree Tonic
Lemon

How to make it?

Serve in a highball glass with lots of ice and a whole slice of lemon.

What’s more, Pococello is available Nationwide and if you wanted to indulge a little more in the sunshine, Pococello have created a Pococello Terrace over at popular Thameside restaurant Cantina del Ponte named Blossom City. Throughout the summer customers can purchase 2 for 1 Pococello cocktails and Poco-Tonics between 6-7pm. To find out more about Pococello and the Pococello Terrace check out;

http://www.cantinadelponte.co.uk/whats-on-london-bridge/events/blossom-city-2017/

http://www.pococello.com