Newsletter – Frozen Fruit Week

Newsletter – Friday 6th March 2020

Happy Friday Team!

It’s March! Despite the awful weather we’ve been having, the days are starting to stretch out into light before and after the working day. It’s strange to see daylight in the week and it’s got me thinking of spring and the potential of summer. A little heads up for those of you attending Northampton next week. I wanted to let you in on a couple of stalls at this event that will be rather special. They are two local distilleries and ones you really want to check out. First up, we’ve got Hustle Gin. Now, Hustle, make ‘Fine Botanical Gin’, they’re signature gin launched in 2017 and is made in small batches of 250 a time, checked by hand. They describe the aroma and taste as “Piney Juniper and nuttiness lifted by fragrant cut grass, with pear and floral aromas”, which sounds exquisite, if you ask me. Not only this but they’ve also got a Pink Grapefruit and Raspberry Gin and a really interesting Cubeb Pepper & Orange Blossom Gin too, which is a super interesting botanical mix. They’re also a Mother and Daughter combo who support organisations helping vulnerable women and children. Well done ladies, Happy International Women’s Day to you.

And, as for Two Birds, well they’re a local company doing very well for themselves. They’ve been on the scene for a little while, since 2013 in fact, and have a huge range of products. For example, London Dry, Old Tom, Cocktail, Sloe, Strawberry & Vanilla, Rhubarb, Lemongrass, Watermelon, Palma Violet, Winter Fruits are just a few of the gins they make and they make rums too! Their creativity is something that really stands out and is one of the many reasons they’ve carved themselves such a great place in the market. Do make sure you stop by to say hi.

And just to tie things up, because you know I like sharing a recipe or two, it’s ‘Frozen Food Day’ today and it’s got me thinking about drinks we can make with frozen fruit. Not only is it a very convenient way to get some vitamins into your system to protect against the cold at this time of year, but it’s also a great way for making an easier and quite frankly delicious drink. This really is as simple as it gets and you’ll find that most recipes follow the same technique. You get all of the ingredients and you stick them in a blender. This idea is ludicrously versatile. Chop and change the fruit or the spirit to make all manner of incredible drinks. So here are three little treats I’ve searched out online just for you.

From the Taming Twins, a Raspberry Gin Frozen Cocktail. I like the simplicity of the ingredients list here and the tartness of raspberries is a real winner for me. This article also has a little info on some gins and what ones work, which I find quite helpful:

https://www.tamingtwins.com/raspberry-gin-frozen-cocktail/

Who doesn’t love a daiquiri? Frozen daiquiris are big business. But what’s the point of faffing with ice when you can just use frozen fruit? Much easier. Check it out at Simply Recipes:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/frozen_strawberry_daiquiri/

And now for the grand finale! There’s a little more effort involved in this but well worth it, I say. How’s about some triple layer pina coladas for something extra special? Delish know’s what’s going on and I am not waiting for summer to make some of these.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a43153/triple-layer-pina-coladas-recipe/

Well there we are! I hope you like this week’s newsletters. I’m going to be focusing on trying to give you a little more each week as you guys totally deserve it. As always, feel free to let me know how you get on with the recipes. You can get me at bernadette@ginandrumfestival.com. Hope you all have a fantastic few days and I’ll be back next Friday.

Big love, Bernadette and G&R