Newsletter – Friday 24th January
Happy Friday Team!
We are nearly at the end of January! Whether you’re doing Veganuary, started at a gym, or even just holding out until payday, you’re nearly there!
And hey, when it comes to the ‘new year, new me’ change of habit, if there has been a slip here and there, don’t punish yourself too much. By all means, absolute winner to do the entire month, but it’s also about your frame of mind. I spent the latter part of last year as a ‘flexitarian’, mostly veg but if something really took my fancy, I’d eat it. Taking that option definitely meant me eating less meat than normal and I felt better in myself for it. This year, the fella and me are going Vegetarian, but if there’s a slip, that’s ok. If I eat meat, I’m not going back to just eating meat all the time, I’m carrying on bring more and more veg in and I know in the near future that’ll be it. We love to think we can make an immediate change because we want that change immediately. But give yourself a little patience if it takes a bit of time to incorporate it. Be kind to yourself while you adjust.
And that leads me on to the focus of this newsletter. Veganuary. I hope you guys appreciate the support in Dry January for the first couple of weeks, but I’m feeling it’s right to turn my eye onto those doing Veganuary and give them a little love too.
Now the good news is that most spirits are vegan. There are some obvious examples of spirits containing animal products, for example, Ant Gin. But on the whole, you’ll find that most gins and rums are vegan. So that got my thinking, cocktail recipes are kind of out. However, there are components of cocktails to be wary of. Things like egg white for example, that has been commonly used in Sours amongst others for well over a century. Its main purpose is to give the cocktail a thicker, creamier consistency and a foamy top without altering the flavour of the drink itself. Vegan alternatives to this can be a little tricky, so it’s worth trying and testing to see what ones work for you. A common alternative is chickpea water, otherwise known as Aquafaba, which is often drained from a can and then thrown away. This makes a great alternative, but does alter the flavour, so think about what you’re putting it with. Another great thing you can do with chickpea water is whisk it up with sugar and add some melted chocolate, to create an amazing vegan chocolate mousse. Why not slip a little rum or whisky in there to make it pop? I’d suggest adding it to the melted chocolate before folding it in, so you don’t lose the fluffiness.
And this leads me nicely onto a couple of vegan recipes. A little while ago, I shared recipes for Gin and Tonic Cake and Chocolate Rum Cake. So, I thought I’d hunt out a coupe of vegan alternatives. Yes, you can have your cake and eat it!
Firstly, the Gin and Tonic cake. This cake has become a staple of the gin world. Online you can find hundreds of variations. This one from BBC food took my fancy. It looks absolutely gorgeous! Let me know how it turns out:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/5577196/recipe/vegan-gin-and-tonic-cake
Secondly, for those chocoholics out there, you just can’t beat rum and chocolate. What a tremendous duo! I’ve found this great little recipe from Onegreenplanet.org. And my, it’s not just chocolate, this is a Chocolate Coconut Rum cake. Ooderlally!
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/chocolate-coconut-rum-cake/
So, I hope this has been a nice little issue for you. Do let me know how you get on and if you’ve got any vegan friendly boozy recipes to share, drop them my way! Bernadette@ginandrumfestival.com
Have a great week you lovely lot. And remember, you’re nearly there! Next week we celebrate the last day of January.
Big Love, all of us at G&R.
Newsletter – Friday 10th January
Happy Friday Team!
How are we feeling, anyone got the January blues? It’s a tough month for sure. How many of you are doing dry January? Did last week’s mocktails help you? Well, don’t you worry, I’ve got a few more to suggest, to help you through the next couple of weeks. You’re already a quarter of the way through, well done!
We like to keep January relatively quiet in respect of dry January. That said, we’ve got plenty to get on with prepping for festival season. We’ll be kicking off on Saturday the 14th March in Northampton. Now, we’d like to start giving you guys a little more information about these events, so I’m going to be researching the local area to give you a heads up on local bars and distilleries. If you have anywhere that you’d like to recommend to us, then feel free to drop me a line at bernadette@ginandrumfestival.com. I’m super keen to sniff out some great spots for you.
Now then, mocktails. Last week we covered the Motijo Mocktail, Pink Lemonade and Spiced Pina Colada Mocktail. Did you have a go at them? How did they come out? Do feel free to email me and met me know how it went, send a picture or two, you never know, we may feature it. This week I’m thinking of Januarys seasonal flavours. According to my research, January is all about citrus, which makes sense to me as during the dark winter we need lots of vitamin C to help fight off colds. But citrus can be a lot more interesting than your simple oranges, lemons and limes.
I’ve upped the game and scoured the internet to present you with 3 fantastic mocktail recipes that you can make at home:
Grapefruit and Thyme Mocktail – Citrus and herbaceous flavours go so well together. They’re a big hit in gins made in Italy and Spain. They look and smell divine as well as containing some fantastic properties: https://thefeedfeed.com/FLOWERSINTHESALAD/GRAPEFRUIT-AND-THYME-MOCKTAIL
Honey Sweetened Limeade with Strawberry and Basil – Sweet, delicious grown up fizzy pop. Bursting with flavour and wonderfully refreshing: https://foolproofliving.com/honey-sweetened-limeade-strawberries-basil/
Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade – Blueberries are a favourite fruit of mine. They’re packed full of antioxidents and taste fantastic, with a little bit of fizz this is a right thirst quenching little number: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/sparkling-blueberry-lemonade/
Aren’t they just gorgeous?! And not only that, they’re delicious and good for you too. So get mixing and be sure to let me know how you get on.
Have a lovely week all, stay warm, look after yourself and each other.
Big January love from me and the G&R team x
Newsletter – Friday 20th December
Happy Friday Team!!!
We’re nearly there! I was hoping to include some more details of our Christmas special offers but we’re out of time! It’s all come around so quickly, I do hope that you’ve managed to find some good bargains for your loved ones, and not forgetting something for you too!
And, it’s important to think of others at this time of year. There’s sadly been a spike in food bank usage and donating to a food bank via your local supermarket is one simple and easy way to help those in need. So, when you’re doing your shop for the big day, please do try and spare a couple of things. You can normally find 3 cheapy items totaling under £1 in most supermarkets and they have donation points set up. If this doesn’t work for you, just hop online to find your nearest donation point.
So, with the present buying almost all but done, I’m turning my eye to the day itself. So, lets give you guys some ideas for festive tipples:
Classic Snowball – Come on, who hasn’t had a snowball?! Simply go half and half with advocatt and lemonade for a rich and delicious taste sensation. And, you can jazz it up with a maraschino cherry if you fancy.
Mulled cider – Everyone goes mad for mulled wine at Christmas, but how about mulled cider? I love the smell of mulled cider. I mix in apple juice to cider the heat with spices like clove, cinnamon and star anise. I also like to put in a few slices of fresh orange to freshen it up. You can put some vanilla in there as well. I like to simmer mine low and slow and before you know it, the whole house smells divine. If you want to be really dandy, put in a little calvados too.
Spice 75 – This Is a fabulous little cocktail that I discovered online. I’m a sucker for a bucks fizz and this is a lovely winter take on it. It is a little more tricky as you have to make the syrup first, but hey, Christmas is all about getting creative in the kitchen. You make the syrup by heating caster sugar with water and allspice. Once your syrup is cool, shake it up with rum and lime juice in a cocktail shaker and you’ve got your base. Pop that in a flute and top up with champagne. Gorgeous!
And there we have it! I hope that’s given you a little inspiration to mix things up at your festive socials. So, let us raise a glass. We hope you have a fantastic Christmas!
All our love, the Gin and Rum Festival team xx
Newsletter – Friday 6th December
Happy Friday Team!!!
It’s December!!! Hooray! I’m a happy girl! It’s family tradition for the decorations to go up on the 1st December so my tree is up and the house is smothered in fairy lights. What are your family traditions? Anyone fancy sharing them with us? If you do, its Bernadette@ginandrumfestival.com.
I love seeing what other people do for Christmas. People have so many little traditions and ways to do it. All these wonderful little ways of celebrating the same thing. For me, one of my favourite things about Christmas is that it gives people the opportunity to spend a little more time with their friends and family than they normally would. It’s so important to snatch those opportunities when they arrive, so you get out there and share some love.
Plus, lets be honest, so many goodies! I’m not big on giving big expensive presents. I prefer to make things. This year I’m infusing some gin with pears, poached in mulled cider. In previous years I’ve done a spiced berry gin. It’s really easy to do. When I get mine started, I’ll take a few photos and share it in a newsletter with a how to, in case you want to give it a whirl yourselves. And, that’s not the only boozy treat I’ve got for my loved ones! I’ve got gin filled baubles on my tree and I’ve organised some fabulous crackers that contain a miniature and a can of mixer. If you want to buy some similar, check out Fever Tree as they’ve just brought some out. Hopefully that should keep the family happy, haha!
We’ve got some great deals on this week. And good news! If you do want to order a little something from us for a loved one then you’ve still got until the 17th of December to do it for it to arrive by Christmas!
Have a fabulous week you lovely bunch. Let’s get this advent party started!
Bernie & The G&R Team
Newsletter – Friday 22nd November
So here we are! Middlesbrough! The final festival of the year! Absolutely amazing to think of what the team have done, the miles travelled, the good times given, the spirits shifted. I think a big round of applause for the team will be necessary after this one. And, a big thank you to all of you that came to our events and made them what they were! We couldn’t do this without you. Once we wrap that up, our events team will be able to give their little feet a rest, while those at the office will be busy, beavering away getting things into place for next year.
And what of next year? The dates are out! Have you seen them yet? I’ll be putting a bit more focus into them next week. Next year’s festival season doesn’t start until March, so you’ve got a little time. But hey, tickets to one of our events would make a pretty cool present for someone, plus you can be super cheeky as if they’re going, you should go with them, right? So, you’d better get a ticket for yourself too, because you’re thoughtful like that! Get your tickets here!
So, last week I mentioned Soul Passion and that I had been slipping a bit into a Mimosa to make a rather excellent party drink. Well, this week I wanted to look at Soul Passion’s little brother, Soul Salty. Soul Salty is a darling little drink, slightly lighter on the abv and sweet, with added salted caramel flavour, it’s delicious on the rocks, but sometimes it’s nice to be inventive. So, I’d like to propose a drink for those who like White Russians.
White Russians are easy drinks. Thick and creamy, they’re for someone who likes to take their time with a drink and keep a gentle pace. Normally made with vodka, kaluha and milk. Have a go with one replacing the vodka with Soul Salty. It makes for a drink that taste like some posh chilled coffee, with a lovely little kick to it too.
So, there we are! Hope you’re all keeping warm and wrapped up. Have a great week!
Bernie and The G&R Team
Newsletter – Friday 15th November
Happy Friday Team!
How are we doing this week? Hope you’ve had a good one. I’m excited, because today I get to talk a little about Scotland. Why is that exciting? Because Scotland is fab! Why am I talking about it? Because The Gin and Rum Festival have recently released their 2020 dates and they include the first ever Gin and Rum Festival in Glasgow! That’s right, on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of August we’ll be in town, bringing you some of the finest gins and rums around!
Admittedly, I’ve not been to Glasgow myself, but I’ve been to Edinburgh and there I was taught a valuable lesson. I was holding a gin masterclass and normally I research a bit of local history to bring to an event. When I started looking into Scottish gin history, I was amazed! Down South a lot of gin history centres around London and I was oblivious to the goings on up there. It makes sense as in places like Leith, there were strong trading connections with the Dutch, where they sourced Genever, they also had access to the botanicals needed to craft the spirits. A slump in popularity left the centre of the industry, Edinburgh with no gin distilleries at all. Its only recently started growing again with the recent gin boom but is already a big industry again.
So, I wondered how many of you have tried Soul Passion when you were at one of the festivals? It’s been a popular seller, and it’s quite easy to see why. Those tropical flavours come through a treat. Recently I’ve been using mine to make mimosas. Similar to a Bucks fizz, the Mimosa is slightly more easy going. A Bucks Fizz is made from two parts champagne or prosecco and one-part orange juice. A Mimosa is simply half and half champagne/prosecco and orange juice. However, in some places its not unusual to slip a little nip of spirit in there two. White rum is quite often used and gin also works well. I’ve found by delightful experimentation that the Soul Passion is a divine addition to give your Mimosa a delicious twist. And, with party season around the corner, this is a simple but indulgent welcoming drink for guests.
Next week we’re back for the final festival of the year! We’re in Middlesbrough! Who’s coming? If you are I hope you’re up for a good night because we want the year to end on a high! As I mentioned at the start, the 2020 line up is out, a little more on that in a couple of weeks. Also, it’s worth keeping an eye on the newsletter in the coming weeks for special offers.
Have a great week, ya’ll!
Bernie & G &R
Newsletter – Friday 8th November
Happy Friday Team!
Soooo how were the Halloween celebrations last weekend? What did you get up to? Did you trick or did you treat? Hope you had a wonderful time at our Norwich event. Any horror stories? Haha, I’m sure it was a cracker!
And this week, we’re rocking on up to the Steam Museum in Swindon. Home of the Great Western Railway, it’s a really cool place. I for one have thoroughly enjoyed galivanting around during a festival there. Being shut to the public, other than festival goers. It is slightly eerie hanging out with the model people. Hope you all have a great time!
I have to say, today’s a pretty special day. On this day, way back in 1789, Bourbon Whisky was first distilled from corn by Elijah Craig in Bourbon, Kentucky. What a special day that was! Just think of the joy that spirits have given to the world. And in some instances, the opposite. It’s always important to be careful with the drink.
To celebrate this special day I thought it would be nice to share a rather special cocktail with you, the Suffering Bastard. As always, finding where and how a drink was first invented is always tricky as there is a number of stories. One that I’ve found suggests that it can be traced back to the Long Bar at the Shepard Hotel in Cairo. Let’s set the scene, it was the 1940s. 1947 to be precise and the bar steward, a Joe Scialom, was in desperate need for a hangover remedy. The Suffering Bastard was born. The drink comprises of our Birthday Bourbon, along with a shot of gin. The drink is then boosted with lime juice and bitters and topped up with ginger ale.
As the season is slowing down slightly, next week the team are having a week off to recoup, then on the 22nd and 23rd November we’re going to be in Middlesbrough. I’ll tell you more about as we get closer. Always nice to keep an element of mystery.
Have a great weekend you lovely lot.
Bernie and The G&R Team
Newsletter – Friday 1st November
Happy Friday Team!!
Happy November! How was your Halloween? As I mentioned last week, falling on a Thursday, I can’t help but think you lovely lot are going to be celebrating it tonight, so for those of you in Norwich, Hooray! We’re in town and you’ll be getting down! Hope you have a wonderful night full of all sorts of spooky fun.
And next week we’re in lovely Swindon. Swindon is an old favourite with the wonderful back drop of the Steam Museum. The Steam Museum has been hosting Gin Festivals for some time so it’s going to be great to get some rum in there too. It’s a great back drop and a really interesting place to walk around, with a glass in hand. There are many stories to be found there. But one of the more well know is that of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a famous Victorian Engineer who left his mark around the country. Born in my hometown of Portsmouth, he was involved in the development of the SS Great Britain. This ship was the first propeller-driven, ocean-going, iron ship and in 1843 when it was built, it was the largest ship ever built. He also designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and he masterminded the Great Western Railway.
So, that brings us up to date with what we’re doing. Now that’s get back to the fun stuff. Halloween! Halloween is all about celebrating the dead, with Hallows Eve being the one day of the year that the dead can come back to walk the Earth. So, with that in mind, I wanted to share a simple recipe for a spooky rum punch. Inspired by Sangria the colour of this is such a deep red you’ll have vampires crawling out of the woodwork. Get yourselves a large bowl. Add a whole bottle of rum and a bottle of red wine. The you need to balance out that loud booze flavour with lime, some triple sec and some sugar syrup. To garnish, chop up a few limes and perhaps blood oranges to keep in the mood. And, poof! Just like Dracula appearing in a cloud of smoke, you’ve got a great drink for everyone to share. Enjoy!
Have a wonderful weekend guys!
Bernie & The G&R Team
Newsletter – Friday 25th October
Happy Friday Team!
So how has your week been? Are you missing us? We’re certainly missing you! Well never you fear, our team have been beavering away behind the scenes to keep things running and next week we’re back! And we’re in Norwich!
That’s right, we’re bringing the party to St Andrew’s Hall. The grade 1 listed friary church and convent date back to the 14th century and make up the most complete friary complex surviving in England. It has witnessed an amazing history. During the reformation it was saved by the City Corporation, which bought it for use as a ‘common hall’. Since then it has been used as a workshop, a mint and a workhouse. And next week, it’s going to host the Gin and Rum Festival!
And today it is officially Sourest Day! A day when you don’t have to make lemonade with life’s lemons. A day to be openly grumpy. Nowadays, we’re under so much pressure to keep calm and stay positive, I think it’s quite nice to have day where you can take off that mask and chill with a frown.
In the name of spirits, I thought I’d share a recipe with you. Some of you may know the Whisky Sour. Well did you know you can also make it with gin and rum? For gin I would suggest starting with dry gin in a shaker then adding lemon juice, sugar syrup, aromatic bitters and egg white. Give it a good old shake, strain and serve. For rum the recipe needs a little bit of a twist. Start with rum and then add a little orange and/or lime juice rather than lemon. Add sugar syrup and egg whites and bitters if you choose.
And let’s not forget Halloween! Halloween is fast approaching this Thursday. Falling on a Thursday, I’m guessing more people will be celebrating it next weekend, so keep an eye out for next week’s newsletter, for a bit of spooky fun.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Bernie & The G&R Team
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