 Elephant Gin is a premium handcrafted London Dry Gin of 45% alcoholic volume made with carefully selected ingredients that capture the spirit of Africa. Inspired by the traditional sundowner experience at the end of the day in the African bush, Elephant Gin is produced for wildlife adventurers and urban explorers alike. Handcrafted in Germany, the gin is distilled using fourteen botanicals, including rare African ingredients to create a distinctive flavour profile.
Elephant Gin contributes 15% of all proceeds to two African elephant foundations to support the preservation of African wildlife. Made in small batches, Elephant Gin is produced using the traditional method of copper still distillation. Botanicals include baobab, the extraordinary buchu plant with a flavour similar to blackcurrant and the African Wormwood introducing a sharp floral note. Locally sourced spring water, fresh apples and other select ingredients enhance the purity and smoothness of the gin’s finish. The gin’s distinct nose first yields a subtle juniper aroma with an undertone of mountain pine and other herbaceous notes. The taste is complex but strikingly smooth, encompassing floral, fruity and spicy flavours, which can be enjoyed both straight and in a cocktail. Elephant Gin’s bottles are custom-made with hand-written labels, embossed with a crest and sealed with natural cork. Each batch is named after past great tuskers or elephants that Elephant Gin’s partners currently help protect. The team behind Elephant Gin are Robin and Tessa Gerlach, who were inspired to create Elephant Gin following their own travels as well as their work supporting foundations in South Africa. With a vision to conserve the wildlife they feel so passionate about, the couple decided to launch a product that would help conservation trusts. They strongly believe that this generation has a responsibility to support African wildlife today, so others can continue to enjoy it in the future. image (c) Elephant Gin Eco-conscious Sea Change produce a range of wines all linked to a different ocean charity reflected on the bottle label. Depending upon which wine you choose, there's everything from dolphins to turtles to starfish. Doesn't it make great sense if you're an environmentally conscious wine lover to be able to choose bottles that help protect the environment, in particular our oceans and sea life?  As a wine and ocean lover I was delighted when the company kindly sent me a bottle to try - and yes, it was very good! Let me tell you more about all this. Sea Change's sustainable, mostly vegan, award winning wines which come in light weight bottles designed to reduce the raw materials needed, are selected from European vineyards that share the company's values. There's no plastic wrap around the bottle neck and top, corks are bio-degradable, while paper for labels, partially made from grape waste, comes from certified sustainable forests. Minimal packaging reduces waste and environmental impact. So far, so great. With every bottle sold, the company donates a percentage to Ocean Conservation projects. This cash goes towards funding marine life protection, cleaning beaches, ocean pollution education and setting up marine animal sanctuaries. I think that's fantastic. Many other companies could learn a lesson here.
There is no excuse for you not to choose Sea Change wine because they probably, almost definitely really, stock your favourite. Malbec? Tick. Pinot Griogio? Tick. Merlot? Tick. Prosecco? Tick. Organic red? Tick. Organic white? Tick. Negroamaro? Tick. Chardonnay? Tick. Rose? Tick.... you get the picture. So, stands to reason, if you are someone who cares about our oceans and the living creatures who call them home, you can feel good about drinking this wine. I was pleased to be able to work with Sea Change wine to help get their message out there. Cheers! More at www.seachangewine.com. image (c) seachange wine  Read on if you want to spice up your spooky season ... Halloween parties are back this year! To get you in the ‘spirit’, why not try the Aloha Vampire cocktail which is super simple ... . All you have to do:
Hang on a minute though, what exactly is Aloha 65? Well, it's not rum and it's not gin, it is a spirit though, versatile too, made with 100% natural ingredients and better still it's vegan friendly and gluten free. So what's in it then? Ah, well there's pineapple, lemon, ginger and ssssh! a load of secret herbs plus fiery scotch bonnet chillies. Good, huh? Back to the Vampire Cocktail recipe. Maybe you're determined to turn up the party vibes a bit more? Easy! Just swap the soda water with bubbly and rim the glass with red sugar. Then how about finishing off your creation with raspberry or pomegranate seeds or drop in some vampire teeth for a real surprise..... For a party with a punch try this : Autumn Punch Ingredients (Serves 10) 500ml Aloha 65, 500ml brandy, 1.5L apple juice, 100ml orange juice, two or three cinnamon sticks, an apple, sliced orange Combine the Aloha and brandy with the apple juice in a jug filled with ice, cinnamon sticks and a sliced apple and orange.  About Spirit of Aloha 65
Conceived and created by a British barman at his beach bar in Florida, the Spirit of Aloha was designed as a versatile, refreshing and reviving tipple to lure in surfers looking to wind down after the waves. The once homemade gift to the après-sea crowd became a ritual; a unique sundowner that put a smile on everyone’s face. Aloha 65’s Sun on a Beach hot sauce is made from the same ingredients minus the alcohol, of course and their spicy pineapple ‘detonators’ use just two of Spirit of Aloha 65’s main ingredients, pineapple and chilli, and well… boom! The brand Spirit of Aloha 65 offers the consumer something different to look at and taste. With its coastal roots, Spirit of Aloha 65 is a relaxed sundowner for those who live life to the full. The ski winter bottles are a must for an après ski session or winter drinks gathering, virtual or otherwise. Aloha 65 has also created a sweet, tangy hot sauce and a spicy pineapple ‘detonator’ snack. disclaimer: I received two mini 50ml bottles of Aloha 65 for review purposes Aloha 65 - 70cl RRP: £22.50 Aloha 65 - 50ml 12 pack RRP £36 Hot Sauce RRP £3.99 Detonators RRP: £4.50 Available to buy at aloha65.com and Amazon images (c) Aloha65.com The bottle is labelled 'Strane - London Dry Gin - Merchant Strength'. For those who don't know, this doesn't mean that it is made in London - in fact this one comes from a small Swedish distillery. Back in the day though, most gin distillers were in London and in the 1700s gin was the drink of choice. Originally used as a medicine, it was cheap, the opium of the masses. People went to great lengths to obtain it; a cattle drover sold his daughter for a gallon of the stuff while a coachman pawned his wife for a quart bottle. Thankfully, no-one would go as far as that to get a bottle of gin these days! Anyway, to be a 'London Dry', among other stipulations, the gin must be distilled to over 70%. Water is usually then added to reduce the gin to a bottling strength of around 40%. Oh and if you're reading this and calling it 'Strane' , it's actually pronounced 'str-AAH-nEE' or 'Stra-anne'. Got it? Strane is a handcrafted small batch gin from Swedish distiller Smögen Whisky AB. It is created in a 100 litre pot still with worm tub condensers, at the Smögen Distillery, one of the first distilleries in Sweden to produce Single Malt Whisky. Twelve botanicals are used in this gin - juniper, basil, mint, coriander, cinnamon, sweet almond, sage, lemon peel, lime, liquorice and two secret ingredients. (I wonder what they are?) These botanicals are used to produce three base gin styles; juniper, citrus and herbal, in batches of 45 litres. The base gins are then blended to produce the three expressions; Merchant, Navy and Uncut. Strane Merchant, the core expression, is bottled at 47.4% Vol and blended to emphasise the smoothness that the high copper contact in the tiny whisky pot gives the spirit, while at the same time providing enormous depth and strength of character, led by the juniper, coriander seeds and mint. images (c) Strane
The Smögen Distillery (above) was designed and built by pioneering distiller Par Caldenby, ( above with his dog Dante). It is sited on Sweden's west coast north of Gothenburg with every drop of Smögen Whisky and Strane Gin distilled and blended by Pär personally. Commenting on the Strane Gin family, he said, “As a whisky man, it struck me that the art of blending should work very well with gin, as a good gin is about character and also – most importantly – about balance. To create the massive depth of character while retaining balance, the tiny pot still with its worm tub is important, but the blending makes it whole. Eminently sippable and makes an enticing G&T with the likes of Fentiman’s or Fever Tree.” Gin is the drink of the moment, gaining popularity all the time. Why not do yourself a favour and get yourself a bottle of Strane? When you taste it, you'll be glad you did. Strane London Dry Gin: Merchant Strength 47.4%, Navy Strength 57.1% and Uncut Strength 76% .... wow, that is strong! Strane Gin is distilled by Smögen Whisky AB, represented in the UK by Highfern Ltd who supplied my tasting sample. Besides importing Strane and Smögen, Highfern are the proprietors of Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. You can buy Strane Gin from lots of places including Drinkfinder, Gauntleys of Nottingham, JL Gill , Nickolls and Perks, Robertson's, shop4whisky.com , Evil Eye, Storehouse, Woodwinters and The Whisky Exchange.  No doubt you've heard of Belvoir, the British family drinks company, but maybe you don't know that they organise a lovely event every year called the Elderflower Harvest. Around the end of May, they ask people from their local community and three bordering counties to pick flowers for the following year’s Elderflower Cordial production. And YES! pickers get paid for their efforts. This year the harvest is getting a helping hand from BBC presenter Gemma Hunt, who is raising awareness of the event by going behind the scenes at Belvoir Farm.  Picking takes place at Belvoir’s 60 acres of organic plantations and surrounding hedgerows. Within 24 hours of harvesting the flower heads, they are poured into vats and stirred by hand so continuing the 40 year-old tradition of producing Elderflower Cordial. It's still made to the same family recipe. Belvoir Farm was the first company to produce elderflower cordial commercially, a business started by John Manners and his wife Mary, who created the original recipe. The farm was established in 1981 initially to grow ‘pick your own’ fruit because the Manners didn't like to see anything go to waste. It was when they were looking for a way to use unpicked and over-ripe fruit that the idea came to make pure fruit cordials. Great idea! The cordial has to be diluted so one bottle makes up to ten pints which I think is fabulous value. I love Elderflower Cordial's refreshing taste, it's lovely to drink on its own, or - and you can add it to recipes for cakes or desserts and - this is one I also like lots, you can add a splash to your white wine or cocktails! All Belvoir drinks are made from local spring water and natural ingredients. Belvoir kindly sent me a couple of bottles of Elderflower Cordial to see what I thought.  And here are three things you might not know about elderflowers
More about the Belvoir 2021 Elderflower Harvest, how paid to pick works and how to get involved at www.belvoirfarm.co.uk. For more on Gemma Hunt and her work with Belvoir, see www.theoutdoorguide.co.uk. Images (c) Belvoir Inspired by G&T but without the alcohol, Sea Arch Drinks produce delicious ready to drink cocktails in cans. Crisp and oh-so refreshing, they are a sensible alternative for times when people want, or need, to be alcohol free. There are two flavours to choose from. One is Sea & T the other Rose Sea & T and both contain a double measure of Coastal Juniper spirit. Sea & T is topped up with lightly sparkling Indian tonic, while Rose Sea & T is topped up with a delicate rose and raspberry infused tonic. They are designed to be served chilled in a tall glass over ice, garnished with a slice of citrus or fresh raspberry. I tried them both and can say that they are indeed very tasty!  Inspired by the sights and sounds of the glorious Devon coastline, home to founders Sarah and Geoff Yates, Sea Arch Coastal Juniper blend is a healthy, alcohol-free drink that doesn’t compromise on taste. Made from 11 different botanicals the resulting distilled spirit is clean, refreshing, crisp, dry and complex, providing a non-alcoholic alternative for gin lovers.
Case size for trade purchases is 12 cans per case Stockists include Ocado; Amazon; The Wise Bartender; Sea Arch online shop Sea Arch Drinks co-founder Sarah Yates says, “Bursting with seaside botanicals, our Sea & T has all the deliciousness of G&T with none of the alcohol. It’s a great addition to the Sea Arch range as the convenient format of a ‘ready to drink’ can means people can simply snap it open and serve, ideally over ice and a slice. This makes the Sea & T an easy and delicious option for occasions when you might be driving or working, or you simply don’t want to drink alcohol. As we like to say, it really is more beautiful without!” Sea Arch non-alcoholic distilled spirit is crafted using traditional distillation techniques and created with complex, natural botanicals including sea kelp, samphire, cardamom and blood orange with the alcohol gently removed. Sugar free Sea Arch can be enjoyed with a clear head, a clean conscience and – always – plenty of ice. It’s as uplifting as a walk on the beach… and just as good for you. Show Me The Honey is the brew inspired by Chicago Town’s new Sweet Honey BBQ Salami Takeaway pizza. To help create this pizza partner, Chicago Town teamed up with acclaimed craft brewery SEVEN BRO7HERS.  The beer, appropriately called Show Me The Honey, was developed by the SEVEN BRO7HERS brewing team to replicate the new pizza flavours. A tomato sauce filled crust is topped with sweet honey BBQ sauce, a blend of mozzarella and red cheddar, salami and red onions. These sweet and savoury flavours have been matched by beer gurus in the Show Me The Honey ale, with the honey flavour coming through to champion the honey BBQ sauce in the pizza.
This is welcome news for pizza fans nationwide after a poll conducted by Chicago Town revealed that 75.5% of people who enjoy alcohol with their pizza choose beer as the perfect accompaniment. What then could be better than a beer inspired by the pizza you’re eating? SEVEN BRO7HERS Brewer Jack Dixon said: “Chicago Town’s new pizza is bursting with bold flavours, from its tomato stuffed crust to sweet honey BBQ sauce. We were keen to replicate the pizza’s aroma and taste in the flavour profile of Show Me The Honey. To capture the perfect pairing, the team sampled each of the toppings here in the brewery and mapped out the brew based on the flavour notes we needed to hit". “Chicago Town pizza dough is made fresh every day in its bakery so was easy to replicate with yeast, the base for any beer. Hops were added to give it a smoky salami bitterness, but not too late in the boil as we didn’t want it to overpower the honeycomb malt syrups. These syrups are added to replicate the sweet, yet tangy, honey BBQ sauce found on the pizza.” Customers can enjoy the harmonious flavours of the two products together as Chicago Town is offering the first 100 customers who buy the new Show Me The Honey beer a voucher to pick up a free Chicago Town Sweet Honey BBQ Salami pizza. Chicago Town spokesperson Rachel Bradshaw, said; “Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink to accompany a slice of pizza. So, how better to celebrate International Beer & Pizza Day than create a beer inspired by the flavours of our new Stuffed Crust Takeaway Sweet Honey BBQ Salami. Show Me The Honey beer is only around for a limited time, so pizza fans need to act fast to try this sweet combination together!” Stuffed Cust Takeaway Sweet Honey BBQ Salami pizza can be purchased in most major supermarkets including ASDA, Farmfoods, Iceland, Ocado, Tesco and Morrisons at the MRRP of £4.49. Fancy a slice of the action? See www.facebook.com/ChicagoTown or www.chicagotown.com for the latest news, promotions and giveaways. image was sent to me from Chicago Town PR (Promoted Post) SMASHED is the only British alcohol-free drinks brand which produces 0% beer, lager, ale and ciders DRYNKS, the British alcohol-free craft brewer which focuses 100% on producing the best 0% drinks, has launched the UK’s first full range of alcohol-free (0%) beers and ciders. The SMASHED brand of premium craft drinks is now five strong as it launches two delicious new drinks - SMASHED Pale ale and SMASHED Berry cider. The range has everything you need for a fun night out or in, with drinks to suit everyone. The Manchester-based business secured one of Dragons’ Den’s best ever deals in March 2020 with Peter Jones amazed at how close to an alcoholic drink the SMASHED beers and cider tasted. Richard Clark, founder of Drynks Unlimited said: “Our SMASHED range of 0% beers and ciders have to be tasted to be believed. They taste so good you wouldn’t even realise they don’t have any booze in them. Our drinks geniuses have carefully crafted the SMASHED range to allow people to have a great night. Whether you’re looking to reduce your alcohol intake as part of a healthier lifestyle or if you just want a great tasting alcohol-free drink you can ‘swap in’ we’ve got you covered.” DRYNKS is the only UK drinks brand who can produce the full remit of craft beers and cider because it owns the first and only state-of-the-art alcohol-free brewery which gently removes alcohol from premium craft beer and cider. This use of contemporary craftmanship creates a 0% drink that is truly sessionable.
All SMASHED drinks are vegan, gluten free (where possible), low in sugar and contain less than 100 calories per bottle/can. These two new drinks complement its recently launched Smashed Lager, Smashed Citrus beer and Smashed Cider that all taste just as good as their alcoholic equivalent. The SMASHED range uses fine British ingredients to create authentic tasting craft beers and ciders and then the alcohol is gently swept away in a low impact cool vacuumed environment. This clever process maintains the same bubbly, personality, character and flavour of the full alcohol version. DRYNKS recently had a successful appearance on Dragons’ Den where they blew away the dragons with the quality and taste of the SMASHED range. The business received an offer from Sara Davies. Peter Jones stated; “I was quite surprised because I didn’t think it’d taste even close (to an alcoholic drink) but I’m quite surprised how close that is.” Deborah Meaden said: “That tastes…really good!” Smashed drinks don’t compromise on ingredients, process or equipment to create vegan-friendly, gluten-free (where possible) drinks. All Smashed drinks are available in both 330ml bottles and 300ml cans, with a NEW 660ml Smashed Lager bottle which is great for sharing with friends. The 330ml Smashed bottles and cans have a RRP of £1.99 and are available in Booths supermarket as well as online at www.drynks.co.uk, Zeroholic.co.uk, Drydrinker.com (exclusive Smashed Lager 660ml) and a range of local independent retailers across the UK. Smashed Pale Ale NEW Smashed Pale Ale is light and refreshing, a fusion of the traditional and modern. Caramel and hints of toffee, finished with a modern American hop providing tropical and passionfruit notes. Smashed Berry Launching NEW A purple berry coloured sparkling fruit cider with a fruity, fresh, clean nose with hints of English cider. The taste is sharp and refreshing with a perfect balance of sweetness backed up with strong summer berry flavours followed by hints of English cider and a firm cider astringency to finish. Smashed Lager Smashed Lager is a refreshing pale gold lager beer with a clean taste which perfectly balances with hint of barley malt, complex aromatic floral notes and a mild hoppy bitterness. Available in 330ml can and bottle as well as a 660ml sharing bottle. Smashed Cider Golden, slightly opaque sparkling liquid with a fresh inviting aroma of English apples. The taste delivers pure refreshment with a perfect balance of sharpness, sweetness and bite. The initial refreshing upfront green apple taste is perfectly complimented with a great mouthfeel and a satisfying astringent mature English cider finish. Smashed Citrus A pale gold sparkling liquid with fresh, clean aroma expressing English malt, hints of hop and touch of citrus. The taste has been crafted for pure refreshment with pleasant malty base which has a perfect balance and sessionability. The product has great mouthfeel and a hint of sweetness pairs perfectly with the slightly sharp citrus notes in the aftertaste. Drynks kindly sent me samples of their SMASHED product to get my take on them. They get a thumbs up from me! Excellent! images (c) Drynks |
