Episode 98 is here and this week Alex Layton joins Aidy in the studio as we continue our Bruichladdich journey, try the ultimate ‘Christmas in a glass’ liqueur, give amazing Australian wine tips, and decide what the perfect drink is for our most loved fast foods. Oh, and you’ll want to keep listening to the end for one of the most embarrassing confessions we’ve had on the pod yet!
Our Guest Drinker
With us in the studio this week is Alex Layton who is Head of Marketing at Decanter Magazine no less! Decanter is the place to go for everything wine, reaching millions of people across its numerous channels. Alex also tells us about the Decanter Awards on the pod, as well as his love for BBQ food and his extensive job experience across the world of drinks (if you can think of it, he’s probably done it).
What’s In Our Glass?
We adored the Bruichladdich Classic Laddie last week, so we’ve progressed onto the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10-Year-Old this time, also produced on the Southwestern tip of Islay Island just off the Scottish west coast.
If you like smoky whisky, then at 40PPM this super peated dram will suit you down to the ground. Behind that oak-y smoke though there is a roundness, with subtle sweetness and notes of seaweed and salty sea air coming through. It would be a great dram for someone who’s into something between the Speyside and Islay whisky styles, and it’s from a fantastically sustainable distillery too. Lots to love with this!
Size: 700ml
ABV: 50%
Find here: £46.75
The Sandfly Cocktail
This single malt is perfect at the centre of a Sandfly, a cocktail dreamt up in New York in 2017 as an adaption of The Mosquito. We think this is just gorgeous. The smokiness from the super peated whisky is beautiful, and despite being in pretty much equal parts to the Campari, isn’t overwhelming at all. There’s spicy sweetness from the ginger, and bittersweetness from the Campari to round it out too. It’s the perfect drink for this season, sat around a bonfire sipping away – an autumnal cracker.
Ingredients
25ml Port Charlotte 10 year
20ml Campari
20ml Lemon Juice
10ml Ginger Syrup
Method:
Combine all the ingredients with ice and shake well. Strain into your cocktail glass and bottoms up!
Buy it or Bin it
This is one that reveals itself slowly. It looks just like a glass of milk, and initially smells like it too, but then there’s a boozy kick and a ‘Milky Bar’ feeling to it.
It’s Mozart White Chocolate Cream Liqueur! This milky, chocolaty, Bourbon blend tastes like Christmas in a glass, and the bottle is beautiful too, like a giant Ferrero Rocher. It’s crying out to go into a White Chocolate Espresso Martini. It has 60% less fat and a lot less alcohol than other Irish creams too by the way! This is 100% a ‘buy it’ pick.
Size: 500ml
ABV: 15%
Find here: £14.99
Australian Wines
Australia is almost the size of Europe, so the diversity in wine flavours, styles and grapes is massive down under. We run through the very best of Australian wine, from incredible value Viognier to Pinot perfection, and everything in between.
Fast Food Drinks Pairing Quiz
November 16th is National Fast Food Day, so we run through the perfect drinks to accompany just that! Champagne and fried chicken? Negroni Sbagliato with a hot dog? Listen in and tell us what you think of our pairings!
Drinks Confessions
Wine tasting should be a joyous occasion, learning about the origin, aerating the wine etc. Well, not for Alex, not at his first ever session anyway. And it won’t have been great for the person standing in front of him either, let’s just say that. Find out why he had to run off in embarrassment on the podcast!
