4 Simple and Delicious Bourbon Cocktails

Words by Aidy Smith

We love bourbon on its own, but this American spirit can also be a really interesting base spirit for a ton of exciting cocktails! The notes of vanilla and oak are great to mess around with and see what works with what. You can go sour, sweet, bitter - whatever takes your fancy!

If a bourbon cocktail sounds tasty but you’re not quite sure where to start, how about starting with one of our four favourites below!

Classic Old Fashioned

This list would not be complete without including the Old Fashioned, and for that reason we’ve put it slap bang at the top! We’re not sure if it’s magic or just good mixology, but there’s something about the simple mix of bourbon, sugar and Angostura bitters that gets our taste buds raring to go! Make one today with this simple recipe!

Ingredients

50ml bourbon
pinch of brown sugar
splash of water
2 drops of Angostura bitters
twist of orange to garnish

Method
Place the sugar, orange peel, water and bitters in a tumbler and muddle (crush gently with the back of a spoon). Fill the glass with ice and add a little whiskey bit by bit while stirring. Garnish with a twist of orange. 

Boulevardier

Do you like Negronis? We certainly do! If you are a Negroni fan, why not mix it up for a change and make a Boulevardier! It’s essentially a Negroni with the gin swapped out for bourbon so it’s super simple and still boasts that tasty, boozy bitterness...

Psst, if you really want to up your Negroni game - check out our article on the best Negroni recipes!

Ingredients

45ml of bourbon
25ml sweet vermouth
25ml of Campari
twist of orange to garnish 

Method
Chill a cocktail glass by placing it in the freezer. Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass and fill two thirds of the way with ice. Stir for around 30 seconds to chill and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of orange.

Manhattan

For the majority of us, living in Manhattan (or at least the glamorous part of Manhattan) isn’t very realistic. New York City actually has the highest living cost of any city in the United States! However, what we can do is mix up a Manhattan - wherever we are in the world…

The Manhattan is normally made with rye whiskey, so try to find a bourbon with a high rye count in it to truly get an authentic Manhattan. Here’s our favourite recipe:

Ingredients

50ml bourbon
25ml sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash oranges bitters
brandied cherry for garnish 

Method
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a brandied cherry. 

Bourbon Sidecar

The Sidecar is a cocktail that often hides away on cocktail menus, sometimes not even being featured at all, the poor thing! We shan’t pity it too much however, as the Sidecar still packs quite a bit of a punch… It’s citrusy and boozy with a nice bit of sweetness coming from the sugared rim. Though normally made with cognac, today we’re swapping the cognac out for bourbon. The bourbon gives a really interesting vanilla element to this cocktail that deepens it delightfully!

Ingredients

50ml bourbon
25ml Cointreau
12.5ml fresh lemon juice
1tsp simple syrup
caster sugar
orange twist for garnish 

Method
Using a small amount of lemon juice and caster sugar, sugar the rim of the glass. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice until ice cold. Strain into a glass and garnish with the orange twist - delicious!

Looking for more great cocktail ideas? How about checking out these great Old Fashioned Variations? Or, if a Martini is more up your street then we’ve got some great recipes to check out here too!

Celebrate Pride with these Top LGBTQIA+ drinks

It’s Pride Month, and we’re celebrating all things LGBTQIA+ not only with a hefty dose of rainbow-themed décor, but by toasting to it in style with tipples that proudly support the LGBTQIA+ community. Whether you’re a community member yourself, or a thirsty ally, here are some must-tries to show your spirit…

Gays Who Wine

This wine club, founded by Shaun Houcke, is all about giving people the chance to meet up and mingle with great vino – without having to resort to a raucous bar. You can also shop from a gorgeously curated online offering – including a weekly changing mixed case, with the likes of rosé fizzes and juicy reds (from £65). Beer drinker? An edit of top pours includes tempting nibbles such as artisan cheese, smoked almonds and sourdough crisp breads (£45). If you need an extra feel-good reason to buy, know that 10% of profits go to LGBTQIA+ charities.

Find out more here!

Luv Jus

Following one helluva time at Tel Aviv Pride in 2016, housemates George and Owen decided to launch Luv Jus – a healthy craft vodka pop that comes in two delicious flavours: pineapple, mint, ginseng and jasmine, or blood orange, pomegranate and ginseng. At just 107kcal per tin, with no added sugar, they’re as gentle on the waistline as they are dangerously sippable, plus have the added bonus of being vegan-friendly and gluten-free. We know what we’ll be drinking come London Pride Week this September… 

ABV: 4.8%
Find here: £14.95 for 6

Stonewall Spirits

A family run brand based in Skegness, Lincolnshire, Stonewall Spirits is committed to supporting and donating to the LGBTQ community all year round. Not only do they do this by re-telling the story of the ‘Stonewall Riots’ throughout their brand, but they also donate £1 to Stonewall UK from every bottle purchased to continue the fight for acceptance and equality in the UK. As if that wasn’t great enough news as it is, they also produce absolutely cracking gins. Mix their Pink Rhubarb gin into a G&T for a beautifully refreshing drink this Summer!

ABV: 40% // 37.5%
Size: 700ml
Find here: £36.95

Digby Fine English

It was during a trip to a Seattle winery that married couple Jason Humphries and Trevor Clough had a lightbulb moment and decided to move back to the UK and go into business together with the aim to bring English sparkling wine to the luxury market. Meet Digby Fine English; the high class sparkling English wine from West Sussex that is outperforming Champagne in blind tastings and winning countless awards. 

Find here: From £32

Proud Beer

The UK’s first ‘queer beer’ was launch back in 2018 by boyfriends Ethan Spidey and Sören Scharf and as well as a beer, is a platform for all that they do for LGBTQIA+ charities. They worked around their day jobs to create their ‘LGBTQIPA’: a truly inclusive drinks brand with a clear message to the businesses to put their money where their mouth is if they truly want to support the community. Ethan explains: “We got fed up with people slapping a rainbow flag on their brand once a year and pretending they cared. We thought, why don’t we start a beer company that benefits the charities we have worked with for years?” Quite right. Cheers!

Find here: From £2.30 a bottle

Gentleman Farmer 

Next time you’re in the US, look out for Gentleman Farmer wines, produced by vino extraordinaire couple Joe Wolosz and Jeff Durham. This Californian vintner duo specialises in producing powerful Cabernet Sauvignon – all dark fruity and earthy character – as well as elegant Chardonnays. Looking for something summer-fabulous to toast Pride month with? Grab a bottle of their delicate blushing pink rosé, with refreshing watermelon and brioche notes on the palate.

Find here: From $35

Crystal Head Limited Edition Pride Vodka

In case the whole bottle-shaped-like-a-skull thing wasn’t already theatrical enough for you, we present Crystal Head Pride edition. Painted in dramatic rainbow tones, this will double as a statement decor piece long after you’ve drained the final drop of vodka (which, by the way, is made using pure Canadian water). It doesn’t just look good though – a percentage of sales goes to the Kaleidoscope Trust, an international LGBTQIA+ human rights charity that works across the Commonwealth, for example by ensuring that trans women in Pakistan have access to safe housing. And if that standard 70cl bottle isn’t quite enough? Plump for the brand new 1.75-litre release, available at Selfridges for a cool £140.

ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Find here: UK From £46.48 // US $39.99

Tom Savano Finnish Liberation Cosmopolitan

When you can’t be bothered to mix your own cocktail, Tom Savano comes to the rescue with its premixed pours. And this bottling – comes with a splash of Pride, not only because the Carrie Bradshaw’s drink of choice is said, according to Punch, to have originated in the Cleveland gay scene in the 1980s. It’s also mixed up with Tom of Finland Organic Vodka, named after the gay icon and fetish artist. The vodka’s own association spreads awareness about LGBTQIA+ erotic art, so you can feel extra virtuous with every sip. Chill it right down in the fridge, pour it out in Sex and the City-style cocktail glasses and toast to liberation. 

ABV: 20%
Size: 500ml
Find here: £29

Barefoot Wines

Barefoot takes great ‘pride’ in the fact that it’s been an LGBTQIA+ ally for more than 30 years, since 1988 to be exact. Over the decades this Californian wine brand has partnered with dozens of different LGBTQIA+ organisations and popped up at countless Pride festivals, so you know it’s genuinely supporting the community for the long haul. Choose from the range of easy-drinking wines, perfect for celebrations – whether your bag is a fruit-forward Merlot, a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or sweet Moscato, there’s something here to suit. Bottoms up!

Find out more here (UK)! // From $9.99 (US)

The Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 81

Welcome back to another episode of our Bring a Bottle podcast! This week we chat whisky mixers, weird and wonderful tasting notes, pornstar martini spas and innovative water that tastes like more! Listen in via this player to hear all this and more!

What’s In Our Glass?

We love a dram of whisky but sometimes you just want to mix it up. So, that’s exactly what we’ve done this week using Franklin and Sons mixers and sodas. First up was their Mandarin with Ginger soda (for our US readers, soda in the UK is spring water with flavour) and it worked so well. The mandarin jumped out the glass, it was floral, fruity and then had caramel chiming in from the whisky. A perfect drink for a whisky lover that wants something a bit different or for someone wanting to get into whisky itself.

Next up we went down a more traditional route of ginger ale. Listen in to find out what we thought and the difference mixing drinks with ginger ale makes vrs ginger beer!

Drinks News

We have two crackers this week, Aidy brings some of the weirdest whisky tasting notes made by professionals to the table… toilet duck whisky anyone?! Whilst Helena lets us know about the first-ever pornstar martini spa, (that you can acutally bathe in)!

Drinks Doing Good

We love a drinks brand that does good and Aidy has found one that does just that. Introducing Sea Change wines which are an eco-friendly brand that help fund ocean conservation projects across the globe through the sale of every one of their bottles. Aidy tried their Negroamaro wine, which is produced on the southern edge of Italy and is almost like a blend of malbec and merlot in taste. It’s a big, bold wine with notes of cassis, blackcurrant, cherry, a kick of tobacco and dark chocolate and the great news is it’s only a tenner!

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12%
Find here: £10.49

Drinkers Discovery

Let’s talk water. We’re supposed to drink 6-8 cups a day but is it just us or does anyone else find this difficult?! Well, worry no more as Helena has found an innovative brand that has changed the way you will drink water forever, Air Up. Using aroma pods that sit at the top of your bottle, your mind is tricked into thinking that you are drinking flavoured water when in fact you are just drinking water. From apple to kola to iced coffee, there is an aroma to suit all

You can pick up a bottle and aroma pods set here from £30.
Extra Aroma pods are sold in sets of 3 from £6 

Third Drinker Tasha Iny

Third Drink Tasha Iny joins Aidy for a chat all about what’s Mijenta tequilas stunning bottles, where to find the best pisco sour around and female empowerment in the tequila industry. Tasha also shares one of her favourite cocktails to mix up with Mijenta Tequila Blanco which actually happens to be the predecessor of the margarita; The Toreador.

Ingredients
50ml blanco
25ml apricot brandy
25ml lime juice
5mls small squeeze agave
Method
Shake it up, pour it into a glass and enjoy!

Mailbag

It wouldn’t be a Bring a Bottle podcast without one of your fantastic Mailbag questions, this week you asked us all about white Malbec and whether it is actually a thing. Listen in to find out what we had to say…

To listen to all this and more, along with previous podcasts, click on this link!

The Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 80

We are back for a brand new series of the Bring a Bottle podcast! Follow our journey as we make more drink-y discoveries, uncover the latest drinks news ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and share some great sips that we think should be in your glass!

What’s in our glass?

Episode 80 is all about the best mixers for Cognac, and wow are there some great ones out there! We tried Franklin and Sons Mandarin with Ginger mixer and Pineapple with almond mixer. Both could easily be drunk neat as a nice soft drink, however, when mixed with Cognac the Mandarin with Ginger mixer was a party in the mouth! The toffee and caramel notes of the cognac worked really well with the ginger element, and the citrussy notes matched the mandarin flavours perfectly. The Pineapple with almond mixer was equally as good. It tasted like stewed caramelised pineapples, wasn’t sugary or overpoweringly sweet and the Cognac stood out whilst the pineapple shone through. It would be a great option for someone who was looking to get into Cognac.

Size: 200ml (24 bottles)
Find here: Mandarin with Ginger £17.50 // Pineapple with Almond £17.50

Drinks News

Helena’s news is all about an incredible canned drinks bar in Peckham Rye called Bo Kiri. Introducing a whole new way of doing hospitality, Bo Kiri is a really open space with around 70 fridges inside stocked full to the brim with canned beer, cocktails, wine, hard seltzers – you name it and it’s there! There is a big emphasis on brands that do good and with all the cans available to either drink in or take out you are bound to leave with a smile on your face!

Brands Doing Good

This week we are giving a big shout out to Ukrainian vodka brand, Dima’s Vodka. The vodka itself comes from a 125-year-old distillery on the outskirts of Kyiv and is made with three grains: barley, rye and wheat. It is sweet and velvety smooth making it a great sipping vodka although it works equally well in cocktails too. Since the war in Ukraine began, Dima’s Vodka has really stepped up its efforts to help people in Ukraine by raising money via limited edition bottlings, tastings nights and pre-bottled cocktails, every penny made going to help Ukrainian charities. You can find out more about the latest events and bottlings here.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £35

Drinkers Discovery

This week’s discovery is Tom Savano cocktails and specifically the Patagonian Sunset Passionfruit Martini. It is made from a blend of Fairtrade Quinoa vodka, Fairtrade Argentinian passionfruit liqueur and Madagascan vanilla with a touch of lime. Unlike a lot of passionfruit martinis, it is a lot less cloying and sugary sweet making for a great drink. The brand works tirelessly to source organic, Fairtrade ingredients for their cocktails and puts real emphasis on helping you to get the best out of your home cocktail experience by telling you exactly how to enjoy your drink right down to the temperature and garnish! If you haven’t already, look them up!

Size: 500ml
Find here: £29

In other news, we discuss kummel and Unicum (no, we’re not making those names up) and tackle the mailbag question ‘Is there a difference between Cognac and Brandy?’ amongst much more. Listen in here today!

What is Cognac and What Should I Try?

Words by Colin Hampden-White

From VS, VSOP, XO and vintage, there is a lot of confusion around Cognac. Some Cognac seems to be very reasonably priced, and yet others, without seemingly any rhyme or reason, are excruciatingly expensive. It is about time The Three Drinkers explained and cleared up Cognac.

The various letters are names of age statements for Cognac. Below is how they stack up:

VS: Meaning “Very Special” and can also be called ✯✯✯ or Three stars. This is Cognac which has been aged in barrels for at least two years.

VSOP: Meaning “Very Superior Old Pale” or Reserve. This is Cognac which is a blend of barrels of which the youngest is at least four years old.

Napoleon: This is Cognac which is at least six years old.

XO: Meaning “Extra Old”. This is Cognac of which the youngest in the blend is at least ten years old. This came into force in April 2018, so if you have a bottle of XO from before then the youngest Cognac in the blend had to be six years old.

XXO: Meaning “Extra Extra Old”. This has Cognac in the blend which is at least 14 years old.

Hors d’âge: Means “Beyond Age”. This is a designation given by the Cognac governing body, which is equal to XO, but is used by brands as marketing to sell products that are high quality and beyond the official age statements.

Vintage: Some Cognacs have a vintage date on them. This is the date of distillation. Many Cognacs do not put the bottling date on them, so it is difficult to define the actual age of the Cognac inside.

I drink quite a bit of Cognac and have a few favourites I’d like to share. These are of all price points and ages. I hope you find something that suits your palate and pocket.

VS

Courvoisier VS

This is a great starter for Cognac. It isn’t the most complex, but it still has lots of flavour, can be found in most shops and is a classic. It was the Cognac of choice for Napoleon who took huge amounts of it with him in exile. It goes well on the rocks and mixes well too, especially with ginger ale or tonic.

Size: UK 700ml // US 375ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £29.95 // US $19.99

VSOP

Rémy Martin VSOP

One of the most popular VSOP Cognacs around it is very consistent and well worth the little extra. This is a Cognac that both mixes well giving any cocktail a good dollop of rich Cognac flavours, but can also stand on its own without ice. With berry fruits on the nose and lots of honey and vanilla, dried fruits and a little spice on the palate, there is good complexity putting this at the top of my VSOP list.

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £36.95 // US $49.99

XO

There are lots of styles of XO. I am choosing two very different styles here. One which is big and rich and the other refined and finessed. The two show how different Cognac can be.

Hennessy XO

A big, rich brooding Cognac with lots of dark dried fruit flavours, bitter chocolate and coffee. It serves well with a lot of ice in a balloon glass or big wine glass on a hot sunny day, as well as neat by a fire after dinner on a cold winter evening and pairs beautifully with cigars. Hennessy is the best-selling Cognac by volume in the world and this expression shows why. The term XO was created in the 19th century especially for this Cognac.

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £162  // US $324.99

Frapin Chateau de Fontpinot XO

Frapin is known for making elegant Cognacs with finesse and Frapin Chateau de Fontpinot is an excellent example of the house style. It is a single state Cognac and one of the best XO Cognacs in the Grand Champagne region. With lots of fruity and floral aromas and flavours it still has richness, but a refined quality throughout.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 41%
Find here: £175  

Delamain Pleiade Ancestral

Delamain are known for long aged Cognacs with intensity, but also delicacy. This expression has plenty of both with great complexity. There are lots of summer flowers and rich baked fruit flavours with a touch of spice and vanilla custard. Only 180 bottles were produced making it a rare Cognac. When Delamain reduce the spirit before bottling, they do it very gently by adding a mix of water and spirit which has had time to marry and therefore doesn’t shock the delicate Cognac when it is reduced in alcohol for bottling.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 43%
Find here: £475  

Hermitage 50 Year Old

This is one of the most impressive Cognacs I have ever tasted. It won the trophy medal for Cognac at the IWSC I judged in 2021 beating Cognacs which were even older than this dating back to the 19th Century. There is so much complexity with chocolate, coffee, rich dark dried fruits, and also soft floral notes and delicate spice. It’s definitely a Cognac to savour.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 41%
Find here: £485  

Hennessy Paradis

This expression of Hennessy was created in 1979 by Maurice Fillioux who was a master blender at Hennessy. He used a selection of eaux-de-vie (new spirit) which had been laid down by his grandfather. Typical of the house style this is a rich Cognac, but also has fresh floral notes and blossom. There is plenty of spice with cinnamon and pepper, a little honey and dried citrus peel. It is very well balanced and has a long finish.

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £995 // US $1799.99

Frapin Cuvée Rabelais

My favourite Cognac of them all. Not a Cognac for every day, and not a Cognac I could afford to buy, but having tasted a generous sample I am now playing the lottery again. If you can afford this level of Cognac, then this is for you. There are other Cognacs I have tried at this price point, and they are very very good, but this one somehow just pips them to the post. There is an elegance like no other, and flavours which hark back to the century before last. Dusty books and old mahogany furniture. Soft spice and very gentle fine oak. Sandalwood and a touch of beeswax lie underneath light floral notes from a summer meadow. The Cognac is very complex and increases in complexity as it is left to air and oxygen interacts with it. They say one should drink a drink the way you want it. And should you want to mix this with coke, I certainly wouldn’t stop you I hope you enjoy it. But for me, this is a singular pleasure.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £7500

One last word

Not strictly in the Cognac category, but there is another spirit which has caught my attention lately. Typically an unchanged, and great recipe for many years Grand Marnier has been a blend of Cognacs, bitter orange essence and sugar. They have now created some very special expressions.

Grand Marnier Révélation

This expression is made from some very aged Grande Champagne Cognacs and Bigaradia essence. There are aromas of vanilla and nuts with intense honeysuckle floral notes. On the palate there are dried fruits including apricots and bitter orange peel which continue long into the finish.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £615

Grand Marnier Quintessence

This limited edition from Grand Marnier takes the finest Grand Champagne Cognac infused with orange using Grand Marnier’s double parfum Method. It is hugely complex and includes Cognacs from 1875, 1906, and 1955. There are lots of toasted orange and nuts on the nose followed by peach on the plate along with floral notes.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £1895

If you enjoyed this make sure you check out 4 Things You Need To Know About Cognac or One Drink, Three Ways: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac!

Great Gins for the Jubilee

As the long bank holiday celebrating her Majesty's platinum jubilee rolls around, our thoughts turn to street parties and boozy celebrations. Will you be getting festive with fizz? Patriotic with Pimm’s or raising spirits with whisky, gin, rum and the rest? Of all the spirits, gin is the most quintessentially British, so we’ve picked out eight Jubilee-tastic gins to celebrate the Queen (and our extra time off work) this long weekend. 

Beefeater London Garden Gin

This gin is so good, it needs its own royal security. Inspired by the famous botanical Chelsea Physic Gardens that were said to inspire Beefeater’s original recipe, this stunning sipper has all the citrus and zest of classic Beefeater with luscious, lemon verbena, basil and thyme notes. Classic and classy. A great garden gin for your garden party!

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £25

Cotswolds Distillery Jubilee Gin

This limited edition, regal looking tipple tastes as good as it looks in its royal purple bottle. It’s gin with a British summer twist as bramble fruit bursts from the glass, buddying up with the juniper without being cloying. You can sip this alone thanks to its creamy mouthfeel and it's awesome with a rhubarb tonic. Garnish with blackberries for a right royal knees up.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 46%
Find here: £34

Windsor Great Park Gin

Distilled from Windsor Great Park Vineyard’s award-winning Chardonnay using herbs and flowers grown in the royal Savill Gardens just next door, this booze is bursting with botanical beauty. Think fresh herbs and elderflower in a shower of lemon citrus. Rich and creamy to boot, you could sip this alone. Very smart label too. 

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £35.95

Buckingham Palace Gin

A more floral and savoury twist on a classic London Dry, this super refreshing sip is made with twelve botanicals foraged from the Queen’s own palace garden including hawthorn and mulberry. Flavoursome but subtle, this gin gets extra points for its posh, perfume-like bottle too! A great gifting option, though a tad pricey.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 42%
Find here: £40

Whitley Neill Gin, Jubilee Edition

If you’re looking for a brilliant, benchmark London Dry Gin, this is it. Pure spirit on those nose with gentle juniper and a slick of moreish saltiness. This is a gin for gin purists not keen on the extra bells and whistles. The iconic mirror and flags bottle will grab attention too. Well worth a place at the party. 

Size: 700ml
ABV: 43%
Find here: £25

Hortus London Dry Gin

For the price, you can’t knock it. Hortus is Lidl’s own gin brand and this is a decent London Dry that’s pretty classic in an attractive bottle. Compared to some of the others it’s not as smooth or as complex but a punchy tonic will cover any sins. Throw in some fresh fruit and you’ll be laughing. A pocket friendly choice when you need a few for that street party! 

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £15.99

Sainsbury's Limited Edition, Blackfriars Scottish Raspberry & Rhubarb Gin

Rhubarb crumble in spirit form! This limited edition sipper is a good choice for those not so keen on juniper who want to jump on the gin train. Not one for the purists, it’s very heavy on the rhubarb with a ripple of raspberry, but tastes bone dry and is terrific with tonic. Serve with a small stick of rhubarb or a handful of raspberries with lots of ice.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 37.5%
Find here: £16

M&S Jubilee Gin  

This is a gin liqueur rather than a straight gin so as expected, it’s very sweet like strawberry candy and not very gin-like at all. In fact, you really can’t taste any juniper. Having said that, it’s gotta lotta bottle appeal. Pour it over your summer pudding or sip it cool over ice with a fruit tonic and it's a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 20%
Find here: £16

Pinkster pink Gin

Don’t let the colour put you off - Pinkster pink gin is well worth a try. It gets its pink hue from fresh raspberries which are steeped in the gin. The use of fresh fruit rather than flavourings leads to a subtle, smooth gin with just the right amount of raspberry making for a perfect G&T (or two!). Try it with fresh raspberries and mint as a garnish and you won’t look back!

Size: 700ml
ABV: 37.5%
Find here: UK £35

Beefeater London Dry Gin

First made by James Burroughs in 1820, Beefeater London Dry Gin is still made using exactly the same recipe today. It’s fresh with big juniper character and strong bursts of citrus, and for its price point, it is an exceptionally good gin. Try it with a good quality tonic and a slice of lemon or orange!

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £16 // US $24.99

Crazy Lassi Gin

Inspired by the fusion of British and Indian cultures through food, Crazy gin follows the same idea and pushes flavours that people wouldn’t normally associate working together in their gin. Botanicals of turmeric, coriander and black pepper inspired by base ingredients of Punjabi cooking, along with the more British botanicals of juniper and pomegranate are harmoniously joined together before the whole gin is fat washed with ghee to make for a beautifully flavoursome, really smooth gin that does just what it intended.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 41%
Find here: £39.95

London No. 1 Gin

Whether sipping neat or mixing this gin into a cocktail, you will not be disappointed. It’s a quadruple-distilled, small batch gin flavoured with botanicals including cinnamon, angelica, bergamot and gardenia. Check out its subtle blue hue - that’s bound to be a conversation starter during your Jubilee party!

Size: 700ml
ABV: 47%
Find here: £29.77

For more gin-spiration, check out The Best Gins for a G&T or The Most Popular Gin Cocktails!

Pop Your Corks For English Sparkling Wines

Words by Aidy Smith

It’s no secret that English sparkling wines have continued to develop a solid reputation across the country over the past decade. With over 800 vineyards and 178 wineries calling the United Kingdom their home, we’re now at a point where English sparkles are no longer a ‘surprise’ but are becoming an increasingly embraced phenomenon. 

For the factually curious amongst us, let’s backtrack for a second and look at how far English sparkling wine has come. In 2010, they overtook still wine production in the UK and now sit at 64% of total output. Industry folks are now familiar with the style itself, but production rates are still a little unknown, so I decided to delve a little deeper.

I’d like you to clear your mind for a second and take a guess at how many bottles you think could be produced each year. Could it be 500,000? Perhaps 1,000,000 at a stretch? Well, the latest figures show that a staggering 10.5 million bottles were produced in 2019, a colossal increase from the 5.9m in 2017.

But why are our bubbles so good?

Let’s start with the biggest link, the soil. Millions of years ago various parts of England were in fact directly connected to Champagne and as you might have guessed it’s those parts which have the best reputation for producing our sparkles. The soils are full of chalk and rich with minerals giving the grapes a unique and distinct character.

Then there’s the temperature – a steady increase of warmer and drier summers over the years due to climate change has resulted in better vine growth, quality of grapes and has placed us at the sweet spot for producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – the 3 major grapes for both English sparkling wines and coincidentally, champagne too.

It would seem that the two have quite a lot in common, especially their production methods which see the same lengthy process of maturation, taking anywhere from 15 months to 2 years. But while champagne has sat atop the pecking order for as many years as one can remember, our crown jewel bubbles are beginning to knock them off their perch.

English wine in the world

Year on year we’re seeing an increase of awards and the highest-ranking medals being presented to English wine producers. In fact, to date, no other country has achieved accolades on such a consistent level during such little time.  We’re now at a point where English sparkling wine is continuously beating both Champagne and Prosecco in universal competitions and when placed in front of some of the most renowned wine experts for blind tastings, they always seem to come top of the pile. There have even been occasions where some of the most reputed and recognised names in the champagne industry have listed English sparkling wine as their top choice when battling the two varieties against one another in a blind competition.

So what should you look out for?

Our most cherished English sparkling wine seems to be produced mostly down south, so look out for those from Kent, Sussex, Hampshire or Surrey.  In terms of variety, much like your favourite champagnes, you can expect Brut (dry), one of my personal favourites being Hambledon’s Premiere Cuvée Brut. We also have a stunning range of rosé brut, of which you simply cannot miss a producer called Gusbourne. Jenkyn Place serves up a cracking Blanc de Noir with Hoffman & Rathbone producing a beautiful Blanc De Blanc. While produced a lot less, you may even find a Millésime or Demi-sec floating around too. 

Finally, one of the biggest misconceptions is that English sparkling wines are too expensive when in actual fact they can hold a similar value to champagne. Not only do the entry level English sparkling wines retail at around £25, their quality rivals that of even established champagne houses.

Well, there you have it, the next time you’re looking for a bottle to celebrate or quite simply want a great glass of bubbles, give your native English sparkle a try!

Try These English Sparkles:

Black Chalk classic 2017, £38.99 from Vivino
Chapel Down Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2015, £100 from The English Wine Collection
Gusbourne Rose Brut 2016, £48 from Vivino
Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2018, £33.50 from Vivino
Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée, £30 from Waitrose
Hambledon Vineyard Premiere Cuvée Brut, £45 from Waitrose
Hoffman & Rathbone Blanc de Blanc 2012, £52 from Hoffman & Rathbone
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Blanc de Noirs 2018, £40 Balfour Winery
Lyme Bay Brut Rose NV, £30 from Lyme Bay
Nyetimber 1086 Prestige Cuvée, usually £150 from Nyetimber
Rathfinny Blanc de Noir 2016, £34.50 from The Champagne Company
Ridgeview Bloomsbury NV, £22.49 (on offer) from Waitrose
Wiston Estate Cuvée 2015, £35 from Hennings Wines
Wiston Rose Brut, £28 from Waitrose

For more English sparkling wine recommendations, take a look at English Sparkling Wine to Celebrate the Jubilee or Your Wine Travel Guide to Kent.

The Most Luxurious Whisky in the World

Words by Colin Hampden-White

There are a lot of very expensive bottles of whisky on the market these days. Although nearly all of it is good, as one would expect, there are some that are extraordinary. Over the last few months, I have come across a few of those bottles and wanted to share them with you here. A lot of them may not be on the market, so will have to be found at auction, but they are all worth hunting down if you have quite a lot more to spend on a bottle or have a special occasion when splashing out is appropriate. I’ll start off in the hundreds to give a couple of more affordable bottles but will end up in the thousands. At whatever price point you’re looking at they are all incredible whiskies.

Bushmills 2000 The Causeway Collection

This comes from a collection of vintage Bushmills and is my favourite dram outside of Scotland this year so far. This one was completely matured in first fill ruby Port casks and bottled in 2021. It was also bottled at cask strength with no colouring or chill filtering allowing the whisky to express itself without any hindrance. This is a decadent whiskey with lots of jam on the nose with some dry tobacco and rich manuka honey. The palate has lots of confected red fruits and the jam then turns to marmalade. There are hints of tropical fruit in the background too. The finish is very long, and the red fruits continue with a little cigar and spice in the background.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 54.1%
Find here: £239.95

Whistlepig 13 The Boss Hog edition 2018

My favourite whiskey I’ve tasted in the North Americas this year has been This Boss Hog. It is an annual release from Whistlepig and is very sought after by those who like rye whiskey. This expression has been finished in Calvados casks making the 2018 edition stand out. The core flavour of the whiskey is apples, and the Calvados casks bring out the cooked apple flavours balancing the fresh red apple. Other flavours include Maple syrup, bitter chocolate, and spice. The typical rye peppery and oily aromas and flavours are still there so the rye fans aren’t going to be disappointed, but the fruit is rich and complex making this one of the best Whistlepig whiskies I’ve tried.

Size: UK 750ml // US 700ml  
ABV: 57.9%
Find here: UK £574.95 // US $1,199.99

Caperdonich 30 Secret Speyside Collection

We now come into the world of Scotch, and this is a rare whisky which I think is undervalued considering the distillery no longer exists, so as time goes on there is less and less Caperdonich in the world. This 30 year old is an unpeated Caperdonich and was matured in first fill bourbon casks which I think allow the whisky to show itself at its best. The nose gives of dark stone fruit aromas as well as dark honey and some confected orchard fruits leading to rich apricots and tropical fruits on the palate and some spice. The finish is very smooth and goes on for a long while.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 51.1%
Find here: £820

Balvenie 30

The Balvenie 30 is released in batches. Once one batch has run out, they find some more exceptional casks to blend another batch. The one I tasted recently and is in the link below is from 2014. All the releases are very consistent, and I’ve never tasted one that hasn’t been brilliant. This won best Speyside Single Malt at the World Whisky Awards, and Gold Outstanding at the IWSC in 2013, both of which I am a judge on. It is a rich and very well-balanced whisky with lots of heather honey and nuttiness. There is plenty of spice, which is a Balvenie trait, and the palate shows a hint of smoke as well as vanilla, honey and damp tobacco leaves.

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 44.2%
Find here: UK £1800 // US $1999.99

Mosstowie 45 Year Old 1973 Cask 7622

Mosstowie was a whisky produced for a short time at the Miltonduff distillery when it had a Lomond still, so effectively is a ghost whisky never to return. Bottled by Signatory this is a great expression. It has lots of sweet honey and some gorse flower aromas leading to a grassy style of whisky on the palate but still retaining soft stone fruits at its core. The finish is fine with woody notes and a little citrus. A refined whisky which has held its abv well over the 45 years it has spent in a cask. Only 410 bottles of this were produced and when it’s gone it’s gone.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 51.6%
Find here: £1494.99 

Dallas Dhu 50 Year old 1969 (Gordon and MacPhail)

This is possibly the most astonishing whisky I have tasted over the last year. It is incredibly rich and complex, yet the tannin is so well balanced the whisky remains smooth with a great mouth feel and weight to it. The distillery closed in 1983 so Dallas Dhu is becoming rarer and rarer. This expression was matured in a refill sherry hogshead and only yielded 176 bottles when Gordon and MacPhail bottled it in 2019. My tasting notes for this were very long and as I left the whisky in the glass more and more aromas and flavours developed. The main ones being fruit cake with all the complexity that cake as, zesty orange and ginger spice, marzipan and toffee apples mix with a tiny bit of smoke. The tannins slowly build up bringing in wood flavours, and by the finish coffee, chocolate and heather flowers can be found.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 43.1%
Find here: £6,913.72

Strathisla 65 Year Old 1953 (Gordon and MacPhail)

Another release from the oldest independent bottler in the world, Gordon and MacPhail. Gordon and MacPhail are well known for releasing very well aged whisky, and with this release they have excelled themselves. Matured in a first fill sherry butt and bottled in 2019 there were only 143 bottled produced. There are lots of dried fruits and sherry aromas and flavours all the way through this whisky with older flavours like antique furniture polish and cloves and pencil box aromas. The palate opens with berry flavours and complex spices and dark chocolate. Fruity coffee, dark berries and oak make up the finish with a little cigar box in the background.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 43.5%
Find here: £12,500

Glenfarclas Family Cask Trunk

For any Glenfarclas fan, this is the ultimate collection and at the time of writing of the 60 made I found one left. I wish I could say I have tasted the entire collection from 1954 to 2003, but I haven’t, I have however tasted enough of them to experience the huge range of flavours, from delicate, fruity drams matured in a refill bourbon cask, like 1979 to massive sherry bombs with lots of tannin that are almost black in colour like 1971. Within the collection, there is just about every flavour imaginable, and even touches of smoke in some of the older expressions. The trunk comes with other accoutrements, such as a replica of the oldest painting of the distillery, the original, from 1791 hangs at the distillery, four coasters and three hand-painted leather-bound books which give tasting notes and distillery history. There are also four tumblers and four nosing glasses, and a water jug made by Glencairn Crystal. All in all, a marvellous collection which can be enjoyed over many World Whisky Days to come.

Size: 10000ml
ABV: 50.5%
Find here: £105,000

If you enjoyed this but are looking for an exceptional dram at a lower price point, have a read of The World’s Best Whisky or New and Exciting Whiskies to Try.