YAG Tasting #2 – Premium Gins

YetAnotherGin Tasting #2

Recently the second YetAnotherGin tasting took place, details of the first, this time the focus was on premium gins. As before this was a blind tasting, the people who came to taste had no idea which gin was which, all they knew is that the gin was likely to be on the table shown above. [...]

Sipsmith, release a Sloe Gin

Sipsmith Logo

Buy Now: Sipsmith Sloe Gin, 29%, 500ml
Sipsmith, a lovely Gin distillery that I have known of for a while (and got to taste their Gin & Vodka at Imbibe), who seem to be doing lovely things.

The other day, they mentioned through their twitter (@SipsmithSam) that they were just about to release their Sloe gin. It looks like this was made late last year, if this is part of the batch that is softly mentioned on their website in their news:

The London Cocktail Society

You may have heard the rumours, the London Cocktail Society is up an running. The first meeting took place on the 4th August, and I hear it was a rather sedate (or not) affair. So what is it all about? Well if the name does not give it away, it’s a society of fellow cocktail [...]

UK Cocktail Bloggers

Cocktails With A View

Lately I’ve been looking over the drink blogs I read, the Twitter people I follow and wondering where all those great UK cocktail bloggers are hiding?

I know of a ton of wine, beer and food bloggers, but not many that discuss cocktails – whether it’s cocktail bar reviews, explorations through drink or the latest news. I’m sure there must be a ton of folks out there, that I’m just not aware of.

Imbibe – The Gin Edition

Imbibe Entrance

OK, It’s a few weeks later and hopefully everyone who attended Imbibe is now fully alive. A friend asked me whether it was like any other trade show. In essence yes, except amongst the corridors of stands in an exhibition hall there was a plethora of drinks on offer.

Being a ‘Gin Blog’ we certainly worked hard at giving the different brands a tasting, it was nice to be able to meet the people behind the brands and also to have a chat about their plans, and how they perceive the Gin market. Of course we also tasted a lot of other things, including some Rums, Cognac, Vodka, Tequila, Beer and Wine [oh and a Jagerbomb].

Tiki Research – Piña Colada

Pina Colada

A great piece of writing from the folks at Painkiller, NYC. Looking into the history, and background of the Piña Colada.

Over the past 30 years, the Piña Colada has been relegated to a dismal life of careless preparation using pre-packaged artificial mixes and low quality spirits. Many establishments have settled for simply churning out frozen “cocktails” en masse from poorly calibrated machines. For the majority of the cocktail world, the art of frozen drink making has been rendered moot—hence the modern bartender’s reluctance to embrace the blender as a valuable tool behind their bar.

The pairing of rum, pineapple, and cream of coconut in a cocktail has proven to be a formidable marriage. During our initial research into the world of Tiki and frozen cocktails, we chose to embark on a trip that would take us to many of the most venerated outposts of tropical bar culture around the world…

Read on at the Painkiller Research Blog