Christmas Special - Drinks

At this festive time of year there’s nothing better than cracking open a bottle of the good stuff with family and friends. Here at The Amazing Blog we love nothing more than a cold glass of Baileys in the evening, or warming mulled wine, but we wanted to go on the search for some fun alternative Christmas drinks. These were the ones that came out on top.

Firstly we moved away from traditional festive beverages, to introduce Juniper Green Organic Gin. This is a refreshing and versatile spirit to give you a break from all the rich and heavy foods that we will no doubt consume too much of.

The strong yet smooth spirit is perfect for a delicious, crisp gin and tonic, but also allows for some creativity. We loved trying it out in Cocktail recipes, one named Strawberry Basiltini combined the gin with strawberries, syrup, lemon juice and basil. If you prefer a burst of citrus, add some lime or grapefruit juice to the gin with crushed ice. It was so refreshing to try new flavour combinations and a fun festive activity with our friends. If you want to get your hands on a not so traditional Christmas drink, Juniper Green Gin is available here for £16.90.

Next, we have a drink that will get every chocolate-lover excited. Rubis have created a Chocolate Wine. That’s right, combining two divine flavours to enjoy at once. This incredibly indulgent wine is the ultimate Christmas treat, blending tempranillo wine and rich chocolate that contains hints of cherry and red fruit. The flavour combination is typical of Christmas, it could be enjoyed as a light dessert or reserved for those special occasions. We couldn’t get enough of this beautifully rich and fragrant wine, it was truly delicious and luxurious.

We found it could be enjoyed best when chilled over ice, but it can also be served at room temperature. If you want to pull out all of the stops this Christmas, treat your guests to this ultimate chocolate experience, Rubis Chocolate Wine is available here for only £13.

Not quite chocolatey enough for you? Maybe try out the delicious Chocolate Rum Liqueur from Demijohn .

Distinctly unique, and perfect for chocolate and rum lovers alike (all the better if you love both!), this delicious blend of cacao and Golden Caribbean Rum is the perfect digestif, or even nightcap come Christmas Eve. Not as sickly sweet as some chocolate drinks, it certainly warmed us up.  Certainly a more adult way to enjoy a chocolate treat at Christmas, we’d be happy to see this delicious beverage in our stocking. Grab a custom bottle here , with prices starting from £4.92 for 40ml.

For something a little fruity, British Cassis is the ideal candidate this Christmas. This is a highly versatile alcoholic fruit mixer can be combined with our favourite spirit;, white wine, and Champagne. The mixer is inspired by the French liqueur, but given a modern British twist by using the blackcurrant crop. We thought it made a decadent after-dinner drink to provide some fruity refreshment after the heaviness of a meal. It added excitement to the dullest of spirits, sweetening up the bitterness of vodka, and contrasting the sharpness of gin. Our favourite combination was without a doubt British Cassis and Champagne, it created the most fragrant, luxurious and sweet sparkling beverage.

Get fruity this Christmas with your own British Cassis, available here for £15.

Lastly, Christmas isn’t the same without a warming, spiced beverage. Friary Liqueurs have created a delicious and fitting Christmas Liqueur, combining honey, French brandy and Christmas Spices. I can almost feel the liquid warming my belly just thinking about it. Best served warmed in a brandy glass, this festive drink makes a perfect evening tipple accompanied by a mince pie or two.

The fragrant liqueur sparks memories of Christmas’ past and present, the spices encompass everything we would associate with this time of year. If you want to enjoy a more traditional Christmas beverage, Christmas Liqueurs is the one for you. It’s available here for only £15.  

Friday Favourites - Easter Holidays

With Easter weekend finally upon us, most of us excited for the celebrations ahead! However, for those who have left things a little late, or even those who just want to try something a bit different this year, there’s still time to go out and grab some more Easter treats! We here at The Amazing Blog have found some Easter-themed gifts to help you impress your friends and loved ones during this Spring holiday.Lush never fails to deliver quirky gift ideas for the holidays, and they certainly haven’t let us down this year with their creative selection of Easter cosmetics. This season, they are offering an array of ‘Egg-ceptional’ Easter themed handmade products, including bath melts and bubble bars in the shape of eggs and carrots! Made from fair trade and organic ingredients, Lush’s Easter cosmetics include a Golden Egg Bath Bomb, Bunny Bubble Bar, Carrot Soap, and Brightside Bubble Bar just to name a few. If, like us, you are struggling to choose from the wonderful selection of products on offer, Lush are also offering the Funny Bunny Rabitty Wrap – an organic cotton knot-wrap containing four of the most popular limited edition Easter cosmetics. Because the Easter Bunny is packaged by hand, the selection of goodies inside each wrap is different!  However, if a gift you are planning is one item short of complete, the holiday products are available to buy individually for very reasonable prices! Find the Egg-cellent collection here. To add some chocolate with a twist to your Easter celebration, Demijohn has created a Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur.  This alcoholic chocolate is the adult version of a creamy dark Easter Egg, and the addition of Devonshire Cream, Apple Brandy and Orange Zest make this the perfect springtime tipple.  The thick and creamy liqueur would be a great option for those Easter family gatherings; something for adults to enjoy as the children tuck into their Easter treats.  Demijohn recommends serving the Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur directly from the refrigerator and over ice for the best taste. Be the life of the party this Easter and present your family and friends with a 500ml bottle of Demijohn Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur, available here for £24.60 (500ml). You may have noticed our attempt to stray from the typical Easter gift, but who are we to keep your loved ones from indulging in chocolate this Easter?  Charbonnel et Walker offer a new twist to the traditional chocolate egg with their Pink Marc de Champagne Truffle Easter Egg.  Combining their finest milk chocolate with their best selling Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles, this treat is so much more luxurious than your typical Easter Egg.  Housed in a pastel coloured window box with a pink ribbon tied around it, this delicious Easter Egg would make the perfect gift any loved one. It can be purchased here for £35, along with a selection of other delicious chocolate creations, including a Dark Chocolate and English Rose Easter Egg.

Feel like doing something different this Easter? Horniman Museum and Gardens, with their Easter Fair, could be the perfect option if you are looking for activities that are fun, yet educational. Take part in the Easter Egg Hunt, learn more about the rabbits that live in the Animal Walk and enjoy some live country music. If you fancy a bite, you can head towards the food stalls, where you will find a selection of tasty treats; whether you fancy pizza or some Austrian specialities, you will definitely find the perfect nibble to satisfy your taste buds. The Easter Fair takes place on Saturday and Sunday, from 10.30 am until 4.30 pm, and you can find the detailed program here . Finally, what would Easter be without an Easter Bunny? Demarquette offers beautifully hand painted Easter Rabbits in dark chocolate and milk chocolate to complete your traditional Easter gifts. The dark chocolate bunny is made from Demarquette’s award winning CacaoLux blend of chocolates from The Dominican Republic and Ecuador, while the milk chocolate bunny features chocolates from Venezuela and Madagascar. Each bunny is hand painted with bright spring colours, making it unique with it’s own colourful pattern. Demarquette Easter Rabbits are available here for only £5.50. Demarquette also has a lovely selection of chocolate bars and truffles if you are still craving sweets after the holiday is over!

Friday Favourites - Christmas Alcohol

The end of November has arrived and the festive season is upon us. Glittery decorations are taking over the streets and various Santa Claus impersonators can be spotted walking around your local town. We have put together some of our favourite Christmassy alcohol treats so that everyone can enjoy them this month. We girls at The Amazing Blog won't deny that we do like to indulge in various flavoursome alcoholic beverages at Christmas so have some exciting drinks to tell you about. We have treats from BrewDog, Ophir, Baileys, Stoli,  Dows, and Demijohn.

First up on our alcohol likes this month is BrewDog, and their Watt Dickie. This is available in BrewDog Bars and Ales By Mail. Described as a ‘liquid science fiction’, this is definitely an interesting new beverage worth paying attention to. It’s also a great gift for any friends with an interest in weird and wonderful inventions. This is a faux spirit, originating as an India Pale Ale. Watt Dickie has undergone a secret transformation, turning into an abundance of extravagant and unusual flavours. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the Watt Dickie, be it as a spirit or blended into a mysterious cocktail. Christmas is filled with resolution and promise, we often tell ourselves to try new things and become a ‘yes man’ for a bit. Don’t be afraid of this curious drink this Christmas, you may be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

The Ophir Oriental Spiced Gin is one of the most Christmassy sounding drinks we have in our collection. The spice in the gin induces an immediate excitement for Christmas as all the smells remind you of those that come out this time of year. I find it inspires a sense of nostalgia, thinking about parties and previous Christmas festivities. The bottle is great for display with its oriental design, there are no holiday season restrictions with this drink as the smell, taste and design are perfect for holidays throughout the year. This is one of our favourite bottles as you want it on your shelf so that its displayed for the world to see. The gin encorporates flavours from around the globe to add something a bit different to this December. Why not welcome in the New Year by treating your tastebuds to a flavour inspired by global spices. This drink is great for cocktails and showing off at those Christmas parties you've fallen into hosting. You can buy the gin in Harvey Nichols for £30.

Now, Baileys is a household treat at Christmas for a lot of you I’m sure, but what about Chocolate Baileys? This beauty is the new addition to the family. Luckily, it doesn’t wander away from Baileys established ingredients, because that is after all, what we love about the brand. It merely blends an additional complimentary ingredient that we Brits just can’t seem to get enough of this time of the year, Chocolate. Irish Whiskey, Cream and Chocolate, is there really anything not to enjoy about that perfect union of flavours?  Lead scientist Anthony Wilson has travelled the world to discover the finest chocolates, as Baileys deserves only the finest of ingredients of course. You can buy this drink at all your local big supermarkets and prices start from as little as £15.

Something a little different but just as sweet is the Stoli Salted Karamel Vodka. This is a great drink for making creative and flavoursome blends and ideal for impressing your friends and family at parties. The sweet and savoury mix makes it a very enjoyable treat. A gorgeous combination of sweet caramelised sugar and English toffee, levelled out with a light saltines. Delicious! It's always nice to have a more interesting drink at Christmas because the bog standard choices are available to you all year which makes them a bit dull. This Salted Karamel Vodka would make a great little extra to your chocolate selection whilst you're playing charades after that big roast dinner. You can find this vodka for around £20 and from many online stockists so have a read on Stoli to find out more.

Now for something which may appeal more to mature taste buds, Dows Port. The name Dow has been associated with the finest ports for over 200 years. They have a stunning collection of Port including a selection of luxury vintage ports. Along with this they have also won two of the most prestigious wine competitions around and this is due to the company’s genuine passion for creating excellent tastes. You can visit Dows website to read about the wine and the family history which just adds heritage and more interest to the brand. The inspirational journey surrounding the development of these ports is told here where you can also browse their variety of products.

Last but not least is a drink that comes in an attractive and unique bottle which is further complimented by the exciting and modern liquor flavouring. It’s the DemiJohn Brandy Tower, in which you can choose from a delightful selection of liquors. We have been spoilt with Butterscotch Cream, Apricot Brandy, and Somerset Pomona. The blend of different colours stacked upon one another is very stylish and creates a beautiful display piece for your home this Christmas. This alcohol would definitely be a conversation starter for dinners and parties this month.  The choice of liquors means that you can fill the tower with flavours to suit the whole family. There’s nothing to fault as this alcohol both looks and tastes great so is a welcomed addition to the drinks cabinet. We might as well treat ourselves this year to an alcohol tower tailored specifically to our likes, right? If you visit the DemiJohn website, you can explore the different mixtures and create your own invention for the brandy tower.