Blackbook Winery

Battersea was not the first place that sprung to mind when we heard about an exciting new winery at The Amazing Blog. However, that is precisely what Sergio Verillo and his wife Lynsey have done, underneath one of the many railway arches in the area, lining the commuter routes into London. Working with a select group of English vineyards, based in East Anglia, Essex and Oxfordshire, this entrepreneurial couple have introduced a range of wines of superior quality … but don’t just take our word for it - ‘Chez Bruce’ in Wandsworth is just one of the Michelin starred restaurants to carry their bottles of magic. 

Blackbook is part of a dynamic and growing wine scene in London. Urban wineries are fast becoming commonplace in major cities around the world. An urban winery sources its grapes from a variety of growers, and produces all wine on its site. Blackbook source their grapes from carefully selected English growers, in order to produce still and sparkling single vineyard English wines. Although their concentration is on pinot noir and chardonnay, they include some additional varietals each year. Blackbook follows a traditional winemaking approach with low sulphur wines, and indigenous ferments as a means to preserve the varietal character.

Blackbook’s inaugural wine was a 2017 English Rosé, made from pinot noir grapes from Clayhill Vineyard in Essex. This was awarded a silver medal at the Drinks Business Global Rosé Masters, and is now listed within a number of high end wine bars and restaurants across London. Following hot on the heels of the Rosé, comes a 2017 Pinot Noir, and a 2017 Chardonnay - all of which stem from the soil in our very own country. Nurtured by the micro climate which East Anglia enjoys, this is particularly good for the high sugar content in the Pinot Noir and Bacchus grapes, and similarly, the sandy loam soils of Oxfordshire are ideal for sourcing theur Seyval Blanc.

Sergio and Lynsey are justifiably proud of Blackbook, and are allowing us all the chance to go along and find out more from the founders themselves. They are currently running winery tours twice weekly: Wednesdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 4pm. The tour lasts for an hour and costs just £15 per person; all aspects of the wine making process are covered by Sergio himself, and each guest receives an exclusive ‘Cellar Door Discount’ on the wines available. Gift vouchers can also be purchased, and redeemed against any available date through their shop here.

The Blackbook wines are also available online with the 2017 Rosé priced at £17.50, and both the 2017 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at £18.50 each. For further details, contact Blackbook directly - understandably all visits are by appointment. You’ll find them located at the following address: Blackbook Winery - Arch 41, London Stone Business Estate, London, SW8 3QR, and the nearest station is Queenstown Road. Enjoy!

Drinks in Tube

The drinks trolley trend has been on the rise for some time now, and when we at The Amazing Blog are hosting a dinner party or a get-together we love to have this as our centre piece. As any cocktail lovers will know, having a variety of spirits on tap can be quite pricey; and the last thing we want to do is break the bank, with all our inventive and one-off cocktails. So when we received both the Masons Gin Tasting Sets and The Spirit Adventure from the brilliant creators at Drinks In Tube, it certainly put our bartending skills to the test making new tantalising tipples. The Hampshire-based team at Drinks In Tube started to curate their own sets of wines and spirits in unique glass tubes in 2015. They wanted to share their passion, knowledge and love for the finest drinks that they could find, all at an affordable price. Discovering new and unique spirits and wines has never been easier, more affordable or quite such fun as this.

The first box we opened was the Masons Gin Tasting Set. This set comes with four 50ml tubes of various unique gins at 42% ABV and we simply couldn’t wait to get mixing. Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin was set up by the husband and wife team, Karl and Cathy Mason who have since won Gold Medals at The Gin Masters. The first gin up is their Classic Dry Gin, which boasts full fennel and green apple flavours that are perfectly balanced with a citrus infusion, which left our mouths simply watering for more. Next up is the Masons Tea Edition, which we felt calling our name from the beginning. We found that this gin balances the robust tea flavour with herbal, citrus and spice notes for a wonderfully full and aromatic gin that satisfies our daily dose of tea (and has to be our favourite). After this, we drank the Lavender Edition for a fun twist to our classic gin and tonic. The soft and sweet lavender notes really hit every spot as we quickly sipped away. Lastly, we mixed up some tonic with the Sloe Distilled Limited Edition. Rather than infused with the sloe berries, this gin has been distilled with them, which created quite an unexpected twist, especially when garnished with a touch of fresh strawberries and mint; our mouths water simply thinking about it. We think this set is the perfect gift for the gin lover in your life or even just as a little way to treat yourself. With each tube being 50ml it makes it very portable and also perfect for a quick 'snifter' at picnics or point-to-points!

The Spirit Adventure set definitely took us on a delectable journey. This one comes with three 50ml spirits: Butterscotch Vodka (37.5% abv), the Philippe de Castaigne Cognac (40% abv), and the Masons Yorkshire Gin from the last set. We took their recommendation to the next level with the Butterscotch vodka and added it to a milkshake and it was a hit with everyone. The creamy flavour of the vodka really took our milkshake to the next level (!) And last but not least, we treated ourselves to the Cognac. This one is carefully aged in oak barrels for at least 4 years and has wonderful notes of vanilla, walnut and hazelnut that warmed us right up on a chilly night. This one is perfect as a gift for those who like a little taste of everything.

And last but not least for all the wine lovers out there, Drinks In Tube have recently launched their wine tasting subscription service. In summary, this service will include five 100ml servings of wines from around the world, delivered to your door each month. The sleek box also comes with a tasting card to guide you on your journey each month. It is available for 3, 6 & 12 months here. The Masons Gin Tasting Set can be purchased here for £24.99 and The Spirit Adventure can be purchased here for £19.99. We say "Cheers" to discovering new favourites!

Friday Favourites Irish Alcohol

We at The Amazing Blog were lucky enough to be guests of Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), at their Spirit of Sharing event at the Irish Consulate earlier this year. Bord Bia brought together 20 Irish drinks companies to introduce them to the UK market, and we have picked an initial few here of our favourites that we discovered (we'll be featuring a few more later in the summer for you to read about). It is no secret that Ireland is renowned for its quality alcoholic drinks - from Cider to Whiskey to Irish Cream, and Bord Bia presented some drinks that are truly authentic in quality, history and flavour. 

For all you who want lower alcohol content without compromising on taste then do we have the perfect drink for you; Finnbarra's Tobairín. This cider is crisp and light, ideal for a mid-day drink with lunch in the hot sunshine. Despite being just 1.5%abv the cider’s complexity and character doesn't suffer in any way. Light in colour, the drink has a distinguished ‘nose’ and a smoothness which is in part due to the naturally cultured champagne yeast included in the recipe. 

The apples in the cider are meticulously selected and are grown elsewhere in Ireland as the distillery is located by the sea which is not good for the growth of apples. This careful selection process helps the cider remain crisp and pristine.  Everything about this drink has been carefully selected, including the name. Tobar means “well” (as in wishing well) and “ín” means small or light, coming together as Tobairín. 

So, if you are looking for a low alcohol, refreshing and almost champagne-like tasting beverage, then this is the one for you. 

As Finnbarra is currently looking for a distributor if you would like more information on pricing or to find your local stockist you can contact them at info@finnbarra.com

Another cider from Finnbarra has made it onto our list, and it’s Stonewell Tawny. If you enjoy a more opulent and rich cider, you should look no further than this delightfully dark drink. This viscous cider possesses a blend of complex bittersweet flavours that is deliciously moreish. The cider is created by chaptalizing the blends of Michelin and Dabinett apple juice while it ferments. Once the fermentation is complete, and the alcohol content reaches 15% Stonewell arrest the fermentation. This leaves residual sugars which encourage the developments of the cider's highly complex flavours to flourish during the minimum 12-month ageing process. 

The Tawny cider is produced in incredibly small quantities, around 3000 litres a year. Each bottle is sealed with food grade beeswax and an individual label identifying the bottle number.  This is a still cider and perfect for a leisurely picnic in the sun, as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to cheese or desserts. This cider reminded us a little of Calvados.

As Finnbarra/Stonewell is currently looking for a distributor, should you want more information on pricing information, or to find your local stockist you can contact them at info@finnbarra.com

Now,  when one thinks about Irish alcohol, Irish Cream is always one of the first to come to mind, and for us, Feeney’s Irish Cream is a really good example. Feeney’s know that to create the freshest and richest tasting Irish Cream you need to look after and nurture the cows being milked. It is this belief that has given their products the high-quality taste and has helped them win award after award; including a 2015 Platinum Sip Award and a 2015 Great Taste Award.

The cream produced by these pampered cows is then combined with a fine three-year-old barrel aged Irish whiskey. All of this careful selection leads to a scrumptious product where every sip tastes sweet, creamy and indulgent. This is delicious on its own, but our favourite way to enjoy Feeney's is to pour some over a bowl of vanilla ice cream!

Trust us, you cannot go wrong with this drink and you can purchase it here from Tesco for £15.50

For those of you looking for a delicious, traditional and aged whiskey then we recommend you try Hyde. Made in County Cork on the wild Atlantic Southwest Coast of Ireland, Hyde is producing some beautiful smooth Irish Whiskeys using traditional old age craft techniques. The family have been involved in the drinks business for over 12 generations since 1640, so you know that when they say they use traditional methods, you know that they truly do. 

Originally distilled in a traditional copper pot still, Hyde Irish Whiskey is double matured. We particularly love the Sherry Finish, which is a single malt aged in flame-charred, first fill, 200l oak bourbon barrel (giving a sweet vanilla flavour), before being transferred to a vintage Oloroso sherry cask for the final ten months. The sherry casks add a nutty, spice and dried fruit flavour to the last dram. The barrels and casks chosen are significant; as they put it, it’s all about the wood! Named after Ireland's first President, Douglas Hyde, the whiskey has an exceptional quality befitting its presidential namesake. Made in small, handcrafted and limited batches each sip of Hyde whiskey is filled with character. 

You can purchase a bottle for yourself here for £50.88
 

And Finally, but by no means least, for all of you honey whiskey fans out there is The Dubliner’s Honeycomb Whiskey. The Dubliner Whiskey and Honeycomb is a delicious blend of welcoming Irish Whiskey and honeycomb and caramel flavours, which have a smooth and easy finish. The Dubliner’s value the importance of the ingredients that are in their whiskeys, as such they use only the best ingredients in their products. As they say, “only the best goes in, no exceptions, no substitutions.” 

This whiskey was created by John Drennan and is one to savour and share. We guarantee you will want more, as the warm whiskey tones blended with the soft sweet honeycomb and caramel are incredibly potent!

You can purchase a bottle to share with friends here for £19.95

All of these brands are wonderfully authentic and have created some truly delicious and refreshing products for you to enjoy. We guarantee that all of them will help bring an added sparkle and Irish flavour to your next summer event! So what are you waiting for, purchase yourself and your friends a bottle or two now. 

Irish Cream Liqueur - Coole Swan

The holiday season may be over but here at the Amazing Blog we are carrying on the festivities with a few glasses of Coole Swan. It is a unique cream liqueur that blends Irish Single Malt Whiskey, Fresh Irish Cream and White Belgian Chocolate. This is a very special combination indeed and certainly not just your run-of-the-mill whisky and cream liqueur. The result is a luxuriously smooth and original taste that frankly we cannot get enough of.

Coming from a long line of farmers, the founders of Coole Swan set out to create the finest tasting liqueur using fresh cream produced on their own farm at Tatestown, County Meath. The brand pride themselves on gathering the highest quality ingredients from the most trusted of sources. Coole Swan draws a line between traditional Irish drinks and a modern twist - producing a flavour that is silky, smooth and delicious.

We highly recommend visiting their website to try out some of the suggested recipes that they have created. We made the dessert Coole Swan Tiramisu and a few of the cocktails like the Perfect White Russian and minty The Green Avenue both guaranteed to get the party started!

We loved the elegant and beautiful trademark packaging that comes with the product, and it would make a fantastic gift or party staple. Served best in a frosted glass of ice, you will love the experience of Coole Swan's rich scent and nutty tones, enhanced by the triple distilled Irish Malt Whiskey.

 Coole Swan is just too good to be missed - buy it here from £6.73 to £29.00.

LOVO Coconut Vodka

We’re about to tell you something that’s hard to believe. The Amazing Blog is just going crazy with healthy vodka! All possible if the drink is from LOVO.

Everybody knows that vodka is the lowest calorie spirit and this already sounds just right; but what happens when vodka and coconut water meet? Starting from this idea, Lovo launched a new, health conscious way of drinking.

How many times have you given up that extra drink because the sugar intake would have been too much? You won’t need to worry about that anymore, as the Lovo coconut vodka contains the right amount of spirit along with all the natural elements from Thai coconut water.
Once we’ve opened the bottle, we’ve been hugged by a sweet and sparkling wave. Bubbles everywhere, it looked like a party! And we are so glad that all the sugary taste only comes from natural grape sugar.
Creating a sparkling mix of ingredients good for your body, leaving space for a little indulgent moment, we think this is the best idea ever.

To drink Lovo vodka at its best, serve in a glass full of ice and Lovo right out of the freezer and garnish with a wedge of lime. Gain your happy life; buy Lovo Coconut Vodka here for £2.95.