Author Archives: Kesh

Festive Cocktail Ideas : Greenall’s Sloe Gin Edition

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Take it Sloe Toddy

Every week until Christmas we have teamed up with some fabulous drinks brands to bring you some wonderful festive cocktail ideas. This year Greenall’s have launched a new Sloe Gin recipe combining the eight botanicals which make up the Original Greenall’s with rich sloe berries to create the perfect warming winter tipple.

Greenall’s Take it Sloe Toddy

Best enjoyed by a roaring fire

Ingredients:
50ml Greenell’s Sloe Gin

100ml Cloudy Apple Juice

50ml Orange Juice

Cinnamon Stick

2 Cloves

Method:
Pour Sloe Gin into a toddy glass. Warm juices gently with the cinnamon and cloves for 5/6 mins until infused. Pour the warm liquid into the Greenall’s Sloe Gin. Garnish with orange wheel and cinnamon stick.

Greenall’s 1761 Royale

Perfect for dazzling your party guests

Ingredients:
25ml Greenall’s Sloe Gin

50ml Prosecco

Blackberry to Garnish

Sprig of Rosemary

Method:
Pour Sparkling Wine over ice into a coupe glass. Lightly bruise rosemary then drop into glass. Slowly pour Greenall’s Sloe Gin so it sinks to the bottom.

Greenall’s Sloe Thyme

A refreshing tipple

Ingredients:
50ml Greenall’s Sloe Gin

150ml Cloudy lemonade

Sprig Thyme

Lemon Slice

Method:
Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in Greenall’s Sloe Gin. Slowly pour in cloudy lemonade or lemon tonic. Garnish with a sprig of thyme and a lemon slice.

Greenall’s Sloe Gin
New recipe Greenall’s Sloe Gin will be available to customers in the UK through Amazon from November
R.R.P £18

Christmas Cocktail Ideas

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If you’re planning on staying in this weekend why not gather some friends round, take out your cocktail shaker and try our simple Christmas cocktail ideas inspired by cocktail classics.

Chocolat Luxe Gold

Made with: Baileys Chocolat Luxe
Inspired by: The White Russian
Perfect for: After Dinner.

We love this indulgent and silky dark chocolate version of Baileys

Ingredients:
30ml Baileys Chocolat Luxe


70ml Hazelnut milk

Gold edible colouring and edible gold leaf

0.5 units per serve

Method:
Shake in a cocktail shaker and fine strain into the glass.

Finish by garnishing a simple sheet of edible gold leaf.

If you’re feeling fancy, pre-dip a raspberry in edible gold colouring to add an extra touch of glam.

Gordon’s Pink Spritz

Made with: Gordon’s Pink Gin
Inspired by: Wine Spritzer
Perfect for: Cocktail Reception

The Gordon Pink Gin has a natural sweetness from infused strawberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:
50ml Gordon’s Pink Gin


50ml lemonade


25ml Prosecco


Garnish of cranberries and pomegranate

2.1 units per serve

Method:
Fill a prosecco glass with ice and add everything together

Garnish with pomegranate and cranberries.

The Fragrance Shop launch scentaddict

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Finally, a fragrance lovers subscription box you have complete control over. Just in time for Christmas, The Fragrance Shop have unveiled their latest launch scentaddict. Scentaddict gives customers the chance to experience their favourite scents every single month, this is the cleverest of fragrance gifts. Each month a handy 8ml atomiser is filled with your choice of fragrance selected online or in store at The Fragrance Shop. Yes Ladies and Gents, you can have a rolling supply of Chanel if you like. With 8ml to fill which is approximately 100 sprays, you’ve enough time to decide whether or not you want a fragrance update or continue filling with a fragrance you love. What’s more, each time you refill, you can redeem the cost of the subscription against a full size bottle of the fragrance you choose to put in your atomiser that month. The refill fits inside a ‘twist and spritz’ casing which comes in 18 different colours and can also be used with any of your own fragrances making it perfect for handbags and travel carry-ons.

The subscription is priced at £12 per month with P&P included and can be cancelled at any point with no minimum contract. We gave scentaddict a go and it’s ideal for anyone who doesn’t want to fork out big bucks for a high end fragrance, if you just love to try anything and everything and if you’re unsure whether your spouse, nanny, uncle or colleague will like your choice of fragrance. Allowing them to pick for themselves is always a winner.

To find out more and to sign up, visit;

https://www.scentaddict.com

Juice Burst Launch Fruit & Veg Range

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Juice Burst are determined to stay at the top of their juice game and we think their revamped juices are a hit. With both fruit and veg in their newly launched flavours, Juice Burst have also made sure that the reformed flavours contain No added sugar, flavours and sweeteners.

Strawberry and Beetroot is a hit and perfect for a pre-workout drink. With beetroot containing properties which open up blood vessels and packed full of antioxidants, this is the perfect purple pick-me-up.

Apple and Cucumber is perfectly refreshing served over ice and an excellent source of fibre.


Our favourite flavour comes in the form of a perfectly autumnal shade. Orange and Carrot is just the tonic you need to get through the colder months. With a huge blast of Vitamin C, beta-carotene to boost the immune system and Vitamin A which supports cell rejuvenation, we are going to use this as our winter tonic to prevent any unwanted illnesses.

Juice Burst is available to buy in WH Smith, Superdrug and other good retailers for £1.25

Pasta Remoli – A Must for Italian Food Lovers

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There is nothing more satisfying than hearty Italian food especially as the nights are getting a little more chilly. Personally, finding a good pasta restaurant is surprisingly quite the challenge in London and i’m still making my way through the catalogue of recommended Italian restaurants. One of the things I look for is a menu specialising in specific regional food. Currently, Pizza is having it’s renaissance, so it’s about time that pasta had its time to shine and no place says that more than Pasta Remoli.

You may have walked past the store in the Great Eastern Market in Westfield with an array of fresh pasta displayed tempting you to grab a bite or take home and experiment yourself. This is the beauty and simplicity of the place, you choose your pasta the style you want it, your sauce and finally your cheese. Pasta like many things is a personal experience, and Pasta Remoli ensures you get to keep it that way. They can recommend different combinations but the end course is down to you. Needless to say, the success of the Westfield branch led them to open Pasta Remoli in Finsbury Park and we couldn’t wait to get stuck into their appetising menu.

Trained in the art of traditional Roman cuisine, Remoli has taken all that he has learnt and made sure that his passion for the Slow Food movement is also reflected in the menu. The food is honest, traditional and encompasses the authenticity of Italy, particularly Rome with a good list of traditional Roman dishes alongside the pasta.

For starters we tried the Burrata Cheese & Parma Ham and the Mussels and Clams. Simply named and simply delicious, there are no frills and flounces on the menu. The dishes and ingredients do the talking and when the food arrives there is a moment of silence as we get immersed in to the Italian eating experience before sharing everything between us. Burrata (literally meaning buttery), is melt in your mouth good. The Mussels and Clams are served in traditional Italian fashion inside a broth of garlic chilli and fresh parsley and fill the table with smells of the Med.

For our main, we tried bestseller Truffle ravioli in a creamy mushroom sauce with lots of Parmigiano. In true Italian style, this is exactly how pasta is meant to be cooked. It takes a real expert to balance flavours such as high quality truffle daringly against the creamy sauce and the Parmigiano but the indulgent trio makes for a great, satisfying dish. Best for big appetites and loose trousers.

We then went for a traditional Roast Chicken a staple on any Italian menu. The chicken is marinated for 24 hours in paprika chili and herbs and served alongside veg and roast potatoes. Simple on the menu, I must tell you this was out and out Soul Food. The Chicken was cooked well, retaining its tenderness but it was the roast potatoes that won me over, if they could accompany any future meals I would be very happy. They were crispy in the right places soft in the middle, seasoned to complete perfection. A great lesson on how simple dishes done well produce the best food.

The finale was a dessert worth waiting for, Gluten Free Tiramisu Remoli, the biscuits being the gluten free part! This was surprisingly light and a delight. I’ve never really been a fan of tiramisu but this was far from the boozy affair. Served with a shot of Limoncello this was the perfect end to an incredible Italian experience. I will be back and order everything else I didn’t get to try and the same things all over again.

The restaurant is unpretentious and warm. We saw groups of friends, couples, singles and the restaurant had large enough tables to accommodate a large group planning a surprise birthday. Feeling comfortable in a restaurant is all part of the experience and thankfully Pasta Remoli is set over a great enough area where you can move around freely without bumping into/being trapped by the next table. The service was excellent, they navigated the menu well and were attentive without being too fussy. Three courses for two diners with wine came to around £70. Unbelievable value considering the quality of the food we had just had in a London restaurant. Searching for a quality Italian restaurant is no longer a challenge now I have found Pasta Remoli.

Want to learn how to perfect your pasta?

Simone Remoli will be hosting a series of Pasta Masterclasses at the Bellavita Academy every Tuesday in November. With four masterclasses to choose from dealing with different types of pasta making. You can take part in a single evening class, or a four week course where you’ll learn Simone’s top tips and enjoy your dishes after every session. For more information and to book visit www.pastaremoli.co.uk

Mezcal Cocktail Recipe for Dia De Los Muertos

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This Saturday we celebrated National Mezcal Day and we thought it was just about time this smokey agave plant made a comeback to claim it’s place proudly in your drinks cabinet. Here in the UK, Mezcal is making a comeback and we would love you to try this smoking hot cocktail perfect for Dia De Los Muertos which is coming up on November 2nd.

Mortar & Pestle, craft cocktail specialists with bars across the West Coast of USA have kindly supplied us with a cocktail which is evocative of their signature style. Full of show-stopping panache.

Mayan Calander
created as a libation for the end of days.

With flavours of;

Wahaka Joven Mezcal
Creme de Cacao
Habanero Syrup
Blackstrap Bitters

You will need:

One Martini Glass

¾ oz Lime juice
½ oz Habanero Syrup (cut 50/50 with 1:1 Simple Syrup)
1 ½ oz Wahaka Espadin Joven Mezcal
½ oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao
3 dashes Blackstrap Bitters
5 drops Saline Solution

Garnish: Flamed Lime Boat with Grated Cinnamon.

Method:

Combine ingredients into shaker.
Long shake and double strain into martini glass.
Garnish with lime boat filled with Overproof rum to fuel flame.
Torch, then grate cinnamon over time boat to create sparks.

Juice Burst is a Hit With Schools

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With so many healthy juices cropping up on our supermarket shelves daily, it’s hard to know what to actually go for. With many brands boasting their products are “100% natural” or “made from 100% fruit”, it’s difficult to know whether that means that they are actually healthy for us with many of these products largely exceeding our recommended daily sugar intake. Whats more, if we are picking ones that are indeed full of the good stuff, how many are there that actually taste good?! Well, we went in search of something that checked the healthy and tasty box and was also approved by schools and found you Juice Burst. Juice Burst not only promise a juice drink which is one of your five a day, they also claim to be the ‘tastiest juice drink on the planet.’

So, “what’s so good about Juice Burst?” you say; Juice Burst not only come in a variety of thirst-quenching flavours, they were one of the first manufacturers to produce a school approved range stocked in 1 out of 3 schools in England. The product contains no artificial sweeteners and includes 1 of your 5 a day. The flavours are carefully considered and picked to give you more than just average flavours including; Pink Lemonade, Tropical and Orange Passionfruit to name a few. Our personal favourite, Sour Cherry.

To find out more including where to buy Juice Burst, check out www.juiceburst.com

Last Chance for Fiz in Soho…

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We all dread the toll of the bell when “Last Orders” are up, but we’re here to give you plenty of notice to try out Fizbar in Soho for one last time before they close there doors this Saturday. London’s first sparkling wine bar opened it’s doors 9 weeks ago for a 10 week residency at iconic London haunt, Lights of Soho. Started by three friends, their quest was to bring a hint of Barcelona’s backstreet Cava bars to London. With a playful and eclectic list of international fizz, the aim was to take a step away from the pretentious wine bars and over-priced, bourgeois culture associated with drinking sparkles in the Capital. As well as a damn good list of drinks to make your way through, the food here is also well curated and carefully selected to pair with your drinks. The atmosphere here is like no other, you can enjoy your bubbles whilst watching the Chef’s cook your food to order right at the bar.

Just to give you an example of how eclectic this wine list was, we made our way from House Fiz which was a crisp Cava at £4.5 a glass all the way to the unusual ‘Black Queen’. Hailing from Barossa Valley Australia, Black Queen is a red fizz with hints of dark cherry and fruit. Not for the faint hearted, this was described by one of the owners as the Marmite of Fiz. There are of course a few Proseccos that feature on the menu but our stand out fizz by far was a lot closer to home, all the way from Kent. Balfour Estate by Hush Heath winery in Kent was an example of something very elegant, dry and sophisticated. The production of this fizz is very similar to Champagne and is unsurprisingly award-winning. If an adventurous journey through fizz is more of what you’re after, there is something for everyone at Fiz, alongside the sparkling red, there is an Italian Sparkling wine with notes of lemon and lime and also something from Brazil too. The wines on the list go from £4.5-£10 a glass to give you an idea of how casual and affordable this joint is. The food offerings include a cheese board, a meat board and a selection of sliders to name a few, we recommend the Pastrami which we are told is made on site. As well as a bottomless brunch available on the weekend. We really enjoyed the little quirks and added extras to the place including a couple of alcoholic ice pops to choose from and of course the striking backdrop that is Lights of Soho featuring many neon light designs.

We highly recommend you checking out Fiz before they close there doors this Saturday before they move on to their next location so stay tuned for more info…

https://www.fizbar.com