As a supporter of International Scottish Gin Day I was introduced to a new gin brand, Snawstorm Scottish Spirits, founded by Leon and Susan Chessor. While I was gifted a bottle of Snawstorm Gin as part of a collaboration, this has not influenced my views.
You will be hard pushed to find a bottle of gin more lusted over than that of Isle of Harris gin. Its iconic twisted, rippled glass look has been adored all over the internet. As part of International Scottish Gin Day I’m taking a look at some of the incredible gins that Scotland has to offer.
Socius in Burnham Market, North Norfolk has been receiving a lot of attention recently, and rightly so. Small plates aren’t always everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the ability to try lots of different things during a meal – especially in places with a regularly changing locally-sourced seasonal menu. Since opening in early 2018, owners Natalie and Dan, who is also the self-taught chef, have picked up numerous awards and accolades including winning Eat Norfolk restaurant of the year 2019, among others.
I’m proud to support International Scottish Gin Day, and this year I’m continuing my support by taking a closer look at a few of Scotland’s incredible variety of distilleries and their gins. Nàdar means ‘nature’ in gaelic, and with this gin Arbikie Distillery near Arbroath on the east coast of Scotland, have created the world’s first climate positive gin – taking more carbon in, that it puts out.
Rosé Sainte Marie is the latest release from South Devon’s Salcombe gin distillery. The rosé gin joins the star-studded line-up of incredible gins they’ve produced; from the flagship Start Point gin (a favourite of mine) to the collaborative Voyager series gins created together with chefs Michael Caines MBE, Mark Hix MBE, Monica Galetti, and port producer Dirk Niepoort.
I’ve been exploring batch making cocktails, in particular: negronis. The idea of making up a cocktail can often feel like a bit too much effort after a long day so sometimes you just want something chilled and ready to go. Inspired by negroni nights with friends, I decided to give it a go myself…
There’s something very special about pizza. It’s comforting, quick, social and so delicious. Wandsworth’s Well Kneaded pizzeria and van make some of the most special pizzas using organic veggies and high welfare meat.
I recently visited the Silent Pool Gin distillery in Surrey (see my blog about our tour) so was very excited to be invited to return so soon for a supper club evening with fellow Silent Pool-based business Mandira’s Kitchen. I’d never been to a supper club before, let alone one hosted at one of my favourite gin distilleries!
Chances are you’ve seen this copper and blue design before. It’s incredible how fast the intricate pattern that adorns Silent Pool gin has grown to reach such recognisable status across bars, homes and supermarkets.
Earlsfield in South West London, tucked between the much better known Clapham and Wimbledon, is my home. It has also been home to Ben’s Canteen since 2014, which has for the past years been our go-to for brunch, countless dinners with friends and hosting big birthday parties. Now it’s entering a new chapter and has evolved into Bloody Bens bar, distillery and kitchen. I caught up with founder Ben Walton to talk about his latest venture.