Category: News

Which drinks matches with chocolate brownies..?

Posted on by Andrew Stark

Gemma Crangle has been giving her advise to food blog, ‘Love Brownies’ in a Father’s Day themed post.

Explaining how to match certain drinks with the chocolate, salted caramel and shortbread of these particular brownies, Gemma offered the following recommendations;

Wine – Banyuls Bila Haut, Chapoutier 50cl  £15.50.
She said: “This red dessert wine is the perfect match to chocolate, the darker and richer the better! A rich yet clean fortified wine made from Grenache around the French Mediterranean town of Banyuls, close to the Spanish border. Rich, ripe black fruits with cocoa notes and very fine tannins.”

Whisky – Glenfarclas Springs, Speyside £45.00.
Gemma said: “The salted caramel notes on this single malt Speyside whisky, (as a result of the sherry cask ageing), beautifully mirror the same flavours in the brownie.”

Brandy – Torres 10 year old Imperial Brandy, Spain  £21.00.
Gemma said: “The warm, toasty, vanilla notes in this smooth barrel-aged brandy perfectly enhance the shortbread and salted caramel notes in the brownie.”

Read the full post at Love Brownies.

Mackmyra Swedish Whisky

Posted on by Andrew Stark

On Saturday 15th December, we welcomed good friend Alex from Mackmyra whisky. Alex was with us most of the day telling customers all about the wonderful distillery of which we’re big fans.

For those of you not in the know, Mackmyra distillery is named after the Swedish village of the same name. The distillery was formed by eight friends who met up in a log cabin each year for a ski trip. Each friend would bring a bottle of whisky for the trip – and eventually, they decided to make their own.

Mackmyra is a great story of friends but also provenance – all the ingredients they use (except the yeast I believe) is from just 75 mile radius of the distillery – making it a true product of the country and region. As well as traditional bourbon casks, they use Swedish oak. Even the stopper in the bottle is Swedish.

Here’s the whiskies;

MACK by Mackmyra – 40% abv

Their new entry-level bottling is a flavourful whisky with a bright, fresh character and notes of vanilla, pear and citrus.
Mackmyra openly admit that they have added caramel colouring.

 

 

 

BRUCKSWHISKY – 41.4% abv

Mackmyra Brukswhisky has a balanced character with fruits and butterscotch. The nose is clean and young, with light, spicy, notes of Swedish peat and juniper. Clear fruitiness with butterscotch, citrus and pear. Prominent notes are liquorice and mint.

The palate is fruity and slightly smoky while the aftertaste is fruity and slightly spicy.

 

 

SVENSK EK – 46.1% abv

Svensk Ek has a spicy character giving notes of sandalwood, dried ginger, black pepper, roasted oak barrel and herbs to our whisky. These spicy characteristics are complemented by fruity undertones with hints of vanilla and toffee from oak barrels, previously used to age Bourbon.

 

 

SVENSK RöK – 46.1% abv

Svensk Rök (Swedish Smoke) is the only smoky single malt whisky made on Swedish ingredients only.

The aroma is slightly smoky and spicy, with a much smokier flavor and peaty juniper notes. Together, the flavors unites in a quite unique Swedish flavor.

 

 

Others we tried were Mackmyra Skördetid (meaning ‘Harvest time’) which is matured in an Amarone cask and Mackmyra Ten Years.

To see our Mackmyra range, click here.

Visit Mackmyra website here

Yorkshire Dales Distillery, In-Store Tasting

Posted on by Andrew Stark

On Saturday we welcomed Andy from Yorkshire Dales Distillery who provided some hands-on expertise and free tasting throughout the afternoon.

When we can, we like to invite suppliers in to give our customers something different. It helps to showcase a product (the free tastings help) but also you get to hear directly from the producer – with all their knowledge, experience and passion.

Andy, brought along a great range for us and customers to try – and it resulted in a really successful day for them and for us;

Purple Ram Gin

40% abv, London Dry Gin

Exceptionally smooth, quadruple distilled and 100% vapour infused through select Yorkshire botanicals, including artisan local honey. A sweet nose of spicy orange, a smooth citrus palate and a balanced juniper finish.  Smells fantastic.

Wild Ram Gin

45% abv, London Dry Gin

Smooth, strong and warm.  Quadruple distilled and 100% vapour infused through select Yorkshire berries and heather flowers.  A red fruit and juniper nose, a balanced redcurrant palate with a mellow finish of warming strawberry.

Dessert Ram Gin

50% abv. London Dry Gin – ‘Army Strength’

Strong and smooth, quadruple distilled and 100% vapour infused through North African and Middle Eastern botanicals.  A minty juniper nose, a warm orange palate and a long spicy finish with a touch of strawberry.

Smokey Ram Vodka

40% abv. Golden Yorkshire Rum

Exceptionally smooth, quadruple distilled and 100% vapour infused through Yorkshire hay smoked black peppercorns.  Pure with a light smokey nose, a peppery sweet palate and a dry finish with grain notes.

Intrepid Ram Rum

45% abv. Golden Yorkshire Rum

Smooth Caribbean spirit, quadruple distilled and oak aged at Yorkshire Dales Distillery.  100% vapour infused with Yorkshire honey and heather.  A bold oak and vanilla nose, a demerara and spice palate with a velvet chocolate finish – and completely sold out on the day!!

 

All in all, it was a great day with Andy’s car being a touch lighter on his way home than it was on his way to us. Big thanks to all at Yorkshire Dales Distillery. Why not pop in and see what range we have in stock!