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FOOD
Booze news
A round up of seasonal sipping by Susannah Hickling
Blue sky
thinking
Blue Aurora English blueberry wine
from Lutton Farm in Cambridgeshire
is made out of perfectly good
blueberries that don't quite make
it to the supermarket shelves and
would otherwise go to waste. Since
the launch of this sustainable tipple
in 2018, the fruit farm has pressed 37
tonnes of the little blue spheres.
There are three award-winning
Blue Aurora wines. Choose from
Dusk, a medium-dry, medium-bodied
wine that is crisp, fresh and fruity,
priced at £11.95 per 75cl bottle;
the medium-dry and full-bodied
Midnight, which is intense, oaky
and rich, £11.95 per 75cl bottle; and
intense, fruity and smooth Ice, which
is sweet and can be served on its
own or with a sparkling wine, £17.95
per 37.5cl.
Blue Aurora is available at selected
stockists UK-wide, from Lutton Farm
Shop or online.
www.blueaurorawine.co.uk
Wuthering Heights spirits?
Brontë Drinks is a smallbatch
artisan collection of gin,
rum and vodkas inspired by
the world-famous literature
and Yorkshire landscapes
of the Brontë sisters. It was
created by West Yorkshire
entrepreneurs Nigel Pickles
and Andy Walker as a
"pandemic passion project".
The duo bought The Brontë
Liqueur Company and, using
the liqueur's base recipe of blackberry, sloes, honey and jasmine, began
experimenting with new flavour combinations in a range of spirits. These
included citrus, heathers and rich botanicals to create a dry gin, alongside
a vanilla and nutmeg infused rum and a wild berry-based vodka. Each batch
is enhanced by Haworth's spring water. Brontë Drinks' 'Where's Tha Bin' gin,
'Ey Up Cocker' vodka and 'Ee Bah Gum' rum, all £35 for 70cl, are available in
local pubs, bars, specialist retailers and online.
www.brontedrinks.co.uk
Wales sales
A craft distillery five miles north of Cardigan on the
west coast of Wales has succeeded in getting two of
its award-winning gins into luxury department store
Harvey Nichols. It's the first major retail deal for In the
Welsh Wind Distillery, which was founded in 2018. The
company will supply its premium-brand Signature
Style gin and its limited-edition Palo Cortado CaskAged
gin to Harvey Nichols stores in Knightsbridge,
Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester
and Bristol.
Signature Style Gin (RRP £49, alcohol 43% vol,
70cl) is a smooth oil-rich gin with a botanical profile
of oranges, cinnamon, clove, ginger and tea-soaked
currants. Meanwhile, the limited-edition Palo Cortado
Cask-Aged Gin (RRP £52, alcohol 43% vol, 70cl) is a
marriage of the Signature Style gin, which is rested
in Palo Cortado sherry barrels for up to six months
and delivers flavours of rich spice, dried stone fruit,
juniper and citrus.
www.inthewelshwind.co.uk