41
FOOD
Bristol
fashion
Who doesn't relish a tall tale?
Well, now you can get one in
beer form, thanks to Bristolbased
Butcombe Brewing Co
(part of Liberation Group), which
has launched Tall Tales Pale Ale.
The ale, a light and fruity
beer combining character with
notes of grapefruit, pineapple
and citru, is named after the
legendary story of a crocodile
lurking in Bristol's River Avon.
The reptile, which prompted
a police search but was never
found, has been reported
floating beneath the surface of
the muddy waters.
Tall Tales Pale Ale is available
in 330ml bottles priced at £16.45
for 12 bottles online.
www.butcombe.com
Of gorse!
Welsh drinks company Eccentric
Spirit Co has launched its first vodka,
Cardi Bay Vodka. Infused with hints
of vanilla and coconut, the flavour
takes its inspiration from the gorse
which grows along the Cardigan Bay
coastline in Ceredigion. A 70cl bottle
of Cardi Bay Vodka (40% vol) is priced
at £32.
Cardi Bay Vodka, which is distilled
at Cardigan-based In the Welsh Wind
distillery, takes the number of spirits
in the Eccentric Spirits collection
to eight. It features six gins - all
inspired by Welsh botanicals - and
a dark rum. All of the spirits are
available through the In The Welsh
Wind website.
www.inthewelshwind.co.uk
Happy anniversary
In 2002 Barny Butterfield began making cider in a shed. Twenty years on, he
is chief cidermaker and owner of Devon-based Sandford Orchards, which
produces over seven million pints of cider a year.
Sandford Orchards began as a hobby, but by 2010 he had won CAMRA
Champion Cider of Great Britain, giving the business a boost. The next step
was buying the Cider Works in Crediton and bringing it back to life as the
oldest working cider mill in the country. In 2020, they invested £1.2 million in
a rebrand and new equipment, and can now produce 3,500 cans per hour and
6,000 bottles. These are available in pubs, hospitality venues, off licences and
independent shops, as well as high-street retailers including Marks & Spencer,
Morrisons, Aldi, Spar and the Co-op.
Now Sandford Orchards is working with Bristol University to map the
DNA of ancient apple trees in its orchards, to identify and protect vulnerable
varieties for the future.
www.sandfordorchards.co.uk
Island life
Elements of Islay has re-imagined
its core range of whiskies to
capture the taste of the island in
the Inner Hebrides from which it
takes its name. These small-batch,
independently bottled whiskies
are natural in colour and non-chill
filtered.
Elements of Islay Cask Edit
(RRP £44.95 for 70cl) combines
two single malts aged in bourbon
and sherry casks, giving it a
peaty flavour. Elements of Islay
Bourbon Cask (RRP £59.95 for 70cl)
is matured in first fill and refill
bourbon barrels, while Elements
of Islay Sherry Cask (RRP £64.95
for 70 cl,) has notes of dried
fruits, dark chocolate lemon oil
and smoke.
www.islay.com