RAISE A GLASS
Blimey, it was lovely and warm yesterday and today as I write it’s nippy round my toes. Which has led me down a road I wasn’t expecting to travel this week: The world of spirits. I don’t mean the ghosty-ghoulie kind, but the kind you find in a glass.
My first is a gin from Aldi.
Greyson’s Sicilian Lemon Gin (£12.99) is a vibrant lemon colour and I’ve been sipping it on both warm days (in the garden) and on cool days (looking out at the garden) with a good splash of tonic.
The gin’s tempting lemon aromas remind me of lemon cheesecake.
It tastes as you would expect, a good flash of bright lemon citrus. It has a new sister gin too, Greyson’s Mediterranean Orange Gin (£12.99).
Here’s another spirit which takes me right back to a place in time.
In my old local, at last orders, I would always ask for a particular spirit which became known as “Jane’s fancy Scottish liqueur”.
My round-buying friends knew they could ask the bar staff for “Jane’s fancy Scottish liqueur” and they’d be served … a glass of Drambuie.
I’m thrilled to welcome it back into my life as I love it so much. Drambuie’s origins can be traced to a secret recipe created for Bonnie Prince Charlie and he drank a few drops each day for strength and vitality. The liqueur will appear in a new 50cl bottle (£18) in most supermarkets later this spring.
Oh my, I love its notes of honey, heather, citrus. It’s fantastic in a cocktail or even in a black coffee.
I made many friendships and happy memories sipping Drambuie.
My third spirit is a new favourite of mine. In the last 18 months or so (lockdown, mainly), rum has turned my head.
Hattier’s Egremont Premium Reserve Rum (£42 online at hattiers.com, or £37.95 at thewhiskyexchange.com) is a blend of imported oak-aged rums from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Panama and Guatemala.
Hattier’s brings the rum down to sipping strength by using English water from Dartmoor.
I love to sink my senses into its aromas of caramel, smoke, vanilla, chocolate, coffee and stone fruits.
Anyone fancy a rum cocktail? There are ideas on the Hattiers website. ■ Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.