Give your drink a little extra fizzazz
THURSDAY From a funky drinks dispenser to crunchy gin toppings, there are plenty of ways to bling up your beverage in the sunshine. JUDY YORKE tries out eight products designed to give your alfresco tipple extra wow factor Kitchen Provisions Gin Toppers
SUN exposure, humidity and sweat play havoc with your skin in summer. Protection, exfoliation and hydration are key. Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser,
www.clarins. co.uk This gentle cleansing polish with orange extract removes make-up and impurities. (£8.99, prezzybox.com) Are you one of those people who always knocks their wine glass over at a party? Do you put it down somewhere and never find it again? Do you want to take your halfdrunk wine glass home after a picnic? This could be the solution. It’s effectively a wine glass in a tumbler with a lid – just flick back the lid to sip. (£3.99, teamhen.co.uk) This product is straightforward and fun. You squeeze a few drops into a glass and add your drink. The packaging recommends vodka, cocktails and soft drinks. It turns them a different colour, adding a slight sweetness. We tried blue raspberry, blackcurrant and a silvery elderflower. The drinks looked good and although it seems a little pricey, you only need a few drops. (£24.99, domu.co.uk) The is cleverly designed and easy to assemble. The stand doubles as an ice container to keep it cold and there are three compartments for different drinks. You then push a mini tap into each one. Filled with brightly coloured soft drinks, this looked brilliant and would make a great centrepiece at a party. But the taps are a bit flimsy and if you aren’t careful, you can pull them out altogether.
(£19.95, 31dover.com) This party pack contains “bubbles” in four flavours – peach, raspberry, strawberry and blueberry - and straws. The bubbles are solid and look a bit like bath pearls. They are designed for any type of sparkling wine, so we put them in Prosecco and tried them in soft drinks. The fun starts as you suck them up through the straw and bite into them. (£14, notonthehighstreet. com) This little kit comes with test tubes of four different ingredients, including juniper berries and cornflower, plus four sachets with dried ingredients, including star anise. I searched in vain for instructions before it dawned on me that the whole point was to experiment. (£24.99, firebox.com) Prosecco ice lolly, anyone? This kit contains two reusable moulds and a mini bottle of Prosecco. You just put in a teaspoon of sugar and top up with the Prosecco. If desired, you can add frozen berries, which I did, and water if you want to dilute it a bit (I didn’t). The whole thing took seconds. You then close the lid and bung in the freezer for four hours.