Higgidy x Guinness Pie - Slow-cooked Steak [@NLi10]

 It's almost valentines, and so the romantic food choices are in the shop.  This is perfect as it's a mash-up of Higgidy Pies and Guinness

It's certainly a luxury proposition, and has all the great pastry you'd expect.

And when cooked it's meaty enough to have the full attention of the cat

Although it's not as filled-to-the brim as a Pieminister special it's very much a luxury dinner

The gravy isn't too strong - although Irish I'm not one to drink pints of the black stuff - but the flavour is there and welcoming and the steak is great quality too.

I'll hopefully have this one again before it vanishes from stores.

Lindisfarne Mead Marmalade (Orange & Lemon) [@NLi10]

 While up north we went to Lindisfarne, and I picked up a lovely souvenir for me - Marmalade infused with mead!  We sampled the mead itself in the shop and it was too much, but as a blend it'll be ok - surely.

It's made on the mainland, but uses mead from St. Aidan's Winery - and then you buy it from the shop next to the winery so I guess that's OK.  Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermenting honey and is one of the oldest known alcoholic beverages - hurrah!

As you'd expect - it's basically sugar and water, but with 23% fruit & mead this should have a potent flavour.

Consequently I put so little on the first time!

But actually - it's pretty mild.  Nothing like the mead itself which was very medicinal, this is a lovely fruity blend that works well as a light snack or as morning toast (with a more generous helping)

Yum! Wonder if this is available more easily in the midlands? 

 

Kraken Rum Gift Set [@NLi10]

 I dropped Santa the hint that the Kraken Rum gift sets were only £10 before Xmas in Tesco and he delivered!

I don't tend to drink spirits at home these days so I though it'd be a nice change, and give me a distinct glass to leave at a relative's house so I always have one available. 

The little bottles are very cute too - and could easily be re-filled and used decoratively.

The rum is as good as usual, darker than I'd tend to go for and with a hint of spice which complements the Fever Tree colas well.  A decent bargain (each bottle is 2 shots) and easily wrapped to boot.

(gives me an excuse to show off the octopus table matts too) Yarr!

Lilley’s Piña Colada Cider (Morrison’s) By @SpectreUK

It's a lovely sunny day outside and I have scampi and chips for dinner tonight. I used to joke with an ex-boss that whilst working at home during the lockdowns he was drinking Pina Colladas in the garden. This Lilley's Piña Colada Cider is a 3.4% in volume fusion of pineapple and coconut blended with Somerset cider. I'm hoping it's going to wash down my fishy dish a treat tonight.

I was given a Piña Colada in a restaurant once that was ordered by someone by mistake. I tasted it surreptitiously and realised that it had so much alcohol in it that if I had a second sip I'd be over the limit for driving. So, unfortunately, I gave it back. I think the waiter drank it surreptitiously after that, as he was a little bit wobbly for the rest of the meal.

On opening the bottle of this Lilley's Piña Colada Cider, there was a subtle fizz followed by a summer aroma of apple cider, pineapple and a little coconut in the background. This murky fresh lemonade coloured cider tasted funnily enough of pineapple and coconut and cider apple, there was an extra sweet hit of pineapple into the aftertaste.

Not as alcoholic as the one I was given in the restaurant, this ridiculously moreish flavoured cider was so good, I could quite drink it all night. Well, I am at home, and my car keys are resting this evening. I just need some more bottles.

Authentic Eggnog (Hickory’s Smokehouse) By @SpectreUK

I do love warming spicy comfort food, especially this time of year when it can be cold and damp outside. One of my favourite meals out is Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. I've been meaning to try this Authentic Eggnog from Hickory's Smokehouse for years. I must have been good lately, as whilst I was tucking into my Gumbo the other day, I was treated to a bottle.

This Authentic Eggnog is spiced rum and brandy with cream, egg and spices. At 12% in volume, the back of the fetching cardboard container recommends to heat it in a pan and share it out in glasses with a cinnamon stick. Sadly bereft of cinnamon sticks, but not too sadly, as I'm not a big fan of cinnamon, and with a lack of interest in sharing with anyone, I filled a mug and wandered over to the microwave.

Mince Pies and Cinabar's homemade Christmas Cake on a plate at the ready, I took a tentative sip. Okay, so, I may have overheated it in the microwave. After waiting a time, the mixture of spiced rum and brandy warmed up my tastebuds straight away, with the creaminess and added spices complementing my dessert perfectly. I haven't tasted many eggnogs in the past, but I have to say that this is the best one I've tried. I'd heartily recommend it.

Dead Man’s Fingers KFC Spiced Rum (Amazon) by @Spectreuk

I do like a KFC sometimes. I usually have a bucket of chicken to myself and some extra hot wings, because they taste "finger lickin' good". Alright, sorry, I couldn't help it.

I originally wanted to save this Dead Man's Fingers KFC Spiced Rum for a Halloween blog, but other reviews have been pretty bad on it, and Cinabar told me this rum has now become a limited edition.

Flavoured with the eleven herbs and spices used when cooking KFC chicken, this Dead Man's Fingers KFC Spiced Rum was produced by Bristol & Bath Distillery. The bottle recommended to try this rum with cola, but I haven't liked cola much for many years. When I have spiced rum or honey liquor, I usually have it with 7UP. After trying many different lemonades, to me, 7UP is the best one to have with liquor because of its slightly stronger lemon flavour.

I've heard reviews have mentioned the odd flavour of Dead Man's Fingers KFC Spiced Rum. On trying it, initially I thought I could detect the creaminess of vanilla, which I love as an ingredient in spiced rum. There was then a herby flavour, rather than any spices, which I was disappointed by, and then the vanilla creaminess came back into the aftertaste.

Dead Man's Fingers KFC Spiced Rum may have gone better with cola and a bucket of KFC, as suggested on the bottle. Although I've been told it goes well with ginger beer, which I'll have to try. I usually have spiced rum in the winter time, so I tried it with Cinabar's delicious homemade mince pies, which went okay, but the herbs in the middle of flavour was too much of a distraction. Same with a cheese and cold meats meal, which I usually enjoy with liquor or a big glass of port. I can see why people haven't liked this rum. It just needed more spice than herbs in my opinion.

Aldi 99p Taurus Bubblegum & Sherbet Lemon [@NLi10]

I visited my parents for Fathers Day this weekend, and had to pick some bits up from Aldi on the way - and I saw some suspect cider to try. 

At 99p a can it’s hardly luxurious gift cider, but as a post dinner aperitif it’s a lot of fun

Well - post pudding anyway.

First up - bubblegum! And it does smell like bubblegum, and it tastes like the blue stuff they add to ice-cream. Unfortunately it’s on top of the cheap, rough Taurus cider. It’s fine - I mean it’s what I expected. Would be better with ice and a festival.

This is more of a pudding cider, a hit of sherbet and lemon in the same cider.  I think it elevates it a little, but it’s still not a smooth experience.

And the stats confirm - it’s a can of cider! 

For the price these are fine, stick them on the table at a BBQ and they’d certainly all get opened, but I bet some of the sweeter ones wouldn’t get finished.

Fentimans Good & Fruity and Attic Brew Intuition [@NLi10]

Fentimans have rejigged a few drinks to take sugar out and put sweeteners in meaning I've possibly had my last Full Strength Curiosity Cola. :(

They have however released a few other things to fill in the gaps - and because they are designed with the sugar changes in mind they should be more interesting!

Fentimans Good & Fruity is one such drink - it's still (hurray!) and has some fun flavours - we tried Cherry & Blood Orange.  Unfortunately it's basically just fruity water.

Spring water & pear juice plus 6% of the target flavours.  I'm not against this, but I'd want a lot bigger drink than 250ml.  It wasn't bad, I'd rather just have 500ml of water for the same price really.

At a family party recently I got to try the Intuition Pale from Attic Brew - and I liked it!  I meant to take more pictures but one of the people there asked why I was taking pictures of the can and so I spent ages talking about the blog instead of getting more pictures. Ah well. I'm sure I'll have more of this one.

Jack Ratt Christmas Mead (Lyme Bay Winery) By @SpectreUK

Well, it's that time of year gain. It's the silly season, there's a tree in the lounge, wrapping paper in rolls in all sorts of places, baubles banging together from the stress, and good food waiting to be cooked, baked, boiled, fried, chewed and digested, after belts have been duly widened.

It's only in the last year or two that I have known and supped many of Lyme Bay Winery's flavours of meads.However, here is a mead I haven't tried, Christmas Mead. Produced with "festive spices" this 10% in volume Christmas Mead is recommended with strong cheeses and casseroles. However, I have found that mead goes very well with fig biscuits.

My favourite habit for pudding is where I enjoy a glass of Lyme Bay Winery mead with a full packet of fig biscuits. It takes a bit to juggle the calories, as a 250ml glass of mead is generally 180 calories, whereas a packet of my favourite fig biscuits is 770 calories. I have a healthy lunch and a healthy dinner to match up with the not so healthy pudding. I have always loved fig biscuits, and have a special variety I eat quite regularly. Some fig biscuits can be quite tough, but these are not too hard and are fairly chewy. They are sweet and as I say go rather well with any mead.

Getting into the Christmas spirit, I popped open this bottle and was pleased to find that Christmas Mead also complements fig biscuits very well. It was difficult to pick out the "festive spices", but I am sure with all that sweet honey came a little nutmeg, cloves and even some cinnamon. I shall try my next glass with a good fruit cake, maybe even the Christmas cake Cinabar has baked for me.

Merry Christmas :-)

KAH - Day Of The Dead Tequila & Spooky Cocktails (@BettyBB & @WolfStudiosArt)

Guest review from @BettyBB & @WolfStudiosArt as they are experts on spirits of all kinds...

Ok so it’s the spooky season and here in the Wolfie household, we love all things Halloween, bring on the ghouls, the zombies and all the sweets.

Now as much as we love a variety of horror films (my fave is The Devils Rejects and Mr Wolfe's is Blair Witch Project), tequila can also be enjoyed a variety of ways. But don't get it twisted, tequila has always been my shot of choice but as I've gotten older, I like to experiment with how I can enjoy it.

The Mexican traditional holiday of “Day of the Dead” or “Día de los Muertos” is where the souls of those who have passed are celebrated is something we love in casa del Wolfie (it played a huge part in our wedding and I have two Day of the Dead inspired tattoos myself). So when I discovered that KAH tequila had a new sugar skull inspired bottle, I had to give it a go! Not only is the bottle pretty (It looks great in the drinks cabinet), it tastes yummy. For a a blanco tequila, it has a grassy, floral note, a subtle citrus flavour with the sweetness of the agave, taking away the sharpness that usually leaves you with that burning sensation as you take a shot. This flavour profile also makes it great in cocktails as it blends nicely but still gives the distinct presence of tequila. Oh hi, there you are.

As a fan of the margarita, I whipped up a classic with lime sours and a special green syrup giving it a great two tone - giving raised from the dead vibes - and a blood red cherry and raspberry frozen margarita with a chilli rim (gotta bring that spice!!) as well as raising a shot to those that have passed.

As we settle into the season of the witch, we don’t foresee this bottle lasting long. Stay spooky!!! 🖤

Artwork by @WolfStudiosArt

Coca Cola Signature Mixture 2 - Spicy - with Southern Comfort (By @NLi10)

I've had this little bottle of spicy Coke for ages - but not really a reason to crack it open.

 

My friend finished building the Lego Titanic on stream (28 hour build!) and we joked that we should drink Jack with one very large ice-cube to celebrate.  I didn't really  have that though, but figured this was the closest option.

See the finished titanic either on the video link above or on the pics here

It has lots of fire in it, but also lots of botanicals - could it be that Coke fears Fentimans?

Otherwise it sounds a lot like a Cola.

And I paired it with this - Southern Comfort & Lime from a previous review

Spirits don't go off do they?!

Using the traditional alcohol review glass

It fizzed up nicely and had a good smell

And it tasted great - basically like a Fentiman's cola cocktail with a kick of ginger - and then the fruity undertones of the Southern Comfort.

I'll have to either pick up more when Waitrose has them in at Christmas - or make my own by adding a dash of ginger beer to the cola like we did as kids!

Clean R & Cola / G & Tonic - alcohol free Rum & Cola / Gin & Tonic by @NLi10

We like social drinks - that is Adult drinks with no alcohol needed - and here we have a borderline one. 0.5% is basically no alcohol - it’s a little more than Fentimans but not much.

So what’s the deal here?

These are cocktail replacements in a can! Don’t want the media being obsessed with the fact you purchased a G&T on the train? Go for this

First up a Jack Daniel’s and Cola imitation. Not really my chosen drink at any point, but something I have enjoyed over the years.

Looks and smells decent, and the flavour isn’t quite authentic, but goodness this is. Lovely refreshing drink! They used decent cola, and added some magic to make it a very tingly alcohol like drink. This isn’t going to fool anyone, it doesn’t feel like you are drinking alcohol, but sipping this is a good time.

I love tonic water, and occasionally I’ll put gin in instead of my traditional vodka. This mix didn’t get the tonic taste right, and the gin just tasted foul. I’m not quite sure what was going on here - but for the first time in ages I was tempted to just pour the final 2/3 of the can down the sink. 

I persevered and didn’t enjoy it, but I did finish. I’m really not sure what it was that made the taste just so wrong!

I’d love more of the cola though.

 

Sparkling Mead (Lyme Bay Brewery) By @SpectreUK

I may have written about Mead before, but not a sparkling Mead. I have certainly enjoyed a few bottles of Mead wine and flagons of traditional Mead from the Lyme Bay Brewery. In fact I have an order of mead and other beverages delivered every three months or so.

Recently I've been really enjoying a bottle of their spiced Lugger Rum. It tastes pretty much like liquid mince pies and goes rather well in a mug of hot Nutmeg. This latest blog is about their sparkling Mead…

At 4% in volume this sparkling mead should have a little kick to it. There was a cheerful fizz on opening the can. There was an odd, almost pungent smell of honey amongst the bouncing bubbles. There was also a surprising sourness with some light spices in the aroma. This odd smell wasn't all that welcoming. Once the bubbles had calmed down a little, the fermented honey and spices hadn't mix so well with the spices and carbonated water. Oh no… I'm starting to feel like Scrooge here…

This mead reminded me pretty quickly that mead and mead wine are usually non sparkling for a reason. I didn't like this drink at all unfortunately, which is odd for me, as I haven't found a mead i didn't like before. Oh well, I'll stick with the flagons and mead wine I guess… and I do love their Lugger Rum! Merry Christmas!

Jack Ratt Cyser: Cider & Mead (Lyme Bay Winery @LBWdrinksltd) By @SpectreUK

I've been ordering in my flagons of mead from the Lyme Bay Winery for a few months now. They are quick on delivery. My last order included some extra interesting treats. This Cyser blend of sparkling Mead and traditional Scrumpy cider offers "a crisp, clean and unique flavour." I do love my mead from the Lyme Bay Winery, and I am partial to the odd glass of cider now and then.

This 4% in volume Cyser has a strong sweet honeyed apple cider aroma. Cheerfully sparkling this cider and mead combination tastes like a sweet strong Scrumpy cider. The added mead takes a bit of a backseat to the strong Scrumpy cider, blending with the apples subtly adding sweetness for a distraction from the usual sourness of the apples. It's certainly very flavoursome combination indeed and I'd have Cyser again. It went very well indeed with my traditional pork schnitzel meal at dinner time.

Traditional Mead (Lyme Bay Winery @LBWdrinksltd) By @SpectreUK

I hope you've all had a lovely, merry, and safe Christmas so far. Amongst the booze, beers and Mead Wines I had in with my other presents, I found this rather fetching Flagon of Traditional Mead from the Lyme Bay Winery, in Devon. I've tried their mead wines before, and have written about their Rhubarb Mead Wine in the past, and I was rather pleased to unwrap a bottle with another bottle of Traditional Mead Wine with my presents.

It says on the back of the flagon that mead is thought to be one of the oldest alcoholic beverages dating back to Babylonian times. I do love any kind of booze made with honey. This 14.5% volume Traditional Mead won Great Taste Gold in 2013. I generally have mead wine around this time of year as it's spices and sweetness warms me up, and complements a good strong cheese meal. However, my new bottle of Rhubarb Mead Wine will be cracked open in early Spring 2021, as it's Spring and Summer fruity flavours are enough alone to bring on the sunshine.

On opening this flagon of Traditional Mead there was a good strong smell of spiced honey and a touch of alcohol behind it. This deep brown mead tasted of strong, rich and sweet honey and light spices. The spices certainly warmed me up after a walk outside this afternoon fighting against the brewing storm. This Traditional Mead tastes so good, I'm wishing the flagon was ten times bigger. I could quite happily drink it all night, but I reckon I'd be plastered after a couple of glasses. Have a lovely Boxing Day evening!

Choco Leibniz with the taste of Baileys (Sainsbury's) By @Cinabar

As someone who like chocolate the biscuits Choco Leibniz should be higher in the pile of biscuits I choose. They are German biscuits but are found in most of the main supermarkets these days ie not just Waitrose but Sainsbury's stock them too. The ratio of chocolate to biscuit on a Choco Leibniz biscuit is impressive, the chocolate is almost as thick as the biscuit which is my kind of thing.

This year they have a seasonal edition out called, not that concisely, “Choco Leibniz with the taste of Baileys” I can’t help thinking there is some weird labelling rule that has led to the naming, or perhaps somthing was lost in translation. Jammy Dodger, Bourbon or a Choco Leibniz with the taste of Baileys with you cup of tea? Yes it doesn’t roll off the tongue.

When I opened the pack the aroma of Baileys was really rather strong, the scent of the liqueur was shiny through, and even created a scent bubble in the vicinity.

The flavour too was heavy on the Baileys, there was a lovely creamy whisky like flavour that worked wonderfully with the thick chocolate and crunchy biscuit. These are an indulgent biscuit and the intensity of the flavour is impressive. They worked together well, and made for an enjoyable treat. The name might be complex, Choco Leibniz with the taste of Baileys, but they do what they say on the tin.

Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda (@CrookedBevCo) By @SpectreUK

I have no idea where this Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda came from. I know it originally came from the Crooked Beverage Company, but I'm not sure if one of us bought it. I have a feeling it was from the last of the Degusta boxes we had delivered at the beginning of this year, but I may be wrong on that. It's not something I'd pick up in a shop, and I doubt Cinabar would have either no matter how much I irritate her quite frequently.

When I saw this Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda languishing at the back of my beer fridge I immediately thought it was a beer, until Cinabar pointed out that it's an alcoholic soda. It's flavoured with raspberry and lime, which sounds like a summer treat, but with soda I'm not so sure. Cider definitely, but soda?

I have to admit that I don't believe I've ever had a soda, so I don't know what they taste like. Although apparently 'soda' is the American word for 'pop'… so if it's a lemonade type drink I've had plenty. This Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda contains malted barley and hops. It does sound like a beer, but it's a soda. I'm confused and I know the three colourful heads on the can look pretty confused too. This is a sparkling soda with real fruit juice, so none of that creepy plastic stuff you see displayed in wooden bowls in furniture shops!

At 4.7% volume this Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda is certainly strong enough to be a beer. Did I mention it has malted barley and hops in it? So it sounds like a beer, but on opening the can and pouring the strange pink super fizzy liquid it doesn't look like a beer. In fact it looks and smells like a child's fizzy pop drink. Does anyone say "fizzy pop" anymore? Oh, well… I'm a child from the '80's.

Dayglo Skies Alcoholic Soda certainly doesn't taste like a beer either. In fact I'm not sure it tastes of soda either. This pink alcoholic liquid smells predominantly of raspberries with a touch of lime, a tickle of malted barley and a dot of herbal hops. It's actually real good. I wanted to hate it and pour it away in disgust, but I can't stop drinking it. Sacrilege, I know… Don't worry, I'll be back on the beers in no time. The bubbles tickle my nose… Glug… glug… hic!

Rhubarb Mead (Lyme Bay Winery @LBWdrinksltd) By @SpectreUK

The Lyme Bay Winery was recommended on a TV programme sometime ago. I can't remember which TV programme, as I'm starting to get on a bit… but the point is that they brew Mead Wine. Mead is one of my favourite drinks. I can never seem to find it anywhere. Mead Wine is usually very tasty too. It's so rare I find it anywhere that if I see it in a castle or museum shop, I have a habit of buying a few bottles. Now we know this winery's website sells it's own Mead Wines, I'm starting to find Mead Wines such as this one wrapped up in my Birthday and Christmas presents (with thanks to Cinabar's Mom). 

This Rhubarb Mead Wine seems like a summer treat. It may especially go well with my cheese and cold meats platter on a Sunday evening. It is described on the label as "a delicious mead with fresh, fruity and sweet flavours of rhubarb". I used to grow rhubarb in the garden at the last house we lived in. I didn't grow much, but we'd get a decent sized pudding out of it once a year, and I'd have a big glass of sugary rhubarb juice also.  

On the back of the label it recommends this Rhubarb Mead Wine should go down a treat with blue cheese, as well as fruity desserts. It's lucky we have some blue cheese in for our cheese platter meal. On opening the bottle there was a luscious smell of rhubarb and sweet honey. The flavour on tasting was just as delicious too. I can attest that this Rhubarb Mead definitely goes very well with blue cheese, as well as all the other cheeses I had on the plate. All in all I'm rather looking forward to my cheese meals over the next couple weeks until I polish off this Rhubarb Mead Wine. Of course, then I'll just have to open another bottle of port… 

Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer (The Bell Pub) By @SpectreUK

So we decided to go for a pub meal to celebrate Cinabar's birthday last Sunday. We recently found out just before Christmas that The Bell at Belbroughton is a lovely place to eat out at. The quality of the food is excellent, the price is not too high, the staff are very friendly and helpful, and the service is fairly quick. At a pub I usually ask what draft ale or stout they have to go with whatever meal I'm having, such as my ribeye steak at the Bell. However I was looking through the drinks menu before the waitress came over and I saw this Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer. I figured it would help with my digestion. Besides, I do like a good alcoholic ginger beer…

This Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer was brewed from natural ginger and mandarins. Gluten free, and 4% volume, it was described on the skull-faced bottle as 'bold and spicy'. It was served to me over ice with a slice of lime in a half pint glass, so I could keep topping it up from the 500ml bottle at my leisure. This ginger beer smelt pretty fruity of mandarin and a little citrus from the added lime, with a bite of ginger at the end of the aroma. On taste it was smooth and slightly sweet from the mandarin to start with, a touch of citrus from the lime bobbing around with the ice, and then a warming spicy ginger bite to finish into the aftertaste. I found this Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer very tasty, as well as fruity and spicy. It washed down my steak meal very well indeed, and of course... it was good for my digestion!

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Liqueur Lemonade (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I have written about a couple of Jack Daniel's drinks before, which were the Tennessee Cider and also the Lynchburg Lemonade. As far as I can remember I did like them both, so I'm fairly confident with this Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur Lemonade. I'm especially confident as I rather like alcoholic honey drinks such as meed and other honey liqueurs. Of course I may have a sweet tooth where booze is concerned, especially mixed with room temperature lemonade. I don't want ice with my honey liqueur. I want to be able to taste it in amongst all those zesty bubbles!

This Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur Lemonade had a pretty cheerful fizz on opening. It smelt of Jack Daniel's (funny story there) and sweet honey, as well as lemonade at the back of the aroma. Bright gold in colour this lemonade has quite a bite to it. The Jack Daniel's flavour is stronger here than the other two drinks I've tried. So much so I wasn't so keen on it's kick. The sweetness from the honey comes next in the flavour, mixing well with the zest of the lemonade and its bubbles, which combined with the 5% volume strength of the liqueur tickled my nose a little. In a straight up food (well, drink) fight I'd pick the Lynchburg Lemonade with it's added tangy Triple Sec over this one, or more likely the cider if I could find another can of it somewhere. Nevertheless, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur Lemonade is a good drink possibly more for Jack Daniel's lovers rather than perhaps other lemonade and honey liqueur lovers like myself.