A Touch Of Festivity
Posted on January 4th, 2012 in Music | Comments Off
Let’s forget the current despondency and depression in the economy and let us celebrate instead, the brilliant selection of alcoholic drinks make Britain great. During this festive season it’s surprising to discover that Britain produces it’s own quality beverages to enjoy. Whether it is cider brandy or perry, sparkling wine or cassis, regional producers are harnessing their passion to create world beating drinks around England.
Britain is one of the Top 3 brewing nations (along with Germany and Belgium) with a plethora of styles of beer that are copied particularly by American, New Zealand, and Australian brewers. Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Porter, Stout, Barley Wine are just five styles that rule the world. And that’s just the English ones. Have you ever tried traditional Scottish ale made from heather, gooseberries, spruce, or seaweed? Heather ale is the oldest style of beer in the world still being brewed - dating back to circa 2,000 BC.
Somerset and Herefordshire are excellent producers of Farmhouse Ciders and Perries, exciting people’s palates and revitalising ancient traditions of cider making in the countryside. After a prolonged tussle with Brussels, the Somerset Cider Brandy Company won the right to use the word ‘brandy’ to describe their distilled cider - even though written records describing a drink called cider brandy date back to the seventeenth century.
More recently than you might think too, most people laughed at the phrase ‘English Wine’. Now, times are different. Thanks to the temperate influence of the Gulf Stream on Britain’s climate, grapes grow in the country, despite it being so far north. The chalk underlay of southern England is a continuation of the land under the Champagne region and the gentle contours and well drained soils of the region are perfect for planting vines. Crisp dry acidic wines are the English still wine producers’ fort using grapes such as Bacchus and Madeleine Angevine.
Another interesting fact that mead (fermented honey and water) was probably the first alcoholic beverage made by humans, and after being largely overlooked in Britain in the past few decades, is making a welcome return to the drinks cabinet. Served over ice or gently warmed up, this drink makes a tasty dessert.
Don’t forget malt whisky too - Scotland’s singular export. There are some surprising new rivals though, The English Whisky Company and the Welsh Whisky Company are distilling the water of life in Norfolk and the Brecon Beacons respectively.
Combine quality food and drinks tasting with your favourite opera sung live by a professional singer to create a unique musical dining event. Across London and throughout the UK, choose from a variety of corporate opera events for your own opera dinner or party. Choose a theme from Rule Britannia to Dinner with the Duchess to Dinner with Jane Austen and celebrate food, drink and music.