BROCKMANS CURED SALMON

On receiving a bottle of Brockmans gin to use in a recipe, I knew exactly what I’d make with it when I smelt the heavy floral scent of berries and zings of citrus coming from the bottle. I’ve never smelt or tasted a gin quite like it. It’s such a delicious and powerful standalone drink that it’s one of few gins I like neat. Therefore I didn’t want to add too much to my recipe to take away from all the flavours in the spirit. As a big fan of curing fish I wanted to go to this, and added a little beetroot to give an earthiness to compliment the gin's botanicals, which very unusually include blueberries and blackberries. What better to go with these purple fruits than a purple vegetable to cure a piece of salmon...

It’s such a simple recipe, though it does need to be made a few days in advance so bear that in mind when you make it. If you haven’t cured fish before then try it – the process “cooks” the fish so you end with salmon that’s of a similar texture to smoked salmon, and utterly delicious as it’s absorbed the flavours of the gin and the beetroot.

1kg salmon loin

2 beetroot

70g granulated sugar

70g table salt

120ml Brockmans gin

Zest of 1 lemon

Chop the beetroot into chunks and put in the blender with the sugar, salt, gin and lemon. Whizz up until you have a paste. Smother the paste all over the salmon loin then wrap the salmon in three layers of cling film. Pop the salmon in a tray in the fridge and put another tray on top, weighed down with something heavy (tins of beans are good!) Turn the loin of salmon over twice a day, for 2-3 days. When ready, rinse the salmon under cold water then pat dry with kitchen towel. Thinly slice and serve on blinis as canapes, or with salmon mousse and pickled vegetables, with bread, for a lovely starter. 

Photo by Chelone Wolf Photography

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SIPSMITH GIN

I'm a big gin fan and particularly love brands with a good story behind them, so I've always been intrigued by London distilled Sipsmith gin, especially as their gin is made not far from the part of West London I've lived around for the past five years, and they've also provided gin for previous pop ups I've done, including one I did based solely around their gins and vodkas. If you're a fan of Sipsmith gin, or want to learn more about it there's a couple of events I've checked out recently that you can go to to learn more. 

The first is Sipsmith's Gin Palace Extravaganza, which I did with Georgie in June. We spent the evening with Sipsmith, first at their Chiswick distillery learning all things gin and brand, and then at the Princess Victoria (one of my favourite West London pubs) for a three course, Sipsmith inspired meal. At the distillery we were talked through the history of Sipsmith, who had a long battle to even begin making their sought after gin thanks to an ancient law brought in in 1751 that stipulated the legal minimum production of gin was 1800 litres in order to control the out of hand home brew production of the spirit that was then taking place in one out of four residential properties. This law never got changed until Sipsmith took on the government so they could start a 300 litre per year production. After two and a half years they finally got the law changed and were able to start their business making London dry gin (dry meaning that all botanicals have to be infused during the distillation process and not after). We sampled various gins at the distillery, including the original London Dry Gin, the VJOP (Very Junipery Overproof Gin - made with 75% more juniper and macerated for four times longer than the original gin, making it 57.4% abv and the perfect base for a Negroni), and the London Cup (a sippable punch infused with Earl Grey tea, borage, lemon verbena, Seville orange and other botanicals, and based on the cups/punches of old days). 

We learnt about the actual production of Sipsmith gin. A base of British wheat spirit from East Anglia arrives at the distillery, weighing in at a whopping 96% abv. Water is added to reduce this down to 60% abv to enable the distillation process, then botanicals including Macedonian juniper berries, Bulgarian coriander seed, French angelica root, Spanish liquorice root, Italian orris root, Spanish ground almond, Chinese cassia bark, Madagascan cinnamon, Sevillian orange peel and Spanish lemon peel are all added. This mixture is heated, steeped and then macerated for 12 hours, leaving oily streaks from the botanicals across the liquid's surface. After maceration the liquid is heated to the boiling point of alcohol, which is 78.3 degrees celsius. The spirit turns to vapour which rises up the still. Sipsmith's stills have swan like necks, creating as much copper surface area as possible for the vapour to hit. The copper absorbs the impurities and sulphites, and the cleansed droplets then falls back down into the still. The vapour finally ends up in liquid form in the condenser which is surrounded by cold water pipes, and gin is formed. Very good gin! 

With heads full of information and bellies only full of gin it was definitely time to head to the PV for food. As part of the Gin Palace Extravaganza (which costs £75 per person, and includes the tour, several drinks and a three course meal) Sipsmith arrange taxis from the distillery to the pub - which was a very welcome surprise on the very rainy night we were there!

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GIN MARE

It's a well known fact that I'm a gin fan. And also a fan of a good party on a beautiful rooftop setting in West London. So put the two together on a Friday evening and I'm one happy little food blogger. A couple of Fridays ago we headed to Gin Mare's rooftop soireé at Searcey's in Knightsbridge. We were greeted with a gin cocktail on arrival and headed up to the rooftop which was teaming with gin drinkers. We settled into a corner, snacked on nibbles by Mark Hix as they were whisked past by the waitresses desperately trying to get to the other side of the roof before all their canapés got eaten - we sampled delicious oysters, octopus and cannellini bean shots, various croquettes and mini scallops in their shells. And lots of wonderful cocktails made with Gin Mare.

 

I hadn't come across Gin Mare before, though it's not new to the market, having been created in 2007. It is however a gin that really pushed the boundaries of what we think of as being gin. Normally gin is made with botanicals including juniper, citrus peels, spices and roots. Gin Mare is made with botanicals including rosemary, thyme, olive and basil which together are very unusual in gin making. This creates a savoury essence to the drink, which pairs perfectly with a good tonic, slither of lemon peel and sprig of rosemary. It also works really well in Aperol based cocktails due to the herbal qualities in the gin.

 

If you're a gin fan and haven't come across Gin Mare I really recommend getting hold of some. It's such an interesting addition to the gin brands I know and like, and is wonderful in summer cocktails.

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SIPSMITH AT HAM YARD HOTEL, SOHO

I'm not a fan of dry January. Firstly, January's a pretty miserable month anyway without having to knock booze on the head for 31 days, and secondly, I personally believe it's just as good for you to not drink for a few days in a row every week (the liver is a fast healer), rather than quitting completely for a month, then having a glass of wine most nights for the rest of the year. So a new pop up I'm really looking forward to this month (that's also on in February if you are doing dry January) is Swan on a Hot Gin Roof with London's finest gin distillers, Sipsmith, at Ham Yard Hotel. Every night (except Mondays) from Tuesday 26^th January til Sunday 14^th February you can book a session (starting at 6pm or 8pm on weekdays, and 4pm or 6pm on weekends) for some gin-laced winter warmers on the hotel’s hidden roof terrace. I had a sneaky peak of what's on offer and you're in for a treat. The rooftop is stunning. One of the best I've seen in London in fact - it's all fairy lights, fire pits and leafy plants, with tons of cosy sofas and woollen blankets for snuggling up, and stunning views of London. It's like a secret little hideaway in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Soho. Then there's the cocktails, which have been created by Sipsmith's master distiller Jared Brown and Ham Yard Hotel bar manager Eoin Kenny, who've taken inspiration from London's rich cocktail history and created one off hot drinks such as The Smoking Bishop, The Original (made with gin and gingerbread) and the Soho Gin Broth, which uses Barthelmas beef taken from a 1664 recipe. They'll also be serving more recognisable concoctions such as hot G&Ts and Steaming Juleps.

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COCKTAILS IN SOHO

Gin on Monday night, followed by rum the following Monday - my "no drinking Sunday to Wednesday" has gone out the window in the last few weeks, but for good reason...!
 
It started with an invite to taste gin brand The King of Soho at Italian restaurant Mele e Pere in Soho. The gin is named after Paul Raymond, who was the King of Soho - an entertainment and property tycoon from the 1950s who ruled and transformed Soho, opening venues, running clubs and theatres and keeping the creative and artistic spirit of the area alive. Raymond's son Howard decided to take the unique qualities of Soho and create a drinks brand that paid homage to his father. The King of Soho gin is an authentic London dry gin distilled in small batches in a distillery in the centre of London using traditional methods, and 12 botanicals, including grapefruit peel, sweet orange, juniper, coriander, angelica and cassia bark (the other six botanicals are a secret) that give it its citrusy, smooth flavour.
 

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SIPSMITH X JUDE'S = G&T ICE CREAM

With this glorious start to "official summer" (which is now hopefully here to stay....!) I wanted to let you know about a partnership between 2 of my favourite brands who've teamed up to create some of the yummiest ice cream I've tasted. Sipsmith, London dry gin producers based very near where I live in West London, and Jude's, family run ice cream makers based in Hampshire, have got together, putting their two amazing products together to make a Sipsmith gin and tonic Jude's ice cream. And wow, is it good! Creamy, smooth ice cream that's not too sweet thanks to the addition of the gin and tonic flavours, this really is an amazing summer treat. I spent a wonderful sunny evening on the roof terrace of Le Meridien in Piccadilly sampling both the gin and tonic ice cream and some delicious Sipsmith cocktails.

We started our evening off with a Sipsmith and Jude's gin float, using the G&T ice cream - heaven in a glass! And a very grown up version of a childhood favourite. Made by pouring 20ml of Sipsmith gin over a scoop of G&T ice cream and topping up with good quality, chilled tonic water, this is the perfect BBQ accompaniment for when the sun does finally come out.

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GIN TASTING at THE WARWICK

How much do you know about gin? I'm sure if you like to drink it then you know which your favourite brand is, but if you're like me, then not much more than that! I went to a gin tasting a couple of weeks ago at The Warwick in Soho, who've just had a refurb and have added a sparkly new Gin Emporium. I learnt so much about how to taste it, what to look for, and which gins they pair with different garnishes - a fascinating evening that I want to share with you.

Gin came to the UK from Holland in the 17th century and immediately became the drink of choice for many due to the fact that there was no tax on it, unlike other spirits. It has grown in popularity since then and has had a recent revival, with lots of small producers popping up due to the relative ease of making it.  I'm going to talk you through the botanicals used to create the flavours of the 8 gins we tried, as the lovely team at The Warwick did for us at the tasting.

We started with Portobello Road, which as you might've guessed, is made on Portobello Road, where you can go and make your own gin as well. It's made using botanicals including lemon, orange, nutmeg and liquorice, but if you go to the distillery you can make yours with whichever selection of botanicals you fancy. At the Warwick it's served as a gin and tonic with Fever Tree tonic (as all their G&Ts are) and with a ruby grapefruit garnish to bring out the citrus botanical flavours.

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