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As we reported in September, Gina Duke is now at the helm at La Quinta, a family-run restaurant and nightclub in Benfleet, Essex, founded by her father Simon Duke and his brother, Rupert. Along with managing the venue, Gina recently launched G&I Spirits Group, which produces a range of drinks, including vodka, gin and three […]
Having sampled the Highland Birchwater produced by Birkentree I struggled to find enough superlatives to describe the smoothness that their product adds to whisky. When I first poured the birchwater into my tumbler of whisky there was no discernible difference from adding regular water. At this stage I didn’t really expect to experience anything dramatically […]
At Hand Crafted Drinks Magazine we write headlines that condense the essence of the story that we’re covering and in the case of the liqueurs we have sampled from Hogg Norton, the headline just about does their products justice. We recently had the privilege of meeting the owners of Hogg Norton, a Derbyshire-based producer of […]
Here at Hand Crafted Drinks Magazine we’re here to help promote artisan drinks producers who work tirelessly to produce some of the finest beers, ciders, wines and spirits available today. Padstow Distilling is one such company – a young distillery business created and managed by Cornish wine merchant David McWilliam, who makes a series of […]
Iain McPherson, the founder of one of Edinburgh’s finest cocktail bars, Panda & Sons, has been announced as winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2024 (part of The World’s 50 Best Bars competition). This prestigious award is voted for by the bartenders on this year’s list of The World’s 50 Best Bars, who are […]
You don’t often find the words ‘healthy’ and ‘cola’ in the same sentence, but Pascal Du Bois, the founder of ROBOT Organic Honey Cola Kombucha, assured me that his new soft drink is a truly healthy cola. The new cola has taken Du Bois and his team over two years to develop, which will soon […]
Jacob Liddle launched Jiddler’s Tipple in October 2019 with the aim of creating inclusive, delicious and eco-friendly beer. The core range is carbon positive, vegan and gluten free, with a lower alcohol content (3.8%). His Cold IPA has the thirst quenching drinkability of a pilsner, paired with the hop intensity of an IPA; it has […]
Whilst family businesses in the UK are the backbone of the SME sector, only 40% of these companies get beyond the first generation; 13% of family businesses are handed down to the grandchildren and just 3% go on to become fourth-generation businesses. At La Quinta, a popular family-run restaurant and nightclub based in Benfleet, Essex, […]
Whilst we never buy the beers, wines or spirits that we sample and review, we always ensure that what we write is unbiased and honest, otherwise what’s the point in our reviews? When we were sent two new fruit-flavoured beers from Haacht Brewery in Belgium, our review was very balanced and measured – it was […]
Hogg Norton, a Chesterfield-based producer of alcoholic liqueurs, has once again had their products recognised at the Great Taste awards. The independent company’s Elderflower Liqueur was awarded one star and the judges awarded two stars for their Chocolate Liqueur. Great Taste is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme, with products […]
