Feeling thirsty? Try our 12 North East festive drinks!
GIN
Hepple gin
Hepple Martini
150ml Hepple gin, 20ml dry vermouth, thin strip of lemon zest
Fill a jug with ice, add Hepple gin and dry vermouth, stir slowly 30 times, strain into two well-chilled martini glasses, pinch a thin strip of fresh lemon zest over the surface to express oils and wipe around the rim of the glass. www.moorlandspirit.co
Whitley Bay Gin Corp.
Sea Glass Gin Ginger Cocktail
50ml Sea Glass gin, 5mm slice fresh ginger, Fever Tree tonic and mint leaves to garnish
Muddle the ginger in the bottom of a glass, fill with ice, add gin and top up with tonic. Garnish with lemon zest and mint leaves. Twitter.com@Whitleybaygin
Poetic License Distillery
Northern Dry Gin Clover Club
50ml Northern Dry Gin, 25ml lemon juice, 25ml egg white (or aquafaba for vegans), 12.5ml raspberry syrup
Pour everything into a Boston shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously to create a froth. Double strain into a chilled coup glass. www.poeticlicensedistillery.com
Newcastle Gin Co
Bramble
40ml gin, 10ml sugar syrup, 15ml crème de mur (blackberry liqueur)
15ml lemon or lime juice, blackberries to garnish
Pour all the liquid ingredients into a chunky tumbler half filled with ice and stir gently, garnishing with a perfect blackberry or two. www.newcastlegin.co.uk
Steampunk Gin
Gin Fizz
50ml gin, 30ml lemon juice, 10ml sugar syrup, 1 tsp sugar
20ml lightly whipped egg white (or aqua faba), chilled soda water
Shake the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, sugar and egg white in a cocktail shaker with a little ice and strain into a highball glass half-filled with ice cubes. Top up with soda water and garnish with lemon.
Durham Distillery
Strawberry Collins
50ml Durham Strawberry and Pink Pepper liqueur, 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml grenadine syrup, soda water, lemon slices, cocktail cherries
Fill a large glass with plenty of ice. Pour in your liqueur, lemon juice and syrup and top up (carefully – if you want the sunrise effect) with soda, Garnish with lemon and cocktail cherries. www.durhamdistillery.co.uk
BEER
Great North Eastern Brewing Co – Rudolph’s Ruin (4.4%)
A deep ruby coloured ale with robust rich malts, this is a great Christmas ale with a sweet hop finish. www.gnebco.com
Muckle Brewery
Muckle Berry (4.5%)
A rich winter fireside red ale brewed with Crystal malt and First Gold hops, Muckle Berry balances the dark fruit flavours of raisins and plums with hints of caramel and layers of bitter spiced oranges. www.mucklebrewing.co.uk
Consett Ale Works
Santa’s Little Smelter (4.5%)
An exclusive ale available the first week in December, this is a lighter take on traditional dark Christmas ales – an amber coloured bitter with a floral aroma and smooth aftertaste. www.consettaleworks.co.uk
Allendale Brewery
Christmas Ale (5%)
A variety of roasted malts give a sweet biscuity flavour with hints of cinder toffee. Generous amounts of English Goldings hops bring flavours of Seville orange marmalade and a floral aroma. www.allendalebrewery.com
Durham Brewery
Imperious (12%)
A limited-edition whisky cask-aged imperial stout, this features a strong bourbon aroma with oily coffee, liquorice and dark chocolate flavours in the massive vanilla body. Matured for over nine months in whisky hogsheads, creating a long rich and warming finish with a hint of brown sugar. www.durhambrewery.com
Firebrick Brewery
Fireglow (4.1%)
This warming winter ale is spiced with cinnamon bark, allspice and black cardamom with a wealth of underlying malt complimented by British, German and Czech hops. www.firebrickbrewery.com
