Galgorm Collection, home to Northern Ireland’s luxury premier hotel Galgorm, as well The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat, located in the idyllic village of Templepatrick, has developed bespoke cocktails to mark the occasion of World Gin Day, using fresh, seasonal ingredients to get you in the mood for summer.

Whether you’re enjoying a drink with friends or having a night in with your other half, indulge in a little luxury this weekend, and bring the decadent taste of Galgorm Collection into your home.

Galgorm Cocktail Recipes

Hosting the biggest gin collection on the island of Ireland, with over 560 gin brands housed in its Gin Library, Galgorm champions both local and global distillers, with home-grown favourites Jawbox and Shortcross gin sitting shoulder to shoulder with some of the world’s most exclusive bottles, such as the iconic Watenshi, retailing at £2,000 per bottle.

In honour of World Gin Day, Galgorm’s passionate mixologists have created an exclusive and innovative cocktail using Galgorm Estate’s Premier Gin and Bombay Sapphire’s Premier Cru, for the ideal beverage to quench your thirst and cool off on a hot summer’s day.

Serenity Garden (top)
(Serves 1)

Ingredients

• 5ml Premium Gin (Galgorm Estate)
• 15ml Poire Williams
• 10ml Triple Sec
• 20ml Grapefruit Juice
• 5ml Simple Syrup
• Topped with London Essence blood orange and elderflower tonic

Method

• Add all of the ingredients (apart from the tonic), and ice to the shaker
• Shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds
• Finely strain the contents of the shaker into a tall rocks glass filled with ice
• Top with London Essence blood orange and elderflower tonic
• Garnish with a slice of pear and serve

Galgorm 75
(Serves 1)

Ingredients

• 35ml Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru
• 20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
• 20ml House Mandarin and Thyme Cordial
• Tattinger Champagne to Top

Method

• Add all of the ingredients (apart from the champagne), and ice to the shaker
• Shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds
• Finely strain the contents of the shaker into a coupe glass
• Top with Tattinger champagne and garnish with a lemon peel to serve

The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat Cocktail Recipe

Promising guests great food, great fizz and great times, The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat renowned for its extensive cocktail menu, designed by the creative in-house mixologists. To mark World Gin Day 2023, The Rabbit has launched a new gin-based summer cocktail, named after the hotel’s beloved resident cockapoo ‘Florence’.

To capture the taste of summer, the inspiring cocktail is created using Ukiyo Citrus Gin, elderflower liquour and lavender syrup – topped with a dash of prosecco for that extra fizz that is sure to refresh and relax in the warm weather.

‘Florence’ Gin Cocktail
(Serves 1)

Ingredients

• 35ml Ukiyo Citrus Gin
• 15ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 15ml Mathieu Teisseire Lavendar Syrup
• 10ml Fresh Lemon Juice
• 10ml Prosecco to top
• 5ml Soda water to top

Method

• Add ice to the glass and set aside to chill
• Add all of the ingredients (apart from the prosecco and soda water), and ice into the shaker
• Shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds
• Strain the contents into your chilled wine glass and top with chilled soda water and prosecco
• To serve, garnish with an expressed lemon peel and some edible flowers

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To mark National Gin and Tonic Day on October 19, research was conducted by WeLoveBrum to find out who is serving up the best place for a tipple.

Berts Jazz Bar in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter was the only spot in Northern Ireland to rank in their ‘Top 10 most popular gin bars in the UK’ list.

The list was created by measuring popularity through a unique index score generated by the number of hashtags each location has racked up on Instagram, as well as reviews on Google and Tripadvisor.

Berts Jazz Bar placed sixth on the list and was recognised alongside some of the most famous gin bars in the UK such as Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour and City of London Distillery & Bar.

This is not the first time that Berts has been recognised for its service and offering. In June, Belfast’s only dedicated Jazz bar won an AA Rosette in recognition of the bar’s dining and bar service.

It achieved an overall score of 94% across both dining and bar service, alfresco surroundings and public toilets during its inspection.

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Adam Jamie Hussein’s Rise of the Bartender investigates the history of the cocktail from its beginnings centuries ago to the modern age.

Adam Jamie started out on in hospitality in his late teens as a bartender at Lavery’s in the city, before moving to The Limelight, then Australia during the third year of his business studies degree at Ulster University.

“It was when I was in Australia where we (Adam Jamie and a friend) both bartended (that) I knew the skill was super transferable and we could get a job anywhere. It (bartending experience) was something to have in my back pocket,” he explains.

“It was never something I saw myself doing for a long time. I thought, I’ll do it through university and it’ll help me have a bit of money. But whilst I was there, I got picked up by a bar pretty quickly and that led me into moving to Tasmania. I got to run a bar down there and then came back and ended up working in a classics cocktail bar called 1806. That’s kind of where I fell in love with classic drinks which is what the book is all about.”

A move to New Zealand would follow for the North Belfast man followed by a job with The Arcadian in London before a return to home in April 2019.

Encouraged by a previous bar manager Adam Jamie decided to write  his book , using “a bunch of notes and notebooks” he’d built up over the years.

“Anything I picked up I just wrote it down and then I would expand upon it later so I didn’t forget the point that I was thinking about.” he explained.

The post Belfast mixologist’s new cocktail tome unpacks myths and recipes appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

The popular bottles of M&S gin liquer feature flecks of gold glitter and they also light up.

In previous years the drinks have been a sell-out and M&S even slapped them with a buying limit because of the huge demand.

And shoppers will be happy to hear that the price has gone down – you can pick up the tipple for just £16 for a 70cl bottle this year.

That’s £4 less than last Christmas when it would have set you back £20.

And it’s also cheaper than in 2020, when it would have cost you £18.

There are two flavours this year: clementine and spiced sugar plum.

The sugar plum bottle lights up with a cool white glow, illuminating a festive figure skater on the design of the glass.

And clementine has a warm orange light that glows up behind the nutcracker design on the bottle.

You can buy the gins in store at M&S where you’ll find it on the food hall shelves.

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A long-standing Belfast institution on the Malone Road, the ‘Eg’, as it was known to generations of students at the nearby Queen’s University, has has been a mainstay of the Belfast bar scene and was first designed back in 1898 by the same architects as the iconic Crown Bar.

Clover Group director Mark Beirne said: “This is a very important acquisition for Clover which further builds on our offering, breathing new life into one of Belfast’s longest established bars in a wonderful part of the city.

“This area of the city has a strong tradition of providing a great bar experience for customers and we are really looking forward to bringing vibrancy and excitement for students, local people and international visitors alike.”

The purchase put to bed rumours that Tim Martin’s JD Wetherspoon chain were set to add The ‘Eg’ to its huge portfolio. Just days ago, Mr Martin put 32 of his pubs up for sale with the business having lost £30 million as a result of rising staff wages and repairs.

Clover Group is now planning a £500k refurbishment of The Eglantine in 2023 creating 30 new jobs when construction is complete.

The announcement  builds on the company’s growing footprint in Belfast having recently lodged planning applications for a new hotel in the Cathedral Quarter and an extension to the popular city centre bar, Margot’s.  Other venues within the Group include White’s Tavern and Beer Hall, White’s Garden, Henry’s and the Jailhouse, Fountain Lane, Pug Ugly’s and the Bone Yard.

The bar’s focus will be on showing a range of sporting events blended with a great food offering.

Clover Group also plans to open White’s Beer Hall in the coming weeks

The post Clover Group plans £500k revamp after purchasing Eglantine Inn appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.