Alcohol Advent Calendars for 2018
Is it even the festive season if you're not trying to find any excuse to celebrate with a drink? With the office parties, work-do's, and catching up with all your favourite friends, being merry definitely goes hand in hand with Christmas time.
So, what better way to get into the festive spirit(s), than with a boozey advent calendar? We wouldn't recommend opening in the morning - so save until after work for the ultimate treat, because the kids shouldn't get all the fun!
Here are our favourites that'll definitely put the 'Merry' into 'Merry Christmas':
One for the gin lover is Sainsbury's first Christmas advent calendar, and it looks absolutely beautiful. Expect premium gin brands like Hendricks, Opihr and Tanqueray, as well as flavoured options such as Sipsmith in lemon drizzle flavour, (yes please!)
Sainsbury's, £60 – available in store now.
More on the pricey side - but definitely worth it - is this festive number from John Lewis. This boozey calendar contains 24 bottles of prosecco and cava to get through from a range of delicious brands. What's more – there's a 20cl Lanson Champagne to glugg on Christmas Eve, too. That's a winner in our books!
John Lewis, £125.
Christmas isn't all about mulled wine, so spare a thought for the beer lovers. For the hoppy fans, we've included this awesome beer advent calendar with a range of offerings from IPA to stout, alongside the big names in the craft beer Brewdog and Magic Rock. Cheers to that!
Laithwaite's, £49.99.
Finally, for those who really want to warm their cockles this Christmas, why not pick up the world's best-selling whisky Advent calendar? Enjoy a 30m; dram every day in the run-up with some of the world's most exciting distilleries, including Glenfarclas, Nikka, and Hudson.
Masters Of Malt, £149.94
Which one would you choose? Remember, for all your Christmas event needs, we're here to help. Contact us here for more information.
Five drinks trends for Christmas party season 2019
Just a few of the beverages – alcoholic and otherwise – that will be getting folk in the festive mood this year
Cheeky Babycham, flagon of nut brown ale or a schooner of cherry brandy anyone? Although we wouldn’t turn down any of these retro beverages, festive drinks have certainly moved on what would usually dominate a family fridge at Christmas time.
You’ve only got to look around your average supermarket aisle or behind the bar at your your local pub to see that imbibers have more choice than ever - even more so at Christmas time, when most people are stocking up.
So, what’s going to be causing a commotion with discerning drinkers this Christmas? Let’s have a look…
These Are All The Places You Can Find Pop Up Bar Hire This Summer
This summer you can find Pop Up Bar hire company serving up pints on the beach all over the country. Following a tasty meal from one of Street Food Warehouse’s fabulous food vendors, you’ll be wanting a drink- and what you want- we provide. Whether you’re wanting a refreshing cocktail to cool the mouth after a spicy dish (we recommend Spicers Meat Wagon if that’s up your 'street') or an ice-cold pint to refresh your palate before you embark on your next tasty adventure, Pop Up Bar have it all.
Pop Up Bar Hire's Guide to Surviving the Six Nations
Well, the Six Nations sure did creep up on us... The first of the Six Nations fixtures takes place in the Stade de France where France will take on Wales on home turf on the 1st February. Yes, the 1st of the month, we couldn't have wished for a better end to this very sober first month of the year... Here's Pop Up Bar's Guide to Surviving the Six Nations.
Vegan Wines & Where To Find Them
In the spirit of Veganuary, we're on the hunt for vegan wines... Now, you may be surprised. Wine comes from grapes, how can it not be vegan? We had exactly the same thought here at Pop Up Bar Hire, but after some extensive research we were surprised to see that wine contains numerous animal derived products, albeit we were pleasantly surprised to see that vegan wines are on the rise! Keep reading to discover how to find the latest vegan wines & the best dishes to pair them with.
10 Cocktails To Get You In The Mood For Spring
It may only be 10 days into January and many of us, including some of us here at Pop Up Bar Hire are doing Dry January, but we just can't stop thinking about the floral and refreshing taste of the spring season's cocktails.
Check out 10 of the tastiest, spring themed cocktails that had our mouths watering...
Recipe for the best mulled wine; nailed.
With the big day literally around the corner, we’re already thinking about all the festive flavours that Christmas will be bringing us. From mince pies, to pigs in blankets, there really is something about those warming ingredients during winter time that makes us all feel a little bit fuzzy - right?
Mulled wine, or - Christmas in a glass - as we like to call it, can be a bit of a marmite situation. Some people love the winter spice overload, and others - not so keen. However, below we’ve sourced a recipe that even the biggest of scrooge's will love this winter.
Ingredients;
- 2 clementines
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 200 g caster sugar
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 1 whole nutmeg , for grating
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 bottles Chianti or other Italian red wine
- 2 star anise
Method;
- Peel large sections of peel from the clementines, lemon and lime.
- Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the clementine juice.
- Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the pan, then stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.
- Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring to the boil. Keep on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup. The reason I’m doing this first is to create a wonderful flavour base by really getting the sugar and spices to infuse and blend well with the wine. It’s important to make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol.
- When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine. Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
So there we have it; Christmas in a glass, and one of the ultimate ways to stay cosy this winter - enjoy!
Note; if you’re planning on hiring a pop up bar in the new year, why not let us bring the party to you? At Pop-Up Bar Hire, we can help stock, organize, and run your bar so that you can sit back and enjoy the party. Contact us here for more information.
Cocktail of the week: Hot Toddy
With winter in full swing, and your fluffy pyjamas becoming more of a solid outfit choice in the evenings, there's only one hot drink that'll warm your cockles during the dark nights. Fruity, sweet, and alcoholic; it’s time to cosy up with a Hot Toddy.
Hot toddies are usually made with tea, typically a plain old black tea, but they’re also great with green tea or jasmine for those who prefer something a little more fragrant. Unlike mulled wine, or warm cider, hot toddies are light and refreshing rather than overwhelmingly sweet. The combination of whisky, honey, lemon, cinnamon and cloves really packs a punch and is perfect not only for sipping on in your PJ's, but for entertaining guests this winter.
Hot toddies were also used widely in the mid-19th century to help cure the common cold. You would fix yourself a steaming mug of hot water, add honey, herbs, spices and liqueur such as whiskey, rum, or brandy and let the healing begin. Seriously, is there anything this drink can't do?
What you'll need:
50ml whisky
3 tsp honey, or to taste
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 lemon, half juiced and half sliced
2 cloves
How to prepare:
- In a teapot or saucepan, bring the water to a simmer. Pour the hot water into a mug
- Add the whiskey, the teaspoons honey and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Stir until the honey has disappeared into the hot water. Taste, and add 1 teaspoon honey for more sweetness, and/or 1 teaspoon more lemon juice for more zing.
- Garnish with a lemon round (studded with cloves) and cinnamon stick
Are you feeling festive yet? We can't wait to cosy up with a Hot Toddy this winter!
For more information on the services that Pop Up Bar Offer, get in touch today.
CREEPY CRAWLIES - IN YOUR COCKTAILS?
Now don't get us wrong, we're all for trying something new when it comes to cocktails and new drinks on the block, but when we stumbled across this new creation, we weren't too sure whether to ask someone to pass us a bucket, or take the plunge and give it a try!
Critter Bitters are handcrafted cocktail bitters made with toasted crickets. Cocktail bitters are usually considered the salt and pepper of cocktails, and are a bartender's best friend, adding depths of flavour to even the simplest of cocktails.
There are four flavors in the product line: vanilla cricket, cacao cricket, toasted almond cricket, and - for the even more adventurous - pure cricket. Each flavor has a unique taste profile, and can be readily mixed into cocktails or enjoyed with soda water.
But why bugs? Seriously?
The cocktail bitters have been created to get people over the "ick" factor of eating insects, and whats-more, according the UN FAO, eating insects is the first viable solution to the world's impending food shortage. Crickets are also a great source of fat, protein, vitamins, fiber and minerals - and they have minimal environmental impact. Seeing as two billion people across 80% of the world already eat over 1,000 different kinds of insects - why shouldn't we all get on board?
Would you splash a dash of cricket in your Cosmopolitan? Or a few drops in your espresso martini? We're still not sure, but Critter Bitters could definitely give us the liquid courage we need to spark our own insect-eating traditions.
If you're not too keen on adding bugs to your cocktails, we're here to help with some of the more classic beverages. From hiring our pop up bar, to cocktail making, get in touch with us today.
Cocktail of the Week: Espresso Martini
It’s rich, indulgent, creamy, and the shot of espresso will make sure you keep up with your work mates if you find yourself flagging at the office Christmas do. It could only be one classic, and most definitely one of our favourites; the Espresso Martini.
In 1984 a top model came into the famous late bartender Dick Bradsells bar with a rather special cocktail request. She asked for something sophisticated, edgy and strong - and so the famous Espresso Martini was born. The rest is history and today it is one of the most popular, and classy cocktails.
As a drink, it’s deliciously confusing – coffee and vodka just shouldn’t be allowed to taste this good together, but it does! The liqueur has a sweetness, the espresso gives it a rich depth, and the vodka delivers that essential kick to get your evening going. All topped off - of course - with the thick, luxurious, foam that sits at the top of the glass.
Want to know how to make your own at home? See below our simple - but delicious - recipe.
What you'll need:
A handful of ice
25ml vodka
35ml Kalhua, Tia Maria, or similar
35ml fresh espresso
Coffee beans, to garnish
How to make it:
Chill your martini glasses in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before serving. Put the ice in a cocktail shaker, followed by the vodka, liqueur and lastly the coffee. Taste and add a little more liqueur if you prefer it sweeter and then shake for 20 seconds. Lastly, strain into your chilled glasses, top with 3 coffee beans, serve immediately, and let your evening begin!
If - like us - you love a good cocktail, and are planning an event on the larger scale, email us at hello@wordpress-1172833-4103133.cloudwaysapps.com or give us a call on 02920 101 562 .