Whiskies of Scotland 12 Days of Christmas 2021 – Day 6, Duncan Taylor Culdrain 10 Year Old

Day 6 was the second of the single grain or malt whiskies in the Whiskies of Scotland 12 Days of Christmas 2021 set from The Spirits Embassy. It’s a Duncan Taylor Single Malts Culdrain 10 Year Old. Unless you’re already aware of Duncan Taylor’s impressive range, you probably haven’t encountered Culdrain ‘distillery’ before. It’s named after a place very near The Spirits Embassy in Huntly and is a distillery in disguise, one of my favourite ones, the underrated Ardmore whose supermarket offering of The Legacy doesn’t reflect its brilliance, although it’s a decent enough affordable dram. Their indie bottlings are so much more appealing, as is often the case.

This Highland whisky was bottled for the Lonach Highland Gathering and Games in 2021 which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic but is set for 27th August 2022 (https://www.lonach.org). It looks like an impressive event involving spears and kilts and is billed as ‘Scotland’s friendliest games’. 2022 will mark the 179th games and I wonder what the special whisky will be.

The first 4 drams of the 12 days were Duncan Taylor blends, this next 4 are Duncan Taylor drams, the Culdrain bottled under their Single Malts banner, and the final 4 are the Whiskies of Scotland brand, all produced by indie bottler, Duncan Taylor Whiskies. The Culdrain is a single cask whisky bottled at 46% but there’s no information about how many bottles were produced.

All drams in this set will be poured into a Perfect Measure glass, covered with a whisky coin and set aside for up to 30 minutes before being tasted, then resampled with a few drops of Larkfire Water to see what’s revealed.

Duncan Taylor Single Malts Culdrain 10 Year Old, produced for Lonach 2021, 46% ABV, £35

The colour of Sauvignon Blanc, the nose has dunnage and a little farmyard funk, a hot toasted fruit teacake slathered in butter and marmalade, dried Christmas oranges studded with cloves and hanging on the spruce Christmas tree, cherries, Germolene, iodine, Galaxy, Crunchie and Milky Way chocolate bars, Minstrels and Maltesers, lemon meringue pie, honey, sea air and a hint of pine and cherry wood smoke.

Water reveals Terry’s Chocolate Orange, hay, lavender, hyacinth, roses plus rose and violet milk chocolates on the nose. A brioche loaf with salted butter, heather honey and marmalade, rum and raisin fudge, Chinese roast duck, Sesame Snaps and milk chocolate hazelnuts, with just a little smoke at the back.

A smooth and creamy mouthfeel with lashings of flavour, starting with a trio of honeys – orange blossom, lavender and heather. There are ginger and brandy snaps, Liquorice Allsorts, Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate, dark chilli chocolate, cherries covered in dark chocolate and condensed milk over caramelised bananas and pineapple. There’s clean smoke, sea air and a gently spiced finish with ginger and star anise, plus vanilla latte and gentle wafts of smoke. It’s a lovely easy drop, a nicely chewy dram.

With water, there’s more smoke, the burning of the yule log, beautifully perfumed with Christmas. Dark chocolate enrobed ginger, chocolate toffees, walnut whips, orange blossom honey, lavender, heather, lemon and orange soufflés, lemon cheesecake and a deliciously smoky finish with unfurling curls of smoke, ginger, cardamom, cloves and plums with cinnamon. It’s beautiful, even at 46% ABV, water adds so much.

A great dram for the season

I really, really like this, especially with water, and it’s great value. An easy and very enjoyable session dram, it would also be amazing in fudge. I now want whisky fudge – and a bottle of this Ardmore in disguise!

To buy a bottle of other Duncan Taylor Culdrain 10 Year Old for £35, go to https://thespiritsembassy.com/products/lonach-2021-culdrain-10-year-old-700ml-46?_pos=1&_sid=0d905e95f&_ss=r

To buy your own set of the 12 drams for £49.99, go to https://thespiritsembassy.com/products/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-advent-box?_pos=1&_sid=9c2632d2f&_ss=r

For the 12 Days of Christmas Gin package, see https://thespiritsembassy.com/products/12-days-of-christmas-gin-selection-box-2021?_pos=3&_sid=9c2632d2f&_ss=r

Just a reminder, postage is free at The Spirits Embassy for purchases over £75, great excuse to buy more!

In case you missed the other drams:

Day 1 – Duncan Taylor Smokin’ https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2021/12/25/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-2021-dram-1-duncan-taylor-smokin/

Day 2 – Duncan Taylor Scottish Glory https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2021/12/26/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-2021-day-2-duncan-taylor-scottish-glory/

Day 3 – Duncan Taylor The Big Smoke 46 https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2021/12/27/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-2021-day-3-duncan-taylor-the-big-smoke-46/

Day 4 – Duncan Taylor 12 Year Old https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2021/12/28/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-2021-day-4-duncan-taylor-black-bull-12-year-old/

Day 5 – Duncan Taylor Iconic Speyside 7 Year Old https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2022/01/01/whiskies-of-scotland-12-days-of-christmas-2021-day-5-duncan-taylor-iconic-speyside-7-year-old/

See you later for Day 7 of Whiskies of Scotland 12 Days of Christmas 2021 whose sherry cask is reflected in its appealing colour

Something Different

My mum’s best friend drank Teacher’s. No judgement here but, every Christmas, mum would give her a bottle of her favourite – and only – whisky. I have friends who wear the same perfume day in, day out, year after year. They love it. Another friend will drink her way through a bottle of gin over the course of days or weeks before opening a different one. But I’m not like that, I want something different, something to suit my mood of the day – different whisky, different perfume and a plethora of open gin, ready for me to pour what I want that day with no restrictions. I’d get bored without variety but that doesn’t mean I don’t have old favourites, my comfort choices.

I don’t understand the need to limit ourselves, deny ourselves something different. If mum’s friend were alive now, mum would still give her a bottle of Teacher’s but I’d add a few drams, including some single malt, maybe even cask strength Ardmores, so she could see if something new appeals. Stick to the tried and tested but expand horizons.

I miss the days of talking to people by the whisky and gin shelves in supermarkets, those who want to try something new and just want someone to tempt them and give them the courage to try a new brand. It didn’t always work and they’d carry away their Gordon’s, missing out on something new and exciting. Worn slippers still bring comfort but look at all the lovely shiny things out there.

In my last post, Dry January, 2021 (https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/dry-january-2021/), I mentioned that I was keeping a diary to record what whisky I was drinking. And that’s when I realised how incredibly lazy I was being. I was tired so didn’t want to open a new bottle or pour a special drample but my whisky list this year is shockingly limited, I must do better. Once I wake up.

I went to boarding school for my sixth form, a huge culture shock from living at home, not least because the food was appalling. The burger filled with cheese stands out in my memory and my horror of trying to identify it at the time. So, I cooked in my girls’ boarding house. I was reported for not attending the dining hall and summoned before matron – this really does sound like something out of Enid Blyton but without the lashings and lashings of ginger pop! I was made to keep a food diary. If you ever want to give someone an eating disorder, make them write a food diary. I was offered chips and dutifully recorded ‘one chip’. I was lucky that I realised the danger of what they were doing. I just wish I’d thought about it earlier and just lied but I was a sweet person back then.

Keeping a drink diary is similar, it made me more aware of what I was drinking, possibly overly so. If your drinking is a concern, this might actually be a good idea, though. I stopped at two drams, the third would feel as though it should be written in bold, maybe even in bold italics! I also increased my dry days, listing them as dry, that word standing out, not just as a day I wasn’t drinking but one where I felt too tired to drink. It will be interesting to see, when I eventually heal from Long Covid, whether I’ll still have as many dry days a week, through choice by then.

But what I noticed most was that I’m sticking to one bottle of whisky and the odd Woodford Reserve Old-fashioned at the moment. I feel almost diminished, I need variety but I also don’t want to waste good whisky and that’s why I’m sticking to one of my standard, easy quaffers like Smokehead. I must do better.

I loved doing an Advent calendar because it pushed me to be adventurous and not just reach between the sofa and pour an easy-to-reach bottle. To my right as I type is a coffee table full of drams, to my left are boxes of them, in front are unopened bottles. There is no excuse to keep pouring the same drams each time. Life’s too short to be unadventurous.

Yesterday’s perfume, incidentally, was Library of Fragrance’s Gin & Tonic cologne (https://uk.thelibraryoffragrance.eu/gin-tonic/). Today’s whisky… Well, it won’t be a Smokehead or a Woodford Reserve Old-fashioned, I’m tired so not an old or rare dram but there will be a bottle which will catch me eye. And there it is, look up to the right and Willett’s Pot Still, an easy quaffer, stands out. The first time I saw it at The Whiskey Affair festival in Brighton, I thought it might be like Crystal Head vodka, an inferior product disguised by a distinctive bottle. I was wrong, it’s a lovely rich dram, a quality session one. 

It’s easy to get settled, especially in lockdown but, when every day is the same, we need to be different. I’m drinking Manhattans tomorrow and a different American whiskey all next week because times, they are a-changing and I won’t be held back.

Southwaves Radio Drink Advent Calendar

Southwaves Radio Drink Advent Calendar 2015

 Last year, I created a whisky Advent calendar (https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/whisky-advent-calendar-2014/) which I wrote live every day after my dram. It was huge fun and a great way for us all to discover new whisky – and share old favourites.

But I accept that, shockingly, not everyone loves whisky. I have over 100 different varieties at home from all over the world, not just Scotch whisky and not just single malts. There were also some glorious blendeds in the Advent calendar last year but, this year, I wanted to be more inclusive and so I created a Drink Advent Calendar which was on Southwaves Radio three times a day.

I was meant to write it up daily but life doesn’t always run smoothly and that’s why you’re getting it all here in one go – so much easier to read…

So, 25 days, 25+ drinks and a fabulous way to celebrate the festive season. The best part? You don’t need it to be Christmas to enjoy them.

Join me for the Cocktail Hour on www.southwavesradio.co.uk every Thursday at 9pm, repeated Sundays at 8pm for great music – and fabulous drinks!

Happy New Year!

1^st December – WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey

I started with a classic, a Manhattan, and the quality ingredients have made this a favourite of mine. Sadly, Santa didn’t hear my plea for another bottle of WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey but I really want more. It’s got creamy vanilla with butterscotch, crème brûlée, oak, peat and a warming hint of orange. It’s a fantastic American whiskey.

A great Manhattan needs a quality vermouth and there was only one choice for me – Belsazar Red Vermouth whose fruit brandies add extra depth. There’s plum, passion fruit, cherry, orange and brandy. It’s the perfect marriage with WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey.

This marvellous Manhattan is warming, and tastes of the smell of Yule log, there’s plum, cloves and Port, it’s fruity and jazzy. You can just imagine drinking this in a shadowy New Orleans bar, listening to jazz – and it tastes of Christmas. The perfect start to the Southwaves Radio Drink Advent Calendar.

Manhattan
25ml WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey
25ml Belsazar Red Vermouth
Large dash of Angostura Bitters

Pour into a tumbler, swirl – and enjoy.

2^nd December – Tanqueray London Dry Gin

The drink of the day? Tanqueray London Dry Gin. I love G&T but there are times when I want a change and my special Gintly Does It cocktail is incredible and so refreshing. Perfect for lunch or parties.

Tanqueray London Dry Gin is a great cocktail gin. It’s a big gin so stands up to other drinks but also offers a sublime G&T with its juniper and lemon taste and is very smooth. It’s my main go-to gin for parties as it offers something for everyone. Try it in Gintly Does It which I created especially for the Advent calendar and have enjoyed drinking ever since.

I love Qcumber which combines cucumber with sparkling water – perfect on its own or with gin. It’s a great addition to any cocktail cabinet or for designated drivers/non-drinkers. So refreshing.

Gintly Does It
25ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
15ml Rose’s Lime Cordial
250ml Qcumber
Dash of Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters

Pour into a cocktail shaker containing ice, stir, drain into a tumbler and enjoy.

Two musts for any cocktail cabinet (or shelf) – Rose’s Lime Cordial (fresh limes are often too harsh for cocktails) and The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Traveler’s Set (sic) which includes Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters, Creole Bitters, Orange Bitters, Original Celery Bitters and Old Time Aromatic Bitters. Keep an eye on Amazon’s Lightning Deals where they often appear at a discounted price.

3^rd December – This is Not a Luxury Whisky (Compass Box)

I love whisky and I love this whisky in particular. It’s by Compass Box and the name is a pun based on a painting of a pipe entitled This is Not a Pipe by René Magritte. It’s a blended whisky and is fantastic quality and so smooth.

On the nose, there’s lavender, buttery fudge, oak and chocolate. When you taste it, there’s cherry, Christmas cake, burnt sugar and mocha. This gives way to smoke and it is superb. It’s butch and stands up well to meat – it’s crying out for being enjoyed with slightly charred barbecue sausages or just enjoyed neat.

4^th December – New Amsterdam Vodka

Parties need food and this is one of my favourite party foods – which involves drink. New Amsterdam Vodka’s a great choice for making Bloody Mary Tomatoes. It tastes of rye and lemon. It’s a crisp, smooth vodka with no bite so an ideal cocktail vodka. You’ll see it used on another day.

Bloody Mary Tomatoes
Punnet of cherry tomatoes (or more depending on the size of your party)
2 chillies, if using fresh, deseed them
50ml sweet sherry (I use Harvey’s Bristol Cream)
½ a lemon, sliced
5 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
2 dashes of Tabasco (no more unless you want it very spicy as there’s already chilli in this party food)
2 dashes of Bitter Truths lemon bitters
Top with New Amsterdam Vodka

Make this in a jar with a lid the day before a party. Pierce every tomato three times with a cocktail stick. Don’t use a fork as you don’t get the same depth and they won’t absorb the alcohol as well. Put them in a jar and add the rest of the ingredients, top with the vodka so every tomato is covered. Cover with the lid. Stir every few hours and top with more vodka if the levels go down so the tomatoes are always covered.

On the day of the party, remove the chillies and discard them. Transfer remaining ingredients into a bowl with a spoon for serving. Save any liquid left to turn into Bloody Marys. Expect your guests to want to take any remaining Bloody Mary Tomatoes home!

And, to make Bloody Mary:
25ml Bloody Mary vodka mix from above
200ml tomato juice
Celery stick, to stir
Olives or capers, to garnish

Pour the liquids into a tumbler, stir and add the capers or olives, if desired.

And what a great way to take your vitamin C and part of your five-a-day (NB medical advice from non-medical personnel like me is best enjoyed for what it is!).

5^th December – Trenet Absinthe

Oh, this cocktail needs to come with a health warning. It’s so potent – but so good! Death in the Afternoon was meant to be a drink-album match with Benjamin Clementine’s At Least for Now. This is my favourite part of my Cocktail Hour Show on Southwaves Radio (www.southwavesradio.co.uk), every Thursday at 9pm and repeated on Sundays at 8pm. I match a drink to an album where the drink complements every song and adds to the enjoyment of listening to it. Every song has to work or I have to start all over again – Death in the Afternoon jarred with a couple of the songs but was too good not to share elsewhere and it became an Advent calendar drink.

It’s a classic and credited to Ernest Hemingway whose 1935 advice is best not followed in its entirety, ‘Pour one jigger Absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.’ Three to five? You’ll fall off your chair. This stuff is strong!

Absinthe was blamed for driving people insane and banned. When the green fairy, as it’s popularly known (think Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge if you must) was allowed to be sold again, people got excited, bought it… then had no idea what to do with it because, well, it’s a strange drink. You can just pour it on a sugar cube and enjoy it that way. I don’t recommend drinking it neat because I had a single sip – and my tongue went numb. For hours!

But Death in the Afternoon is a great cocktail. It’s strong but fun and a real talking point. Just don’t do a Hemingway and drink five of them!

Death in the Afternoon
25ml Trenet Absinthe
125ml Lanson Champagne

Pour the Absinthe into a Champagne flute, top with Champagne (you can also use pink cava for a pearly pink finish). Wait for the cocktail to become cloudy before drinking it.

6^th December – Highland Park Cocktail Kit

I love cocktail and I love whisky – combine the two to make an Old Fashioned Cocktail using Highland Park Dark Origins. Highland Park have created a fun cocktail kit in a tin which makes two Old Fashioneds and was designed to be used when travelling. It contains a small bottle of aromatic bitters, two packets of cane sugar (like takeaway sugar packets), a dinky spoon with a muddler bar on the end for crushing the sugar and a linen coaster (and why not!). Perfect for serving with a 50ml miniature of Highland Park Dark Origins to make two Old Fashioneds. On the plane or train. Just fabulous!

Why Highland Park Dark Origins? Because it makes a Smoky Old Fashioned. It’s 46.8% and, on the nose, it’s got butterscotch, peat, seaweed and grass. This is one of the few whiskies I drink with a few drops of water because you get heather and lavender notes in addition to the complexity of the dram – peat, bonfire, bacon, hay and pepper. This gives way to chocolate, sherry and spices. It’s a wonderful whisky and perfect in an Old Fashioned.

It’s smooth, chocolaty, rich, warm and there’s coffee, Black Forest Gateau and extra cherry. Despite the sugar, it’s not sweet but gently fizzes on the tongue for a few minutes. It’s glorious! Some mixologists delight in using smoke effects, I just love being Old Fashioned.

Smoky Old Fashioned
1 packet/1 tsp cane sugar
½ tiny bottle/3 dashes of Aromatic bitters
25ml Highland Park Dark Origins Whisky

Pour the sugar into a tumbler or Old Fashioned glass (as a short tumbler or rocks glass is also known), add the bitters and crush with the bar of the muddler spoon, add the Highland Park Dark Origins Whisky and stir with a spoon – use the linen coaster for added finesse!

7^th December – Fireball

This is one of my favourite cocktails and I created it just for you. I blame my Vegas friends who keep talking about dancing on tables after drinking Fireball. It made it sound so much fun and rather dangerous. An irresistible combination when sitting on the sofa, watching it rain in soggy Sussex but I didn’t just want to serve Fireballs neat, I wanted to create some magic and that’s just what I did.

Fireball’s £13 from Tesco and Sainsbury’s – a rare occasion when the Amazon Lightning Deal was actually more expensive than buying it in the supermarket. It’s a blended whiskey and cinnamon liqueur and, at 33%, it’s a heady mix but tastes of innocence – with a bite. Think cinnamon sweets and bubblegum, it’s the taste of childhood but with added alcohol.

Briottet make some of the best liqueurs around. I love their fruit liqueurs, especially their Crème de Pêche for Bellinis but their Salted Caramel Liqueur (Liqueur de Caramel à la Fleur de Sel) is fabulous!

This drink is heavenly but with a snap from the Fireball. It’s a Fallen Angel – smooth but watch that bite!

Fallen Angel
25ml Fireball
25ml Briottet Liqueur de Caramel à la Fleur de Sel or use Bailey’s if you can’t get any

Pour into a tumbler, stir and feel all your troubles just float away for a while. It’s innocent wickedness in a glass. Sublime!

8^th December – Laphroaig Select

I love peaty whisky and Laphroaig is one of my favourites but this is something else – it’s Laphroaig Select and, oh, so soft. There’s peat and bonfire on the nose and the mouth is full of leather, bacon, very smoky peat and more smoke. It’s just so sexy!

It’s distilled in different casks – sherry, oak and bourbon which are absorbed and add flavour. Perfect for lovers of peaty whisky.

9^th December – Brockmans Gin

One of my absolute favourite gins, Brockmans Gin comes in a sexy black bottle which is just designed to be stroked. It’s so tactile and as for the gin itself… it’s the only gin I drink neat and is full of berries. It’s perfect in cocktails and you’ll see it again in the Advent calendar. Perfect for parties – I’ve had to buy another bottle because it’s just fantastic! Everyone needs Brockmans Gin in their life, even people who might not normally drink gin or only drink sloe gin. It’s berryful of flavour with strawberry on the nose and tastes of raspberry, strawberry and blueberry.

At this time of year, we all seem to buy or be given Port, often from M&S. Don’t just drink it neat, add it to cocktails. It’s got blackberry on the nose, is smooth and tastes of blackberry wine as it crawls up the glass beautifully. It’s a great, quaffable Port and also ideal mixed with brandy if you have a cold.

Or add it to Brockmans Gin and my favourite make of Vermouth, Belsazar Red Vermouth, to make a fabulous Ruby Cooler which is full of berries, melon and so very refreshing.

Ruby Cooler
40ml Brockmans Gin
20ml Belsazar Red Vermouth
20ml Marks & Spencer Ruby Port
Large dash of Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters
Top with dry ginger ale

Use a Martini glass, pour the ingredients into the glass and top with ginger ale for a wonderfully flavoursome Ruby Cooler.

10^th December – Flaming Heart Whisky (Compass Box)

I love the label of this blended whisky. For anyone refusing to contemplate any whisky that isn’t a single malt, you’re missing out. Compass Box do a great range of blended whisky and Flaming Heart (ABV 48.9%) is their 15^th anniversary edition, created to celebrate 15 years of Compass Box whisky.

It’s such a moreish whisky – light on the nose with vanilla, peat and almond with a wonderfully warming taste of cinnamon, peat, coffee, oak and marzipan. It lingers with an aftertaste of crème brûlée and jam.

11^th December – St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

This is a party favourite which I make by the jug-load. I also make a mocktail version of it for those who can’t or don’t drink.

I love the Art Nouveau-style of St Germain Elderflower Liqueur’s bottle. You can just mix it with white wine or Champagne but I love turning it into a gintastic cocktail. If drinking on my own, I use Hendrick’s Gin which is a beautiful gin with rose and cucumber botanicals and its floral mix works so well with the elderflower liqueur but, if making for mixed company, I always use Tanqueray London Dry Gin which is fuller and deeper.

Radio Gingin
15ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
25ml Hendrick’s or Tanqueray London Dry Gin
200ml dry ginger ale
Large dash of Rose’s Lime Cordial
3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Pour the ingredients into a tumbler with ice in it, stir and enjoy.

Radio No Gin (mocktail)
1 tsp Rose’s Lime Cordial
250ml dry ginger ale
3 dashes of Angostura Bitters (NB contains alcohol so don’t use if someone is strictly non-alcoholic)

Pour the ingredients into a tumbler with ice in it, stir and enjoy.

12^th December – Blackdown Artisan Spirits Christmas Pudding Vodka

Blackdown Artisan Spirits are a Sussex-based company and use ingredients grown in the South Downs National Park. Their Christmas Pudding Vodka (ABV 29.9%) is crying out to be made into a Christmas Pudding Martini, especially using the fruit bandy-based Belsazar Red Vermouth. It’s the colour of tea and is very smooth. On the nose, there’s cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and fruitcake. It smells of Christmas.

The taste is also all things Christmas with brandy, cherry, nutmeg and Christmas cake. It isn’t obviously a vodka (added in case people say they don’t like vodka) as it’s very smooth and there’s so much going on and it’s wonderful – thick, warming and like a liquid and very alcoholic dessert. Don’t just save it for Christmas!

And it deserves more than one cocktail today – or you could just drink it neat.

Christmas Pudding Martini
25ml Blackdown Artisan Spirits Christmas Pudding Vodka
10ml Belsazar Red Vermouth

Santa Special
But don’t just stop there if you want to celebrate in style. Use the above as a base, then, for pure Christmas magic, add:

10ml Tamova Salted Caramel Vodka Liqueur from Aldi

13^th December – Hoxton Gin

This is an incredible gin, I love it! The bottle states, ‘Warning! Grapefruit and Coconut’ because Hoxton Gin is like no other gin, it contains exotic botanicals which will appeal to non-gin fans but even gin purists should give this a go as it’s an exceptional gin and far more complex than it sounds. You won’t be bopped on the nose with grapefruit which is what had made me hesitate to try this gin before.

There’s heavy juniper on the nose, that classic gin ingredient, then the coconut comes through and, yes, it bops you on the nose but it sings of paradise.

I don’t drink this gin neat, unlike Brockmans, but turn it into a classic G&T and the ginger and grapefruit harmonises with a gentled coconut adding an exotic feel. The rich scent of coconut lulls you and there’s still the comforting taste of juniper in the background.

Hoxton’s Gin & Tonic
25ml Hoxton Gin
200ml Fever-Tree Tonic Water
Strictly no lemon slices

Add ice to a collins glass, pour in the gin, then the tonic water but don’t even be tempted to throw the balance by adding a slice of lemon. You won’t need it, just soak in the taste of a sun-stroked beach and enjoy!

14^th December – Midori

Midori is an emerald green liquid and one of those strange bottles that you see on the shelf and wonder what on earth you do with it. Well, you could simply add it to Champagne or do what I do and make a Tokyo Tea – also called a Toxic Tea because of the vibrant green colour. Think Ghostbusters slime colour. Pretty? No but a great party favourite and I often take a 1l bottle of it with me to parties where it’s always enjoyed.

WARNING: This is the most alcoholic cocktail I make. Unlike a bar I went to at the MGM in Vegas, I make mine the traditional way, not with sugar syrup and that means 7 parts of alcohol and no dilution. Yes, 7 parts but it’s guaranteed to make you smile for hours. Just ensure that you have a designated driver or handy taxi.

Tokyo Tea
2 parts Midori
1 part Tanqueray London Dry Gin
1 part New Amsterdam Vodka
1 part Matusalem Platino Rum
1 part Bols Triple Sec
1 part tequila

 15^th December – Beinn Dubh Whisky

Possibly the sexiest whisky ever! Beinn Dubh (pronounced, badly, Bee-in Doo) means Black Mountain and this is a black whisky. Finished in charred Port casks, it’s a single malt (ABV 43%) from the mountains of Cairngorm and comes from Speyside Distillery. It’s the colour of espresso with toffee on the nose.

The taste is beautiful and incredibly deep – sultanas, peat, seaweed, chocolate, toffee, Port, Black Forest gateau and even Christmas cake. The long finish is of Christmas cake and it’s a fantastic dram. I want more!

 16^th December – Bitter Truths Violet Liqueur

Another one of those strange bottles you see on the shelf or in the Amazon Lightning Deal. I also use Lejay-Lagoute Parfait Amour Liqueur which has violet and orange. Both are great for mixing with Champagne or gins like Hendrick’s – or, as here, Brockmans, for an exceptional Violet Martini.

The Belsazar Dry Vermouth is an exceptional vermouth and its fruit brandies give it an additional depth and flavour. It turns Martinis into something more magical with more complexity – definitely a cocktail cabinet essential.

The Violet Martini is bursting with flavour, it’s so full of berries which complement the violet liqueur. The latter can be overwhelming and topple the balance so start off with 5ml and build up if necessary. Perfect for anyone who, like me, loves Parma Violets. This is one of my favourite Martinis as its bursting with flavour and so, so moreish.

Violet Martini
25ml Brockmans Gin
25ml Belsazar Dry Vermouth
5-10ml Bitter Truths Violet Liqueur, to taste

Mix the ingredients in a Martini glass and swirl. Start with 5ml (1 tsp) of Bitter Truths Violet Liqueur, then add more if needed. I don’t use cocktail shakers and ice for this particular Martini.

17^th December – Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013

What a revelation. This Californian wine has to be one of the best red wines I’ve ever had and I also love their very buttery, elegant Chardonnay.

It’s a great label with a stylish font and I love the fact that the horse logo is even on the cork – a great gift for horse lovers.

There’s chocolate on the nose with lawnmower (grass and petrol) in the background. It has the typical Cabernet Sauvignon notes of blackberry and Black Forest gateau but with so much more than that and all perfectly balanced – walnut, oak, high notes of pine, mace, bergamot and even pipe tobacco and violet but all rolled into the most glorious, smooth mix. It is an incredible wine and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon is glorious!

It’s not heavy so not like the big butch Australian reds but it is rather sexy and very, very elegant. Perfect for dinner parties or just on its own when relaxing. I want some more!

18^th December – Sputnik Rose Vodka

A beautifully smooth vodka which tastes of rose. You can drink it neat or, do what I do and make a Rose and Lychee Martini. If you can’t find the fabulous Sputnik Rose Vodka (available on Amazon), use New Amsterdam Vodka and add more rose syrup or, for a subtler taste, rose water which is sold in the cookery aisles of supermarkets or in health food shops.

Buy pink rosebuds from Chinese supermarkets or pick them from your garden – just wash them carefully first. I get the tightly curled dried buds from Chinese supermarkets which I also add to jasmine dragon pearls for a fabulously elegant and flavoursome tea.

This is one of my favourite Martinis and another great drink for parties. Use less lychee juice if you want a stronger drink.

Rose and Lychee Martini
30ml Sputnik Rose Vodka
20ml Belsazar Dry Vermouth
5ml rose water or, for a sweeter mix, Monin’s Rose Syrup
80-100ml lychee juice
3 rosebuds, to garnish (if desired)

Pour into a cocktail shaker which is full of ice, drain into a Martini glass and top with 3 rosebuds if you want to make it look all glam. That’s how I first encountered it at Ping Pong Dim Sum in London – and I’ve loved it ever since. Small confession, I never use the rosebuds when making it for myself at home but add it to the drinks at parties as people love that magic touch.

 19^th December – The Ardmore Legacy Whisky

You’ve probably realised by now that I like my whiskies big and butch (like good rock music) – okay, with some more delicate, fruity ones thrown in for balance but, given the choice, give me peat. Please!

The Ardmore Legacy Whisky (ABV 40%) is a beautiful dram with a surprisingly delicate nose of hazelnut and honey but don’t be fooled, this is a big and beautifully butch whisky. Just the way I love them.

It’s so smooth with peat and bonfire, oak, heather and cinnamon. This gives way to honey and lavender. Don’t add water as it harshens it. There’s so much going on, you’ll probably want more than one dram just to appreciate it. That’s my excuse, anyway.

It’s a velvet kiss – smooth and embracing. Absolutely delicious and, at around £30, surprisingly affordable for that much complexity and pure genius.

 20^th December – Lost Blend Whisky (Compass Box)

One of the first whiskies I reviewed over a decade ago was Compass Box and they have a great range of blended whisky. I’m a huge fan.

The Lost Blend has a story. Its name is based on the 1907 short story by O. Henry and there are three different labels, showing commonly lost items such as shoes and keys. I’d lost my shoes (again) when I recorded this segment for Southwaves Radio and did it barefoot. I needed that label to help me find them!

It represents a lost blend by Compass Box, Eleuthra and blends three different whiskies, two unpeated Highland whiskies (Clynelish and Alt-a-Bhainne) and one of my favourite Islay single malts, Caol Ila.

There’s orange on the nose, surprisingly so as you’d expect that more from a Speyside dram. But it’s the taste that won me – peat, coffee, seaweed, almond, oak and vanilla. This is a whisky which benefits from a few drops of water which softens it and adds heather to the mix.

A most alluring whisky.

21^st December – Macallan Gold

I’ve been a huge fan of Macallan ever since they sponsored the Dagger awards many years ago when I worked for a crime-writing magazine and we were given free drams. Whisky and books? Yes, please!

The Macallan Gold (ABV 40%) is a quaffable whisky and perfect in whisky cocktails. There’s orange, vanilla and honey on the nose and the taste is creamy with orange, honey, cinnamon, oak and apple.

One of the ultimate comfort drinks for me is Drambuie. I had some in Vegas years ago when a drain cover hadn’t been screwed down so jumped up and attacked me in the street outside a casino. Shaken, I staggered inside and ordered a Drambuie and the lovely barman at Bill’s bar in Harrah’s poured me a Drambuie, expressing surprise that a woman would actually order any type of whisky (albeit a whisky liqueur) and drink it neat. I still get people expressing surprise when I order whisky which is a shame as, like great rock music, drinks shouldn’t be segregated by gender.

Drambuie’s been going since 1745 but always makes me think of the 1970s which is when I first drank it. I was precocious like that! There’s honey, heather and orange on the nose with liquorice, mead, orange and cinnamon on the tongue – it’s warming and tastes like a big hug. Just be careful about cleaning the neck when drinking it as the sugar content means the lid can get stuck down if not cleaned properly. Incidentally, just use hot water to open it if that ever happens to you.

Anyway, when you combine Macallan Gold and Drambuie, you get the classic Rusty Nail cocktail. The balance of the two drinks works perfectly, especially when you use orange bitters. It’s smooth and warming with chocolate, orange, honey, floral notes and mace. A great winter cocktail.

Rusty Nail
25ml Macallan Gold
25ml Drambuie
2 drops of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Combine the ingredients in a tumbler and swirl – or use a cocktail shaker with ice, then drain if you prefer your whisky on the rocks. I don’t but you can always add whisky stones straight from the freezer if you don’t want to use or don’t have a cocktail shaker. Great way of cooling whisky without diluting it if that’s how you want to serve it. I opt for rock-free every time.

22^nd December – Absolut Mango Vodka

This is another of my party regulars in Mango Martini form and it’s full of vitamin C so it must be good for you… Okay, so that’s my version of science but it tastes great and is very easy to make. I make 1l of it for every party and there’s never any left. In fact, I often have to make more because this is a very refreshing, moreish cocktail.

Shop around for Absolut Mango Vodka, it’s often on special offer in supermarkets and is a regular on the Christmas gift scene in miniature form if you want to try it before committing to the regular sized bottle.

Mango Martini
40ml Absolut Mango Vodka
25ml Belsazar Dry Vermouth
80-100ml mango juice

Pour the ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice, shake and drain into a Martini glass. For a stronger version, use 80ml mango juice.

Or, for a Raspberry Martini, replace Absolut Mango Vodka with Absolut Raspberry Vodka and mango juice with raspberry juice drink. Incidentally, their Citron Vodka is fantastic in a lemony Bloody Mary.

23^rd December – Tanqueray Rangpur Gin

As you can tell, I drink medicinally. Peaty whisky for pain, gin for arthritis and brandy mixed with Port to fight colds. And this is historic, it’s not just me who does it. One of my favourite cocktails is a Gimlet, a classic drink invented by a surgeon to ensure that sailors took lime juice so they didn’t get rickets. Yes, British sailors had to drink alcohol to stay healthy. Where can I sign up?!

I love Tanqueray Rangpur Gin in a Gimlet. The extra citrus flavour comes from the gin itself through the botanicals of Rangpur lime leaves – not an actual lime but a lemon-mandarin orange mix. It’s also known as the Canton lemon or mandarin-lime, just to confuse everyone even more. This is a great alternative to G&T and a great short gin cocktail.

Always use Rose’s Lime Cordial instead of fresh limes as the balance is gentler. Fresh limes can be too acidic and harshen the cocktail. Incidentally, the classic balance is equal parts but I find 3/2 works better, especially when using a citrus-based gin like this.

Gimlet
30ml Tanqueray Rangpur Gin
20ml Rose’s Lime Cordial

Add ice to a tumbler, pour in the ingredients, stir, enjoy and, if you’re anything like me, repeat!

24^th December – Lanson Champagne

It’s Christmas Eve and you must drink Champagne to celebrate. They’re the rules! You can drink it neat or turn it into a classic cocktail. Black Velvets are one of my naughty cocktails and they need to come with a health warning after I found myself Morris dancing with two half-bottles of wine up Lymington High Street after having more than two. Stick to just two Black Velvets – or avoid Morris dancing.

I first saw this cocktail in a black and white film. The heroine had seasickness and, as she leant perilously over the cruise liner’s railing, was told that a classic cure for that malady is a Black Velvet. Yes, she fell for it.

I use Lanson Champagne – a beautifully dry Champagne with gooseberry, lemon and hay. It’s my go-to Champagne. Just as well as I always have a bottle or two in my fridge…

The other ingredient? Guinness. Full of iron and vitamin Bs, this used to be given to pregnant women in hospital and I often take it as a tonic when I’m run down and have low iron levels. I know, great excuse!

It’s a heady mix and works so well. Slightly too well in my case but what a great way to celebrate, well, anything, really. Merry Christmas Eve, it’s about to get merrier.

Black Velvet
1 part Lanson Champagne
1 part Guinness

Pour the Lanson Champagne into a Champagne flute to the halfway level. Pour the Guinness on top over an inverted spoon or a turtle if you have one – a drink-divider used for layering and sold in cookshops. That way, the Guinness floats on the Champagne.

Except, that’s a bit of a faff, just pour both drinks in the Champagne flute at the same time and at the same rate. Perfect way to mix them, too.

 25^th December – Sparkling Gold Cuvée

Happy Christmas! You deserve two drinks because it’s Christmas and the first one is wonderfully gimmicky but surprisingly good.

It’s a Sparkling Gold Cuvée which has 23 carat gold flakes floating in a sparkling wine which is slightly sweet (think cava as opposed to Champagne) with gooseberry, lemon and honey.

I bought it for my mum as a treat after tasting it at Ardingly’s Spring Fair and it comes in a great gold ingot-style cardboard presentation box. Great to see the gold floating in the sparkling wine and it’s lovely neat or as a cocktail, just make sure not to mix anything too dark with it or you’ll lose sight of the gold flakes – so not a good choice for a Black Velvet. But a great gift for any celebration.

And now for something else… Blue Christmas Cocktail

Inspired by Elvis’ Blue Christmas, this is a colourful cocktail and so tasty. Fentiman’s have a great range of drinks and I love their Wild English Elderflower which is just crying out to be mixed with Hendrick’s Gin with its rose and cucumber botanicals. It’s a floral delight and just needs one extra flower – violet. That’s where the blue comes in and the flavours blend perfectly for a very elegant, refreshing and blue cocktail. Merry Christmas!

Blue Christmas
275ml Fentiman’s Wild English Elderflower
25ml Hendrick’s Gin
Dash of Bitter Truths Violet Liqueur

Pour the ingredients into a Champagne flute, stir gently and enjoy!

And that’s it, 25 days of the Drink Advent Calendar for Southwaves Radio – and you! And, if you’re still thirsty, join me for music, views reviews and mixing on the Cocktail Hour at 9pm Thursdays, 8pm Sundays.