Glass bottles VS plastic bottles

I had a discussion at where I work about why it seems drinks from glass bottles taste better than from plastic bottles. I do think drinks like Coca Cola taste better from glass bottles, and some agreed with this and thought bottled sparkling water was better from a glass bottle. At first I thought is was psychological and that glass bottled drink just felt like better quality. But it appears that the actual drink itself is different between the 2. With sparkling drinks they in plastic bottles they carbonate the drink more because the gas slowly leaks through the plastic, so this could effect the taste of the drink. Even though plastic bottle drinks are cheaper, I prefer the taste of glass bottled drinks and I think they are also better for the environment.

Roc De Lussac Saint Emilion

Just bought wine from Sainburys. They say the retail price is £15, but are selling at £7. This one does seem like a good deal, we will see what it tastes like.

Best places to buy wine in the UK

Recently wine has become more and more popular in the UK, but as this has happened the way people buy wines has changed. A few years ago it was common to buy wines on the high street at off licences, but with the economic problems most of them have now disappeared, partly due to competitive supermarkets.

The problem now is that the supermarkets have been buying in rubbish wine, Sainburys use to be a great place to buy wine, but over the past 18 months the price of the wine has gone up but the quality has gone down. I recently went to Tesco to buy some wine and was surprised just how awful the selection was, there was no decent wine on sale.

Even Majestic seem to have got into the idea of trying to sell cheaper bad quality wine, I would say that it is better to go to Majestic than the big supermarkets and you have less chance of coming away with a terrible bottle of wine, but recently we have had a couple of bottles that have not been good.

Here are a list of some of the best places to buy wines.

• Waitrose - The best supermarket to buy wines, sometimes they have some good offers on their fine wines section.
• Portland Wines - North West wine shops that stock some great wines.
• Bat and Bottle - Buy online or visit them in Oakham, they specialise in Italian wines.

I will continue to add to this list as we find more places to buy wine.

 

Bramble Cocktail

Ingredients


0.5 oz Chambord
1 oz Gin
0.5 oz Fresh lemon juice
4 Blackberries

Method


Add 3 blackberries to shaker
Muddle
Add Gin and lemon juice
Fill glass 0.75 full with ice
Using long spoon to stir ensure blackberries are on the top
Top with ice and float Chambord on top
Garnish with Lemon and a Blackberry

Basil Grande

This is a cocktail worth trying, if you don't like the idea of adding the Basil you don't have to, it might be worth trying it before adding the Basil and be careful with the black pepper.

Ingredients
1 oz Grand Marnier
0.5 oz Chambord
1 oz Cranberry juice
5 Strawberries
3 leaves Basil

Method
Add ingredients to shaker
Add Ice and shake
Strain into Martini Glass
Garnish with black pepper and basil.

How to make a French Martini

Ingredients
0.5 oz Chambord
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3 Fresh Blackberries

Method
Ice up Martini glass
Add all ingredients into Shaker and shake
Strain into Martini glass
Garnish with 1 blackberry skewered on mini straw.

Raspberry Mojito (Chambord)

Ingredients:

• 35ml White Rum
• 6 Mint Leaves
• 6 Raspberries
• 20 ml Lime Juice
• 1 tbsp Sugar Syrup
• 1 tbsp Raspberry Liqueur (Chambord)
• Small splash of ginger ale
• Ice 

Method:

Add the mint leaves, 4 of the raspberries into a highball glass. Add the sugar syrup, lime juice Chambord and run and stir. Add the ice and stir again, top with a splash of ginger ale and garnish the glass with a couple of raspberries and a sprig of mint.