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Salford Rum open the city’s first rum garden under the railway arches

As well as hosting the brilliant-sounding rum garden, the new space will also be home to the company's first proper distillery and bar - giving fans of their Salford Docks-inspired spiced rums the chance to drink straight from the source.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 13th September 2021

Today, Salford Rum is a well-known brand in the city – but like many popular craft enterprises, it started from humble beginnings.

Founded by two lads from Leigh, today Salford Rum Company is stocked nationwide in supermarkets like Morrisons and Co-Op but it first began life as an idea conceived during a drunken night out.

Rugby-league-playing high school friends Tommy Gaughan and James Harrison were sat watching their wives sip from a list of gins as long as their arm when they had their very own ‘eureka’ moment.

Founders Tommy Gaughan and James Harrison run the business alongside their 9-5 day jobs / Image: Salford Rum Company

Based upon the logic that if there’s a market for craft gin, surely there might also be one for craft rum, the pair spent the following eight months researching everything they could about distilling their own concoctions whilst continuing to work their day jobs.

Drawing inspiration from the history of the local area and ingredients imported to the old Salford Docks, they went on to create two core expressions since launching in 2018: a golden Salford Spiced Rum and Salford Dark Spice.

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Now, they’ve revealed plans to open Greater Manchester’s very first rum garden as part of a new expansion into the railway archways on Viaduct Street.

The new distillery will be housed on Viaduct street in a former Martial Arts centre, with the rum garden on accompanying land under the railway line / Image: Google Maps

As well as hosting the brilliant-sounding rum garden, the new space will also be home to the company’s first proper distillery and bar – giving fans of their Salford Docks-inspired spiced rums the chance to drink straight from the source.

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Here, the pair plan to create some new small-batch expressions and unique blends using a shiny, new craft copper still which will be on display for all to see.

It’s exciting times for the duo, who continue to work their 9-5 jobs whilst running Salford Rum Company alongside using all the free hours they can find.

Speaking on the new opening plans Tommy Gaughan, one half of the duo responsible for launching Salford Rum, said: “The support we’ve had locally for Salford Rum is nothing short of incredible.

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“When looking for somewhere to take the brand to the next level, it was always going to be in Salford, and always going to be a place whereby our supporters can come and feel like they’re part of the Salford family.”

“We’ve got so many ideas and can’t wait to see the distillery space, bar and rum garden come to life over the next couple of months,” added James Harrison.

Salford Rum’s first expression Salford Spiced Rum is infused with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and dried Caribbean fruits / Image: Salford Rum

With the opening date set for early 2022, we expect to see some enticing new additions added to their repertoire – which currently spans core expressions, as well as some special editions like their new Honey Rum, made with honey from local beekeepers.

Aptly named The Dirty Old Town Distillery after the song ‘Dirty Old Town’ which featured on The Pogues 1985 album Rum Sodomy & the Lash, the distillery will be located in Arch 33 on Viaduct Street, Salford. 

Feature image – Salford Rum Company.

News

This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic. Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.

Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.

Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.

With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.

Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.

Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats

Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.

Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.

The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.

The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats

Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.

As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.

Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.

Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.

Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.

Read more: This hidden Manchester pasta and dumplings restaurant has just made the Michelin Guide

Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.

Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.

Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.

Read more: Tim Martin is blaming ‘people drinking at home’ for UK Wetherspoons closures

At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.

Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

News

Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.

Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.

Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.

The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.

From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.

Read more: This Manchester pub is hosting an all-you-can-eat Valentine’s cheese night

On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.

In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.

Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.

That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.

Read more: Northern Belle in Manchester – one of the world’s most luxurious trains with £440 tickets and seven-course dinners on board

Available to order via Deliveroo for collection or delivery, use the code ADMAIORA5 to get a cheeky five pounds off your order courtesy of The Manc.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

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