Two of Manchester’s most popular drinks brands have released limited edition festive gins just in time for Christmas.
With the festive season fast approaching, both Manchester Drinks and Manchester Gin – two of the city’s most well-loved and industry-leading drinks companies – have delighted gin lovers by launching a collection of limited edition flavoured gins ready to toast a tipple or two, and round out what has been a turbulent year.
Among the festive offerings this year are a ‘Candy Cane’ flavoured gin and ‘Winter Spiced Gin’.
How brilliant do they sound?
First up, Manchester Drinks – established in 2005 and is a leader in the ready-to-drink market, providing a wide range of award-winning own-label and branded cocktails – has introduced new shimmery Candy Cane Gin Liqueur for the festive season.
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The gin liqueur perfectly blends subtle minty notes with sweet vanilla to create a beautifully fresh, yet nostalgic Candy Cane flavour for the ultimate festive sweetshop taste, and is best enjoyed neat, or by simply adding soda, ice, a sprig of fresh mint and a wedge of lime for a refreshing taste of Christmas, making it perfect for those cosy nights in.
The traditional flavoured gin also has a festive modern twist as it shimmers when shaken.
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If you’re after something a little different, Manchester Drinks Company’s hugely popular Snow Fairy Gin Liqueur – a shimmery tipple infused with all the flavours of the holiday season, including cinnamon, spice and orange – is also back by popular demand this year.
Manchester Drinks Co
The two limited-edition gins are now available exclusively in Home Bargains stores nationwide for £8 per 500ml bottle (20% ABV).
Speaking on the launch of the festive tipples, Richard Benjamin – Director at Manchester Drinks – said: “Christmas is fast approaching and what better way to get in the mood than with festive gin. We know that our fans love our nostalgic flavours so we wanted to create something we knew they’d love with added festive sparkle.
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“This fresh and festive gin is perfect to enjoy on cosy nights in or with friends and family over the Christmas period.”
Also, for the first time ever, The Spirit of Manchester Distillery – which is home to Manchester Gin – has released a limited edition festive-inspired Winter Spiced Gin and it has been created with the classic flavours of Yuletide in mind to “transport your taste buds to the festive season with every sip”.
It has a beautiful blend of orange and cinnamon – which gives each sip that citrus kick that every gin fanatic loves, followed by a sensationally warm, spicy taste that’s fitting for a Christmas tipple – and complementing these dominant flavours are notes of clove and nutmeg, creating a tipple packed with nostalgic Yuletide spices.
Manchester Gin
Manchester Gin’s incredible winter warmer can be served hot with an aromatic tonic syrup for a sweet citrus, yet spicy sip and completed with a twist of flamed orange peel and a cinnamon stick for the ultimate festive kick. Or alternatively, it is just as delicious served cold by simply pouring slowly over a few ice cubes, adding your choice of aromatic tonic, and finally garnishing to enjoy.
Seb Heeley – Co-Founder and Master Distiller at Manchester Gin – said: “After a hard year for many, we want to celebrate the festive season more than ever before, and what better way to put a smile on people’s faces than with a delicious yet distinctively Christmassy gin?
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“We had such fun sampling the festive flavours until we found the perfect expression, which is both high quality and mouth-wateringly delicious.
“Winter Spiced Gin has the perfect balance of spice and citrus to provide that festive flavour whilst creating a drink which everyone will enjoy.
“It’s also really exciting to be launching our first gin with a recommended hot serve, further adding to the warm feeling this unique blend of botanicals creates [so] we hope that gin-lovers across the country enjoy drinking Winter Spiced just as much as we enjoyed creating it.”
The Winter Spiced Gin is launching this November priced at £35 for a 500ml bottle (40% ABV), and you can pre-order it via the Manchester Gin website here.
Eats
Manchester champagne bar launches new £155 menu of ‘exceptional’ single-bite dishes
Daisy Jackson
The UK’s first dedicated champagne boutique, Portfolio, is finally ready to launch its restaurant experience – and it’s like nothing Manchester has seen before.
The luxury champagne bar on Bridge Street has unveiled a new restaurant concept built entirely around ‘the perfect bite’, with diners able to enjoy up to 18 single-mouthful dishes for £155 per person (or 14 dishes for £135pp).
At lunchtimes, Portfolio will offer a 10 course menu for £75pp, with an optional wine pairing.
The intimate nine-table restaurant is the latest venture from acclaimed chef Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and Edinburgh Castle, who says he wanted to focus on the one bite guests remember long after a meal has finished.
Rather than serving traditional tasting menu courses, every dish is designed to be eaten in a single mouthful, paired with some of the world’s finest and rarest champagnes and wines.
Diners are encouraged to tackle each course in one go – no matter how tempting it might be to savour it a little longer.
As co-founder Pizer explains: “I’ve always been drawn to the most memorable part of any meal – that single perfect bite, the one you remember long after the meal.
Beef fat hash, beef tartare, horseradish and Bloody Mary gel, served on top of champagne corks Carrot tart, gooseberry, fresh curds in thin crispy pastryhiso leaf taco with spring shoots, citrus vinaigrette, blackcurrant wood
“This menu is built around that idea: big flavour, perfect balance, all in one mouthful, designed to sit seamlessly alongside great Champagne.”
Highlights include a chicken and oyster tempura skewer topped with sour cream and chives, a carrot tart packed with gooseberries and fresh curds, and a beef-fat hash crowned with beef tartare and Bloody Mary gel, dramatically served on champagne corks.
One standout dish is a decadent lobster roll enriched with pork fat, where crispy brioche provides the perfect contrast to sweet Cornish lobster, cucumber, celery and apple.
Elsewhere, a refreshing shiso leaf taco with spring shoots and citrus vinaigrette offers a palate-cleansing break before richer dishes including Chinese-style pork belly with white kimchi, and a duck course featuring breast, confit meatball and duck neck sausage.
Some of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in ManchesterInside Portfolio ManchesterSome of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in Manchester
Dessert arrives in the form of a kiwi marshmallow-style treat with blackberry, mint and a dusting of icing sugar.
The drinks are no afterthought either. Portfolio houses more than 250 champagnes from over 70 producers, and diners can add carefully matched champagne pairings to either the 14-course (£135) or 18-course (£155) menu.
With only 24 covers available at any one time, the experience is intentionally relaxed. There’s just a single sitting each service, meaning guests can linger over their food and fizz for as long as they like.
For those not ready to commit to 18 bites in one sitting, Portfolio’s bar remains open six days a week, offering a more casual snack menu alongside its extensive champagne list.
Pizer describes the concept as his chance to experiment freely and, above all, ‘make food fun again’.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Emily Sergeant -
13th November 2020 
