Sedna is produced at the Rodrigues winery and distillery in Newfoundland, who specialise in creating fresh fruit wines. However their owner, Dr Rodrigues noted one day the abundance of huge icebergs floating past the winery, and decided that these large pure forms of natural water could be instrumental in creating their quadruple distilled premium vodka.

With the use of the icebergs, Dr Rodrigues decided that it was important to recognise Inuit culture and beliefs in the naming of his product, so named it Sedna, after the sea goddess. It is believed that Sedna looks after all sea animals, and forms an important part of Inuit culture as they believe she lets the sea animals be caught by the hunters to enable their survival. The raven that forms the logo, is also an important part of both Sedna’s and Inuit history.

After they had a created this premium vodka (and suitable named it) they we wary of stripping all of this goodness out of the vodka in their filtration stage. So they developed a new method, where lava rocks are placed into a large cylinder and used to remove the impurities that could remain in the liquid. This meant that they could remove these, without stripping the all important character that they had worked so hard to get in there.

So now we understand a bit about Sedna, its time to have a look at see how this actually affects the finished article. On the nose, it is very soft, creamy with buttery tones yet a slight alcohol edge. On the palate it is very soft, with a great mouthfeel, and fluffy marshmallow hints finishing with a nice alcoholic hit. It has a long finish that lingers, but feels slightly raw.

All in all I’m very pleasantly surprised by this vodka. It has a lovely mouthfeel, and has lovely warming effect, not too harsh, but still with a nice little kick (it is 40%ABV). This is definitely a vodka that I would recommend to people. This is a true sipping vodka, with a great mouthfeel and warmth, but because of these characteristics it makes it harder to mix in some drinks, there is just too much character. So rather just pour a large one over ice, and sit back and enjoy.

http://www.sednavodka.com/

Last night was aimed at recognising some of the industry personalities and the work they do. It is all fair and well having great products, but without these guys opening bars and restaurants, they become obsolete. So the list of winners is as follows:

Bar Personality of the year- Jake Burger. Portobello Star

Pub Personality of the year- Rupert Clevely, Geronimo Inns

Restaurant Personality of the year- Christine Parkinson, Hakkasan

Hot Stuff- Xavier Rousset, Texture & 28-50, London

 Industry Legend-Gerard Basset, TerraVina

Innovator of the year-Tony Conigliaro, 69 Colebrooke Row

Imbibe Overall winner, Will Beckett, Hawksmoor

So after the dust settled and the cocktails finished, groups were seen heading off to bars and restaurants ready to drown their sorrows or toast their success. All in all, it was a great night, and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to next years already!

http://imbibe.com/

It’s not often that a completely new and unique product is unleashed on the unassuming bar fraternity and its vast fans of their libations, however last night was the much anticipated arrival of a such a product, that of Kammerling’s Ginseng Spirit.

A lot of people will know, or at least heard of Alex Kammerling, and instantly recognise his reputation has, and this was one of the reasons that last night’s tasting was so important to attend. Alex spent many years behind the bar mastering his trade, before moving out from behind the stock to work for some huge brands in ambassador role. Alex spent years working for Martin Millers gin, where he help developed the Westbourne strength, before moving on to Grey Goose.

However Alex recognises his time with Millers and the development of Westbourne strength as his epiphany moment: that moment when he realised that this was something he could do, something that he wanted to do. So, about five years ago he decided to make a spirit, one that drew on influences of his favourite spirits, gin and Campari. When I started doing some research I found the following picture, (sneaky sneaky I know) and it got me excited.

So anyway, what is Kammerlings then? Well he started be looking at what botanicals were used in his favourite spirits, and what they brought to the finished article. A list of 100 was compiles, which were then infused in spirit and ranked in terms of flavour etc, before a list of 45 was decided on. These included 4 different types of ginseng, juniper, wormwood, honey and a number of other botanicals that only the Kammerling’s will know. It has taken Alex 5 years to refine his concoction, and now it is ready to introduce to the world.

Last night we found ourselves in the JubJub at Callooh Callay (yes, again!) excitedly waiting to try this new spirit aperitif (Alex’s description as it is only 33%ABV). There was obviously a nice little cocktail list for people to choose from, but I decided to go for it neat to start with, give it a chance to see how it works. You get the warm bitter glow that you would expect from a drink similar to Campari, followed by a lovely smooth soft warmth of the sweeter elements. For me the real clincher is the balance of the drink, it is harmonious, nothing is too much or too little.

So after the initial drink it was time to move onto some of the Kammerling’s cocktails made by none other than the man himself. I started with The Grosvenor, a blend of Kammerling’s (obviously), lemon juice, maraschino and egg white. It was treat, the lemon really works well with it, and the egg white adding a beautiful soft texture to an already smooth spirit. Mrs drinkslink started with a precursor, a mix of Kammerling’s, grapefruit and elderflower. Again it worked really well, however, it was a tad on the sweet side for me, but still lovely to drink. Next up was the TBC for me, a mix of Kammerlings, Punt e Mes, Ardbeg Islay whisky creating a lovely deep drink, with bitter tones. Mrs drinkslink completed the set with an Adam and Eve, a mix of grapefruit and lychee, again a great drink, long refreshing and well balanced. I have to admit though, Kate (http://londoncocktailguide.wordpress.com/)  and I decided that it was also good with a shot of gin, giving it more of a gin juniper punch, but still getting the bitter sweetness from the Kammerling’s, so simple, but oh so very effective.

What these five drinks demonstrated is that Kammerling’s is a wonderfully diverse spirit, it can be used in a number of ways, creating a number of different styles of drinks. Alex is even proud that it works well with coke and tonic water. This isn’t just a spirit created for top mixologists, this is created for people to enjoy at home, in simple cocktails, with a mixer or simply on ice. The beauty of it is that by it having a lower alcohol content and a high proportion of ginseng in it, this spirit could be considered as being better for you than other spirits. So what more encouragement do you need, go out a find a bottle and give it a go yourselves!

http://kammerlings.com/

When Atlantico first landed on these shores it was only available from one or two online shops, and it seemed whenever I checked, they had no stock. I spend time researching the brand, looking for ways to quench my thirst without the actual liquid. It was here that I learned the story behind Atlantico, this rum hailing from the shores of the Dominican Republic.

See, Atlantico is not the oldest of brands, but they obviously put a lot of love and care into what goes into the bottle. They take previously aged rums from their island, and age them again in private casks to create an even more complex rum than before. These rums are then added into another set of casks that are set up in a solera system, where the rums are aged for somewhere between 15 and 25 years.  The rum is only taken from this system when the master blender is happy with the finish article that

This solera method of aging and blending was another point that attracted me to Atlantico, as one of my favourite rums, Zacapa, is also produced in the same, difficult way. But anyway, back to my quest of actually getting to sip this most desired of spirit, it was brought to my attention that Atlantico were going to be having a little tasting at the Selfridges. Finally I was going to get my hands on some, but then alas, life happened and I was unable to make it. So I searched online once again, and finally took the plunge to order a bottle.

Not too long ago, it arrived on my doorstep, and with baited breath I opened the gorgeous bottle and poured a little sample into my nosing glass, ready to examine it, finally. It has a real golden colour, beautifully bright. On the nose it has a strong vanilla and caramel influence bursting out the glass. The anticipation builds, I’ve been waiting quite a while to finally try this, and the moment has come. It is beautifully soft with sweet caramel goodness, toffee like with underlying touches of vanilla. It is very classical tasting, full of rum goodness, with a light touch of alcohol. It is so complex with a full bodied intensity, but remarkably mellow. It isn’t over the top, or in your face at all, just beautifully balanced.

So all in all, it is definitely worth the wait, and in no way a disappointment. It has moved into my home bar, and the (very) few friends that are worthy of trying it have also loved it. One thing is for sure, there will always be a bottle of Atlantico around from now on, I don’t want to have to wait that long again!

http://www.atlanticorum.com/

I arrived mid afternoon, and was shown through to be a wonderfully elegant bar, with a collection of chairs nestled around small tables. It has a small but perfectly formed bar huddled in the corner, where I was greeted and shown to a table. Bar snack were brought over with a  glass of water while I waited for my guest.

When he arrived we ordered a couple of vesper martinis, and sat in expectation. Now, I had heard of the famed martini trolley, but wasn’t sure what to expect. The waiter, dressed in a classic white jacket, wheeled over a small wooden trolley equipped with a fruit bowl and selection of bitters and vermouth in classic bottles. He disappeared momentarily, returning with a couple of frosted martini glasses, before sloping off again. Some might se this as being forgetful or something, however I believe it was very deliberate. It helps to build the suspense, it excites you, its get you ready for what you are about to experience.

He then returned with a couple of frosted bottles, no .3 gin and potocki, a Polish rye vodka, before talking us through what he was doing as he mixed the drink. He started with a dash of angostura bitters straight into the glass, followed by a splash of Lillet Blanc. He then explained that rather than shaking or stirring their martinis, they frosted all of their bottles and poured them straight into the glass. Next was 2 measures of no.3 gin, before a final 1 measure of Potocki. He then finished with a squeezing a fresh strip of orange over the drink.

You could see as he poured the spirits that they were all beautifully frozen and had a real luscious viscosity about them. Then when it touched my lips. WOW! Probably the best martini I have ever had, seriously. Now I’m sure the whole the experience had something to do with it: the setting, the history, the theatre, but the drink was also definitely up to scratch too.

So, if you are a martini drinker, and have the budget (it is about £15 a drink!) this definitely somewhere that I would recommend visiting. It is not one to be missed!

During the summer I was lucky enough to visit the Chase Distillery in Herefordshire, have a look behind the scenes, as well as get a few sneaky peeks at some bits for the future. One of those things was a big blue container in the main part of the distillery, with a hand written label on the front reading: Sloe Gin 50l 09/10/2009.

Now this was a real treat, and one of things that I had been thinking of asking them about, but it now seemed that I didn’t have to! However it quickly became apparent that 50l in the grand scheme of things is not a big amount. After speaking to James, it turns out that the gin used for this was one of the first runs of gin that they produced using their potato vodka.

Although it made a decent gin, they found the potato characteristics overshadowed some of the botanicals slightly. It was from here they went on to develop their apple based spirit that they used for their gin, and the rest they say is history.

So they had some of this potato based gin, and decided that they should put it to some use, so like their liqueurs, they got their hands on some of the freshest sloe berries, and started making a sloe gin. This obviously happened in October 2009, so just over a year later they ‘bottled’ this unique spirit in bespoke hipflasks for the bartending fraternity.

I was one of the lucky few to be able to get my hands on a couple of the hipflasks, and see fit that the rest of you guys should get an insight into what it is actually like. So here it goes.

It has a beautiful ruby purple colour, fading to pink at the edges, it’s not as deep a colour as I would have expected, but very attractive. On the nose it is pretty light and delicate, with the bittersweet sloe at the foreground, supported by deep juniper. It is delightfully punchy, with an instant berry hit, followed by juniper and citrus with a long velvety finish that envelops the mouth.

To be honest it’s pretty textbook Chase, with upfront flavours, a great mouthfeel, alcohol warmth and rich natural fruitiness all beautifully balanced. It’s a shame that the guys at Chase aren’t making this a usual product, or at least a limited edition for consumers to buy, but let’s hope that sometime soon they give it another go, I know for one I’d buy a couple of bottles!

I first heard murmurings of this event a few weeks back, and soon it became apparent that this was not a night to be missed. So we made the arrangements, and on Saturday we found ourselves propping up the bar in the JubJub once again, this time with Dan of Bitters & Twisted and Four Roses fame mixing up the drinks.

For those of you that don’t know Dan, you should! He is the UK ambassador for Four Roses Bourbon (a new favourite of ours thanks to Dan) and is also one half of the Bitters & Twisted team discussing anything to do with the world of spirits. Dan is joined by the wonderful Sarah in this team that was recently nominated in the category of best drinks writer at the Class awards back in October. So it’s fair to say that these guys know their drinks, hence the reason Dan was invited to do a couple of shifts behind the stick in the brilliant Callooh Callay.

So we arrived in the charming JubJub and took a seat at the bar with Dan before looking through the cocktail list for the night. It was designed to represent the two sides of Dan, drinks from Four Roses new and old, and drinks that are inspired by Bitters & Twisted.

So after a quick flick through, and chat with our wonderful host, we made our choices and sat back to watch the man in action. I started with a Boulevardier, a forgotten classic similar to a negroni, but using bourbon instead of gin and served straight up. This was an absolute revelation, and one that I will definitely be making myself. It had a balanced bitter sweetness, but the bourbon carried through amazingly in my opinion, leaving a somewhat more approachable drink.

After this it was time for the Sazerac de Jalisco, one that I had already earmarked as one to try, and again it did not disappoint. It had the lovely earthy tones of tequila, with a nice smoky hit that was provided by Ardbeg whisky (Dan admits it should have been made with mescal, but it didn’t arrive in time). Again, a wonderfully balanced and very enjoyable.

This was meant to be our last, but Dan did what any good barmen should do, he persuaded us to have another! So I opted for Fetch My Slippers, a lovely blend of Cognac, Tawny port, and chocolate. It was beautiful, and the perfect way to end an evening. Again balanced with strong but elegant flavours, given a lovely soft velvety mouthfeel by the port.

All in all, we had a great night chatting to Dan with great drinks in one of my favourite bars. We discussed a lot about the industry, and our thoughts for the year, and before we knew it, it was much later than we had imagined. All that was left to do was bid farewell to Dan and the JubJub, the most hospitable of hosts, before boarding our train dreaming of the drinks once again!

So many Cognacs are available, but the big four are Hennesy, Martell, Remy Martin and Courvoisier dominate the market place. Each have their own story and styles, however Courvoisier Exclusif has really come to the forefront of the market in recent times.

Courvoisier Exclusif is a VSOP cognac, made from only Ugni Blanc grapes before being aged in French oak barrels for a minimum of four years prior to bottling. It was originally created as a more dominant cognac as it has been aged for longer than necessary to be classed as a VSOP. However this meant that it then became ideal for mixing in cocktails as the flavours would still shone through the other ingredients.

However I was slightly dubious as I figured that if it has a stronger flavour profile that is designed for drinking, would it still be ok for sipping neat? I was looking for something versatile, something that wasn’t too expensive, I could sip neat, but at the same time wouldn’t be lost in any other drinks.

I’d been trying to figure it out when an opportunity presented itself, I stumbled across a bottle of Courvoisier Exclusif on special offer for £25, so I did the honourable thing and picked up a bottle, and what a bottle it is. Its unlike the majority of cognac bottles, not short and squat, but actually a tall elegant bottle, but the real clincher is what is going on inside the bottle.

On the nose it has a sweet fruity aroma of stoned fruits with underlying vanilla and cinnamon tones. On the nose you can see that it has more body to it than other cognacs. On the palate it has an initial pepper hit, followed by a dry fruity flavour, before the vanilla come through at the end leaving a long warming finish.

This cognac is thoroughly enjoyable for me, with a great mouthfeel and balanced taste. The flavour profile is pretty hefty, so I imagine that when I come round to mixing with it, it will be just as recognisable. The only thing that I can see is that some cognac fans would find the flavour too much. However, if they are that traditional with it, then they wouldn’t require the versatility, so they would just buy something else!

Either way, this is a beautiful cognac whether drunk neat or mixed, plus it comes in a beautiful bottle, so what more could you want from this great example of a fantastic category of spirit.

Yep, that’s right Aldi, the low cost supermarket. This is pretty bizarre to be honest, but when it was announced, I’m sure I wasn’t the only person that couldn’t wait to try it, and finally now I can. It was only released to the public from Aldi stores in late October, but it’s taken me until now to get my hands on a bottle, which is silly as it is only £8.99 for 50cl.

I’ve tried to do some research on the gin, but it is fairly limited to be honest. I know it is distilled in Holland, and I know it is 50 %ABV, but apart from that, it’s pretty limited. There isn’t really much else to say really, I think the best bet it is to give it a try.

On the nose it is pretty juniper dominant, but still fairly light, with light notes of citrus and coriander coming through. It definitely has a lighter London dry nose, pretty much what I was expecting.  On the palate, it is again very juniper dominant, with a strong punchy taste. It has a smooth mouth feel, and has a pretty long spicy peppery finish.

All in all, it’s a pretty decent gin. I’m not saying it’s the best in the world, as people have very different palates and opinions. It may not be the most amazing gin in my opinion, but in terms of value it is immense,  as lets be honest, any gin that is more than drinkable that you can get for less than a tenner sounds good to me!

Check out http://www.iwsc.net/home to see the results of the IWSC 2010.

On the top of our to do list was to finally get around to the new Hawksmoor at Seven Dials (http://www.thehawksmoor.co.uk/). I’ve been to the Spitalfields site a couple of times, and I love it there. Great drinks, great atmosphere, and the food always smells immense. Now unfortunately we didn’t make a booking for 3 of us, and there were no tables available. This was annoying, and we both had a little rant (sorry Will) but the thing that I have learnt from this is that as soon as I have the dates I’m next going up, I will booking a table there, no matter what day and time.

So as we needed to meet our friend, and he recommended somewhere just around the corner, so off we strolled and finally found our way to the beautiful Kettners (http://www.kettners.com/home/) where we shown to the truly wonderful champagne bar.  Now I’m sure some of you have been here, and other not, but the grandeur of this place is amazing. It’s not the usual type of bar we would go to, but it is definitely one will go back to. While waiting for our friend, we perused the champagne list- however this was cut short when we notice the nebuchadnezzar of Tattinger going around. Now this is huge, it is 15l of champagne, or equal to roughly 20 bottles, so big it was in a bin filled with ice-I kid you not!

Anyway after a couple of glasses of this and a good old catch up with friends, it was time to move on. Being in the Covent Garden area after a couple of drinks, we didn’t feel like heading too far, so a couple of other friends pointed us in the direction of Café Pacifico (http://www.cafepacifico-laperla.com/index.html)and what a place it is! It is an out and out Mexican cantina, the smell of spicy food fills the air, the noise of the sizzling grill is only drowned out by the hum of the crowd.

So we took a seat at the bar, and dove straight into the margaritas, starting with a couple of Pacifico Anejo margaritas, and what a choice. Beautifully balanced, with a wonderful tequila kick to them. After a couple of these, and sampling a few of tequila behind the bar, it was time to be introduced to the world of Mezcal. In comparison to tequila it was smokier, more earthy, and much more complex. I was so surprised, I never thought there would be such a huge difference between the two.

After here it was time to jump on the tube and make our short journey home. The next morning however wasn’t so rosy. To say we were both a little jaded could be classed as an understatement, however, we upped, showered and left for the city. When we usually only have a limited time in London, we usually cram in meetings and be as productive as possible, but this time we wanted to take it easy, and what a godsend! So we strolled the thames, Westminster and some other gorgeous areas, playing the tourist role the best we could.

This worked a treat as we were now ready to take on the world again (just!), so for a change we headed east to catch up with some different friends. The first stop was the Commercial Tavern on Commercial Rd , Shoreditch. I’ve walked past here a couple of times, and from outside it looks like a pub, however on the inside it really is quite something. It is a complete mix match of interior, very shabby chic, with walls of buttons, clashing wallpaper etc. but again, a really nice place to grab a quick drink with friends.

However from here, it was time to head to a personal fave of mine- Callooh Callay (http://www.calloohcallaybar.com/). This place never disappoints, and I was especially happy to see the wonderful Andrea behind the bar. So the drinkslinks were joined by Francis and Maya from Distillnation (http://www.distillnation.com/), Neil (http://yetanothergin.co.uk/) and Emma (http://www.ginmonkey.co.uk/), I know, quite a little blogger/twitter party. There is never any doubt about what kind of night you are going to have here, its always brilliant!

We were then joined by Sian (http://www.sianyland.com/) not a spirit or cocktail blogger per se, but definitely someone that enjoys a drink-her words not mine! But we soon disappeared around the corner to another of Shoreditch’s drinking holes- Casita. Now it was my first time here, and I couldn’t get over how small it is, but as we all know with the JubJub, it doesn’t mean that cant make kickass drinks! Small but perfectly formed. So after a couple of quick drinks, we decided to call it a night. I think the fact that we were a little tired probably played a part, but all in all a great night with good friends discovering some new bars.

So, to summarise, what did I learn over those memorable few days in London. Well here it goes:

1. Booking at the Hawsmoor Seven Dials is essential, no matter who says what!
2. Kettners is amazing, if you like champagne it is a must.
3. Café Pacifico rocks…
4. …however neither Mrs drinkslink or I can drink that much tequila. Yet.
5. Commercial Tavern is wonderfully different, but still provides a great drink.
6. Callooh Callay never disappoints, it is amazing!
7. Drinking with fellow cocktail bloggers/tweeters usually involves a fair bit of alcohol
8. Casita is pretty cool, and one to check out again.

There is one last point that doesn’t deserve just a bullet point.

London is an amazing city. It has everything you could want from bars and restaurants through to history and culture. It’s very easy to get swept along with the pulsating masses, but really those of you that live there should enjoy it more. And if you don’t live there, go and experience it, especially its bars!!