Autumn Drinks and Winter Drinks for Bonfire Night By Mikey on October 19th, 2022 in Blog Spread the love Bonfire Night puts us in the mood for Autumn and Winter drinks that warm the cockles. First up, Vecchia Romagna. An Italian brandy with a dedicated following, it makes for a seductively tasty Bonfire Night tipple. Next, Fair Belize Acacia Finish. It’s a Caribbean rum that may be a little unfamiliar but has excellent and unique qualities that will reward the curious. Those Acacia barrels bring out some delicious flavours! Our next spirit is French brandy – how could we have a list of Autumn drinks and Winter drinks without one? Louis Royer is a Cognac House with serious pedigree and their VSOP hits the Winter warmer sweet spot. Lastly, a slight curveball for your hip flask, Ambhar Tequila Plata. It has a fantastic balance with some delightful barrel-aged flavours that deserve to be slowly savoured. Read on to discover which bottle is best for your Bonfire Night bash. Vecchia Romagna Etichetta Nera Italy may not be the first place many of us associate with brandy, but Vecchia Romagna has been producing excellent products for over 200 years. The Buton family were originally from Cognac, but after the Napoleonic Empire collapsed, they moved to Emilia-Romagna in Italy. Here, in 1830, they established Italy’s first steam distillery. These steam-heated stills were much more efficient and safe than their log-fired equivalents and consistently produced a higher-quality distillate. Fast forward 190 years and Vecchia Romagna is Italy’s best-selling brandy. It has flavours of vanilla, almonds, sultanas, dates and caramel. A little orange peel and tobacco come through at the end. And the finish, though dry, leaves you with a pleasant dried-fruit aftertaste. With very little alcohol burn and that lovely sweet-dry balance, this is one seriously sippable Bonfire Night Winter warmer. Plus, it’s an absolute Autumn drinks and Winter drinks bargain! FAIR Belize Rum Acacia Finish Belize sits at the Western edge of the Caribbean Sea, bordering Mexico and Guatemala. Like many Caribbean countries, its economy is still heavily reliant on sugar cane, which of course, has tremendous benefits when it comes to rum. FAIR’s entire supply chain is fair trade, from field to glass, ensuring a proper living wage for all involved. Their FAIR Belize Rum Acacia Finish is something of an oddity in that it is made entirely from rum aged in Acacia. Acacia is a hardwood, like oak, but is denser and less porous. And so it gives less dark, dried fruit flavours, but more fresh, tropical and stone fruit notes. It’s also super smooth and has a lovely nutty flavour with some crystalized ginger and apricot in there. So, although quite unusual, it still makes for an excellent and crowd-pleasing Bonfire Night tipple – a must for Autumn Drinks and Winter drinks. Louis Royer VSOP A list of Autumn drinks and Winter drinks isn’t complete without a Cognac. Louis Royer could be regarded as something of a hidden gem. It may be well known to industry insiders and connoisseurs but may not be that familiar to the rest of us. Today the Cognac House is still run by Louis Royer, who takes his name from his great, great grandfather who founded the company over 150 years ago. In that time they have amassed many awards for their fine cognacs, constantly re-investing in greater quality and consistency, rather than big marketing budgets and spaces on supermarket shelves. Louis Royer’s VSOP is a wonderful example of just how good a VSOP can be. It’s rich, full and super smooth with flavours of Christmas cake, butterscotch, toffee apple, a hint of chocolate and a touch of Bonfire Night smokiness. A LOT of Cognac for the money. Outstanding. Ambhar Tequila Reposado Tequila might not be the obvious choice when thinking about Autumn drinks and Winter drinks. But there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. Specifically sipping-quality aged tequila. Smokey, toasty and rich barrel-derived flavours are what we’re after, so Reposados and Anejos fit the bill. The trick is to ensure those big, oaky flavours don’t eliminate the more delicate fruity and floral ones. ‘Reposado’ means ‘rested’ in Spanish, so a Reposado only sees the inside of a barrel for between 2 and 12 months. Ambhar Tequila Reposado is rested in former whisky barrels for 6 months. It retains the Padron pepper, vanilla and white blossom notes of its ‘Plata’ sibling. However, it adds lovely smoky, raw coffee beans and dark honey notes. There’s also a little oak tannin grip that adds to the texture and enhances the long finish. A true Bonfire Night Winter warmer that’s very much for sipping, not shooting!
