The Gin Appreciation Society
Issue #02 | Winter 2017
Contents
Andrew Niedzwiecki
From our Founder
3 Message from Ned 4 Cocktails of the Season 6 The Other Side of Christmas 8 Guest Blogger Johdi Dinsdale 10 Festive Feast! 12 The Real Art of Christmas 14 Contributors
inter is the marmite of the seasons – you either love it or you hate it! There are the Christmas parties, the family get togethers and the snowy (if we are lucky) walks to the pub of a weekend, and then there are the hangovers, the dry turkey being served on every menu from October onwards and the cold wet miserable weather which lasts much longer than the pretty snowy landscapes. It is definitely a tale of two seasons in one! I’m really excited to bring to you our latest installment of the Gin Appreciation Society. In this edition we bring you some warming recipes to start your own central heating, and bring you features on the different sides to the festivities. We hope you enjoy it, and enjoy your Winter season whatever that may mean to you!
Follow Neds travels via Neds Notions at www.worsleygin.co.uk
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Cocktails of the Season
Christmas Season is a fabulous opportunity to try something new and experiment with cocktails, and this season we have some delicious recipes for you to showcase at your festive event! Champagne is a go to every Christmas, but not everyone likes fizz – particularly if it is a richer Blanc de Noirs champagne or extra Brut vintage. Worsley Gin works beautifully with champagne in cocktails because the flavour profile with the earthy fruitiness balances with the top notes of the fizz perfectly. Here we have some gin-spired Champagne cocktails for you to try this winter… The Hedgerow Royale Ingredients 25ml Worsley Gin 50ml Champagne (Ideally Blanc de Blanc) 25ml Cherry Brandy Rosemary Sprig Crushed Ice Method In a coupe glass add the crushed ice and then pour in the fizz. Slowly add the Worsley Gin and the Cherry Brandy so that they slide to the bottom beautifully. Unlock the scent of the rosemary by giving it a good squeeze Add the rosemary and voila! The French 75 Ingredients 50ml Worsley Gin 15ml Lemon Juice 7.5ml Syrup Champagne Lemon Peel Method Add the Gin, lemon juice and syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to mix together abd strain into a fluted glass. Top up with champagne. Garnish with lemon peel. Breakfast Fizz Ingredients Spoon of Clementine Marmalade 40ml Worsley Gin 20ml Lemon Juice 12.5ml Cointreau Champagne Method Pour the gin, cointreau, lemon juice and marmalade into a cocktail shaker. Stir to dissolve the marmalade, add ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail flute and top up with the champagne.
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or most of us, Christmas is something which is looked forward to with excitement and joy – a time for bringing families together, sharing the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts and having a raucous time with friends during the festivities. Yet for an ever increasing number of people, Christmas is a time to be feared, with homelessness at an all-time high, and people exposed to the harshest of conditions, deprivation and often violent situations. There are over 250,000 people in England which will face Christmas 2017 homeless and without access to food, warm shelter and company ( source Shelter, 2017) Evictions from both private rentals and housing association properties are increasing at a record rate as the impact of Universal Credit and rising rents are causing severe affordability issues, particularly in big cities such as London and Manchester. What does it actually mean to be homeless at Christmas? We spent some time with Dan*, a 25 year old young man who has been homeless for a number of years, to find out how he copes with the festive season and what life is like on the streets. Dan started with telling us that he had not always been in this situation. Growing up in the suburbs, he had a family which was supportive and his childhood was relatively happy. “I loved Christmas as a kid. We would get little oranges in our stockings and always got a bar of soap” Dan chuckles as he hugs his coffee which we have got from the local coffee shop. As his accommodation is not guaranteed every night, Dan carries his belongings with him. Which total a holdall, a sleeping bag and two carrier bags. Not much when you consider that the average 20 something male now has over 25 items in their wardrobe (source: Esquire, 2017). Dan found his teens really challenging and when his parents’ marriage broke down, he fell into a dark place. “I didn’t know what to do with myself. I met some mates who were into smoking weed, and it started there”. Over the next couple of years Dan went from smoking cannabis after school in the park to failing his exams and then finally getting addicted to heroin. At the age of 20, after an incident which Dan has asked to not talk about, he sought help and managed to bring his addiction under control, but his mental health suffered as a result of his time on drugs. “People think that life is like a Jeremy Kyle show, you know, you kick the drugs and suddenly you get a flat and a job. It didn’t work like that for me. I find it hard to stick with things and get on with people. I get angry”. Dan was clearly embarrassed at this admission, and looked down at the ground. When asked if he saw his family, Dan shook his head. “I said and did some bad things to them. My brothers all have kids now and I see pictures on Facebook, but I don’t think I can be with them”. When asked about how Dan will spend Christmas, he shrugs his shoulders. “If I can get in the Church Shelter then it will be alright – the food is really good and its warm and people are nice” When asked why the Church Shelter, Dan explained to us that the council funded Shelter had its funding removed and closed down the previous year. “So many of my mates now sleep rough every night. It can be pretty dangerous. There are loads of nice people that offer hot drinks and give money, but the later it gets, then the lads come out of the pubs. I’ve been kicked, shouted at and pee’d on”. You can see why so many of the homeless turn to drugs to help them cope. “You want to be numb,” Dan pauses “From all of it, not just the cold”. Dan refrained from telling us if he was back to using drugs and we didn’t ask any further. We asked about what he wanted to get out of 2018 when it arrived. “I want to get off the streets for good. I’d like to see my brothers too”. We left Dan with enough money for some hot meals and thanked him for talking to us. What we learnt from talking to Dan is that homelessness is not a singular issue that is corrected by providing more housing. Issues with mental health, coping with addiction and domestic relationships all add to a cycle which means that fixing one particular issue doesn’t automatically mean a successful outcome. It has definitely made us more mindful of people who we pass on the streets and made us want to give back wherever we can. This festive season, Worsley Gin has been participating in an “Advent of Giving” to give back to the community, charities and our emergency services this Christmas. Each day, we have undertaken a random act of kindness or made a donation to a cause that is local or close to our hearts as a business. So far we have managed to support the homeless with coat donations, sleeping bags and also toiletry packs. We have really enjoyed giving back this Christmas, perhaps it is something you could do too? *Name changed. *
-Quote Author
The Other Side to Christmas
The Festive Season is not always looked forward to by everyone...
"I loved Christmas as a kid" Dan, 25
Our Guest Blog Feature Johdi the Gintern
Johdi Dinsdale
After setting up a lifestyle blog, Two Sister Bloggers, in no time at all my posts became all about gin! As well as becoming a gin collector and sharing opinions about the latest gins I tried, I also began baking with gin. I had always been a keen baker and couldn’t think of a better way to combine the two passions. This year I landed my dream job working as the ‘Gintern’ for ILoveGin; travelling to distilleries, meeting producers, writing about gin my travels and creating even more delicious gin recipes, it’s fair to say I know a thing or two about the industry. When Worsley Gin asked for guest bloggers to feature in their magaine I was keen to get involved. The opportunity to try a new Gin, and combine with my love of baking? I was very keen! I chose a Cranberry Bakewell recipe as my feature because the sharp flavours balance beautifully with botanicals such as mandarin leaf, and the floral notes Worsley Gin offers. It’s a perfect bake to make over the festive season, just make sure you leave a spoon or two of the jam aside to knock up a Worsley Breakfast Martini. Follow a breakfast martini recipe, simply replace marmalade with the cranberry jam you make in this recipe and there you have it – a Worsley take on my favourite cocktail! There is a great Breakfast Fizz recipe in this magazine - you could definitely adapt that! Ingredients 375g ready to roll sweet shortcrust pastry Handful cranberries Cranberry Jam Orange 200g caster sugar 1 star anise 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 50ml Worsley Gin 375g Cranberries Frangipane 1 teaspoon vanilla paste 300g ground almonds 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour 300g golden caster sugar 250g unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1 splash Worsley Gin Icing 100g icing sugar Worsley Gin To make Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Prep the jam first but adding the zest and juice of an orange to a pan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. If it’s too sour stir in a little more sugar. Cool, remove the star anise. Roll out the pastry to line a greased, 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Chill in the fridge for an hour. Combine all the frangipane ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge with the pastry for 30 minutes. Once the pastry chilled, line with greaseproof paper and fill with dried beans and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven. Spread the cooled pastry with the jam, then evenly dollop over the frangipane, sprinkle with the cranberries, pushing in a little, and scatter with flaked almonds. Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the tart to cool. Combine the icing sugar and gin to create a drizzling consistency and drizzle over the tart. Serve with a Worsley Breakfast Martini or a g&t garnished with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.
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ingredients 375g ready to roll sweet shortcrust pastry Handful cranberries Cranberry Jam Orange 200g caster sugar 1 star anise 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 50ml Worsley Gin 375g Cranberries Frangipane 1 teaspoon vanilla paste 300g ground almonds 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour 300g golden caster sugar 250g unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1 splash Worsley Gin Icing 100g icing sugar Worsley Gin Method Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Prep the jam first but adding the zest and juice of an orange to a pan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. If it’s too sour stir in a little more sugar. Cool, remove the star anise. Roll out the pastry to line a greased, 23cm loose bottomed tart tin. Chill in the fridge for an hour. Combine all the frangipane ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge with the pastry for 30 minutes. Once the pastry chilled, line with greaseproof paper and fill with dried beans and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven. Spread the cooled pastry with the jam, then evenly dollop over the frangipane, sprinkle with the cranberries, pushing in a little, and scatter with flaked almonds. Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the tart to cool. Combine the icing sugar and gin to create a drizzling consistency and drizzle over the tart. Serve with a Worsley Breakfast Martini or a g&t garnished with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary. Follow Johdi: Instagram: @twosisterbloggers Twitter @2sisterbloggers www.twosisterbloggers.com The Gintern Instagram @the_gintern Twitter @the_gintern www.ilovegin.com
"This year I landed my dream job working as the 'Gintern'
It is never too late to add to a bit of Gin-spiration to your festive cooking, and here we have some brilliant recipes which will add a touch of Worsley Sparkle to your Christmas Table. Inspired by our foodies research and some adaptation of some famous chefs classics, these will be the talk of Christmas when you serve them!
A Festive Feast
Boozy Brussel Sprouts Ingredients 550g Brussels sprouts, steamed 260g bacon, cooked & cut up into pieces 260g cup chestnuts, parboiled, peeled & crumbled 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp Worsley Gin 1 dash nutmeg Method In a medium saucepan melt the butter, add crumbled chestnuts and cook until browned. Add the sugar and seasonings and stir gently until blended. Add the sprouts and shake until coated. Toss with the crumbled bacon and then serve - even the biggest sprout haters will be intrigued to try these! For our Gin Glazed Ham recipe check out www.worsleygin.co.uk Gin Glazed Parsnips Ingredients 1 kg parsnips 1 tbsp olive oil 4 tbsp honey 2 tbsp Worsley Gin Salt & pepper Method Preheat the oven to 225°C / gas mark 7 Peel the parsnips and cut the parsnips into halves or quarters. You want your parsnips to be even in size so they roast evenly - or if some of the family prefer burnt bits then make them higgidly piggidly - we don't mind! Place the cut parsnips in a bowl, add the Worsley Gin, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until the parsnips are all evenly covered on honey and oil. Place the parsnips on a ovenproof dish in one layer (avoid layering as this will prevent the parsnips from roasting evenly and caramelising) and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until tender and slightly golden
Our Creative Director gives her take on the real art of Christmas... It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that the art of Christmas has dramatically changed over the last twenty years. The countdown begins in August for a start, and has become so all-encompassing and consuming that if you are a bit of a bah-humbug Grinch type, then you will undoubtedly feel more marginalised than if you were a fully paid up member of an extreme political party. Office Christmas shindigs are advertised in bars from July, Selfridges open their Christmas shop in August and even the pet shop now has a dedicated aisle to festive gifts and fashion for your cherished animal family members which is abundantly stocked from the end of the summer. It’s not too Scrooge like to say that it’s all gone a bit bonkers. Now please don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those card-carrying bah-humbug Grinch type persons aforementioned - I love Christmas and the festivities, and the chance to spend time with my loved ones over a Gin or two is always welcomed - I’m just not sure my Gin needs to be served in a glass with a Christmas hat umbrella poking out from it when it is only October. It’s not just about presents and shopping either. It literally grabs hold of everything - the health and fitness markets second biggest period is the end of the summer, when everyone wants to get in shape for Christmas, only outdone by the start of the year when ironically people have overindulged over the festive period. Social gatherings, reading material, food consumption and general conversation basically go through a sleigh bell funnel at some point in September and before you know it you cannot hold a decent conversation without the big C word cropping up. It has got me thinking about the true art of Christmas and what is important to me at this magical time of year: 1. Christmas isn’t a magical time for everyone. I’m not about to get all maudlin or sanctimonious about global inequality or other social issues which are all prevalent and true but not appropriate fodder for a lighthearted look at the festive season, but I do think it is worth being mindful about those for whom Christmas isn’t a time of joy and laughter. If you know someone that finds the time difficult, because they miss an absent loved one, or because they have limited resources or they just simply don’t like Christmas - reach out. Go for a drinkt, book a gin tasting session or share some pasta and prosecco one evening. Talk about Donald Trump and his Twitter escapades - that’s bound to have you both laughing, or crying, or both - whichever works. 2. The propensity to make terrible decisions is significantly heightened during the festive period. Whether it’s ordering a 6ft tall glittery unicorn from Amazon at2ampost office Christmas party, or it’s telling someone something rash and hurtful when you haven’t thought the consequences through, we’ve all done it (thankfully Amazon allowed the return of the unicorn - it didn’t have the right shade of glitter) and sometimes we have really regretted things we’ve done and have not been able to live them down. Everyone remembers everything at Christmas, so if you want it to be rocking chair fuel for the future - great, but if you know something has wider consequences, think of those before you choose. You’ll thank me for this one I promise. 3. It’s not all about presents, even though presents are great. My best memories from Christmas are from walloping my sisters at well-worn board games and getting dressed up all warm for the annual Boxing Day trip to the chocolate box village for a walk and cup of tea “to blow out the cobwebs”. I have loved some of the gifts I have both given and received, but as a time-poor Generation X Mother being able to invest in memories is probably more important to me. 4.. Support local and independent. I applaud my ability to navigate a John Lewis store like a pro, and have been known in the past to do my Christmas shopping all in one go, but having gotten involved in this business six months ago I have definitely developed an appreciation for those grafters who put all of their lives into making their businesses survive and become a success. Whether it’s a small gift shop or an independent bar, the uniqueness of these places is that you are not just paying for an item or a meal, but you are buying their sons rugby lessons, and funding their daughters university education. When you put it in this context, it really makes a difference to how you choose to buy things. 5. Give something back. A cheese toastie to the guy that looks cold. A compliment to the woman who looks lonely at the bus stop. An hour of your time to help serve lunch at the Care Home. Don’t just give money, give your time or your resources. It’s the best Christmas present you can give yourself, I promise. So that’s my take on the art of Christmas. Family, fun, and kindness. It’s a recipe that tastes as good as the best Worsley Gin and Tonic. Every day in December Worsley Gin has been taking part in an Advent of Giving , where all of the team have been conducting random acts of kindness to show our gratitude for all that we have. Check out our facebook and instagram pages for more details of how we have supported the homeless, the elderly and our emergency services this Christmas. We have really enjoyed this project and thank everyone for their support with making ideas happen!
Contributors
Pamela Rae-Welsh, Creative Director and Editor I've really enjoyed putting this first issue of The Gin Appreciation Society for you - to bring together all of the teams hard work and display it for you has been a real labour of love. I hope you have enjoyed it - and if you have anything you think we are missing then please let us know - we really appreciate the feedback. Andrew Niedzwiecki, Founder and Managing Director To bring you Gin is incredible. To bring you more than Gin is just awesome - and I love that we are able to put together a magazine which showcases more than just Gin! Our Resident Foodie, Food Writer and Mixologist I'm a bit shy and retiring, so would prefer this pretty sunflower instead of a profile picture! It has been a pleasure bringing you recipes and food inspiration for this issue. It would be great to see pictures of your food creations using Gin! Email them to worsleygin@gmail.com. Our Guest Blogger, Johdi Dinsdale Johdi has the best job in the world - she is the Gintern! As well as having her own blog, Twosisterbloggers, Johdi spends her time visiting different distilleries and reporting back on all things Gin. We are very grateful to Johdi for sharing her fabulous recipe with us.
