Today’s drinks are:
We loved this last year and still have an unopened bottle we bought- oops
Having tried this a while ago I couldn’t resist sneaking it into the tonic/ mixer tasting.
This is a delicious drink, perfect over ice, that has the complexity, sweetness & dryness of Sherry combined with the botanical bitterness of tonic- what more could anyone want?
Today’s drinks are:
Reino De Altuzarra Tempranillo
And now the bottle of this we got the other day when it should have been a white wine makes more sense…
but Virgin Wine’s quality control is still a bit wonky as their descriptions for today describe it as a white wine.
It’s a shame that, just as last year, we only got to try 23 different wines and not the 24 promised. Last year they claimed it was on purpose and then when I blogged about it someone working there (who obviously doesn’t know how commenting on a blog and IP addresses work 😂) sent me a nasty message so I won’t bother raising it with them as the only thing worse than bad quality control is lying about it and then abusing the customer.
Gordon’s Ultra Low Alcohol Gin & Tonic Flavoured Drink with a hint of grapefruit
I really wanted to like this as I think it’s great that more companies are making non or low-alcohol drinks but sadly it was disappointing.
It’s so highly & weirdly acidic & sour that it made me wince. It has a weird aroma of cleaning products or bleach and a strange fizz. It was like it had tons of Citric acid in it so it was like sucking on a sour drink. Disappointing
Today’s drinks are:
This is a very full-bodied red wine with high tannins and quite high alcohol and all of that is apparent as soon as you smell and taste it.
It’s very spiced and smoky so if you want something that is strong enough to hit your tastebuds or stand-up to any food this is the wine for you.
This is a deliciously bitter tonic both by itself and with gin. It has a high level of quinine which is really apparent in its mouth-drying abilities. When smelt it only has a slight scent which leads you to not expect much but once tasted, with it without gin, it stands proud and with its dry bitterness and only slight sweetness I look forward to drinking this again.
Today’s drinks are:
This is lovely a dry (but not too dry) fizz which went down very well- I’d certainly drink this again!
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Clementine Tonic Water
This doesn’t disappoint! It smells and tastes so strongly of clementines in a refreshingly fresh and crisp way. Both by its self and with gin it is very tasty and only slightly sweet which is always appreciated by me. It’s not as bitter as I usually like in a tonic but it’s citrus sourness combined with the clementine sweetness more than makes up for that and whilst at the moment this is only a limited-edition I hope they add to to their regular range.
Today’s drinks are:
Reino De Altuzarra Tinto (which weirdly is not the wine the say is in there in their advent calendar information)
This smells spicy, rich and full-bodied and it has the taste to match. It’s a very meaty red wine with a higher tannin level but its nicely balanced and delicious to drink. This is strong enough to handle any food as well as being drink by itself.
Lixir Blood Orange & Cinnamon Tonic Water
This smells of sweet citrus in the way that oranges do but with the extra added warmth & spice of the cinnamon and when tasted it lived up to that.
With gin it loses some of the obvious and identifiable cinnamon but retains a spicy warmth.
Again like so many of the tonics we’ve tried there’s no bitterness but this delicious and multi-layered drink more than makes up for that and I’ll definitely seek this out again.
Today’s drinks are:
Vat 27 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
This is a very nice red – medium-to full-bodied with a lot of fruit and low tannins. I would definitely drink this again as it was smooth and full of fruit, spice and wood.
Fever-Tree Aromatic Tonic Water
Finally a return to a tonic with some bitterness!
So many of the ones we taste lack even basic bitterness which is the first things I look for in a Tonic Water but this one is an exception.
Gently pink this has bitterness, sweetness, spice and layers of flavour. Both by itself and in gin it’s absolutely delicious
Today’s drinks are:
Les Arbousiers White Blend ( I assume specially made for the advent as doesn’t appear anywhere on the internet)
Once opened this smells of heartburn which doesn’t bode well.
We tasted it ice-cold, cold and room temperature and at all times it was so sore that we gave up
Franklin & Sons Rosemary Tonic Water with Black Olive
This is a very nice tonic with some bitterness and fizz but we couldn’t discern the rosemary or olive at all. But it did have a nice umami/ savoury note to it which we liked and worked well by itself and with gin but we’d have liked to taste more of the rosemary or olive.
Today’s drinks are:
Five Bastions Shiraz Mourvedre (the closest is here)
This wine was very nice. It was full-bodied and full of fruit with just a nice amount of tannins. Whilst it had nothing special to make me hunt it out I would definitely enjoy drinking this again.
Merchants Heart Floral Aromatics Tonic
Just like the rhubarb tonic the other day this smells strongly of refreshers sweets – it must be the mix of sweet & citric acid.
By itself it’s very perfumed and floral with only a low level of bitterness. Perfectly pleasant and I’d drink it again but probably not hunt it out as it was not bitter enough and a bit too perfumed.
With gin it came to life! It developed layers of flavour and a more sour, citrus flavour came out and the more-cloying and perfumed side died down- very nice.
Today’s drinks are:
Another day, another terrible label.
This was fruity, full-bodied, fresh, sweet (gently and not too much) and delicious- summer in a glass. I really enjoyed it and just wish it had a better label so I wouldn’t be embarrassed to buy it.
Schweppes Salty Lemon Tonic Water
When opened this smells like a old, dirty, salty swimming pool (or it’s changing rooms) which is hardly appetising.
But when tasted it’s like a flat, very slightly salty water with a bit of fresh lemon squeezed in it- much nicer than I’ve made it sound.
With gin I really like it. It’s saltier and more lemony which works really well and goes down very easy. I really liked this but just wish it had more fizz as it was very flat.
Today’s drinks are:
This has such a terrible cheap-looking label that I would never, ever choose this in a shop.
But, once opened and smelt I was soon reconsidering my bias. It smells delicious! Fruity and sweet but definitely not cloyingly so- a gentle fresh sweetness that made me eager to try it.
When drunk it lived up to the fragrance. It’s full of fruit and flowers with peaches, elderflower and apricot tastes and enough subtle sweetness and dryness to balance and complement each other nicely. It was dry and light enough to drink by itself but also stood up to food.
Definitely better than its label suggested.
This is a very fresh tasting, citrusy tonic with a nice amount of fizz. It doesn’t have much bitterness or any herbal tastes or even layers of taste but it was very nice both by itself and with gin.
bitter with a twist 