IN THE DRINK

BY PAUL ANTROBUS In the drink With Paul Antrobus

We looked at fruit ciders for summer in August, but there is another one that is just right as a winter warmer. Rekorderlig Premium Spiced Plum Cider is “bursting with warm seasonal fl avours,” says the brewery, “pear cider with plums, cherries and a mix of spices including cloves and cinnamon.”

Serve it by the bottle or warm it for a winter party punch, with extra lemon and orange slices and cinnamon sticks added to the saucepan.

Last month I could not fi nd it on any supermarket shelves, although that may change closer to Christmas. However, it is available online from revl.co.uk, three 500ml bottles for £5.99 plus delivery. No/Lo alco These days you need several nonalcoholic drinks with adult fl avours. Kombucha fermented tea works well with several iterations in mainstream supermarkets and is defi nitely on trend. My choice is Nexba naturally sugar-free elderfl ower and lemon kombucha at Sainsbury’s, £2.75 a litre.

The Thomson & Scott Noughty vegan sparkling white wine is made from 100 per cent organic Chardonnay grapes, de-alcoholised then lightly carbonated to create the fi zz. It is not widely found in regular supermarkets, but many sellers come up online. It is usually around £8.99 for a 75cl bottle.

Adnams 0.5 per cent Ghost Ship ale gets my vote for beer, not to be confused with the 4.3 per cent, darker colour version. About £1.30 for 500ml bottle. Regular favourite beers Charles Wells Bombardier Amber Beer, at 4.7 per cent, is a good party drink, £1.90 at Morrisons. Shepherd Neame Bishops Finger at 5.4 per cent is almost a winter ale in terms of fl avour and texture, £1.85 at Morrisons. Limoncello cocktail

For an exotic treat how about Limoncello Italian liqueur? It is very fl exible, drunk neat for an apéritif before the meal or a digestif after, or as the base for cocktails mixed with more or less anything you choose. You can fi nd some ideas at www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ collection/limoncello-recipes or www. thespruceeats.com/limoncello-cocktails.

I found Pallini Limoncello at Morrisons, £14.50 for 50cl, at 26 per cent liqueur strength. They promote a cocktail, Pallini Lemon Bitter: two parts Limoncello, three parts tonic, two drops of Angostura bitters and a quarter wedge of lemon. Decadent White Port is an unusual twist on a favourite perennial and very fl exible (white means the grapes used, the colour is pale brown.) It is suitable as an apéritif or later with a chocolate dessert or creamy cheese.

I picked up Cockburn’s Porto Blanco, 19 per cent, £12.49 a litre at Waitrose. Their mixer suggestion is Port & Tonic, one part Porto Blanco, two parts tonic, ice, slice of lemon and a sprig of fresh mint. A simple festive treat. Budget for the future Changes to Excise Duties on alcoholic drinks were presented as a ‘good news’ part of the UK budget in October. The teetotal Chancellor said the 380-year-

Holiday Cheer! As the festive season approaches, here are some ideas for your home stock. There is Image: Roman Voloshyn / Shutterstock something for everyone. old system is “outdated and complex”. Draught beer and Prosecco were singled out for specifi c mention for price reductions, and fruit ciders got a name check too, maybe because of their growth in popularity. Newspapers declared “prices will be slashed” with changes favouring lower alcohol content. But do not hold your breath! The new system is planned to take effect in 2023 with an implementation programme through to 2027. The Guardian calculated that the price saving on a draught pint of beer would be 3p and only 1p for a bottle of Swedish Kopparberg cider. It is a bit more optimistic elsewhere though, with an estimated 87p reduction on a £7 bottle of Prosecco. So the impact on ‘prices at the (beer) pump’ are possibly being exaggerated, but government awareness of the drinks market and the hospitality sector is welcome. Odd it took a teetotaller to spot it…

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