Food & Drink

Waterford Distillery, the world’s biggest producer of biodynamic and organic Whisky is crowned ‘Brand Innovator of the Year’, in The Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky 2023

For the third year running, Waterford Distillery was recently announced Brand Innovator of the Year as a result of new product launches including the first truly Irish peated whiskies in generations, as well as a resurrection of long-forgotten barley varieties, not used in production since 1970s to create its latest release, Heritage Hunter.

With sustainability credentials and a clear commitment to Irish barley at the core of Waterford’s production, they also took the crown for Campaign Innovator of the Year due to their partnership with renowned French chef, Grégory Marchand to create a new biodynamic bottling, ‘Frenchie’. Waterford was also highly commanded for Distiller of the Year after winning in 2021 and 2022.

From bartenders to distillers, the Icons of Whisky awards honour those who have worked tirelessly for the growth of the industry.

Six of the best foods to eat before bed to keep you warm this winter

With the weather growing colder for the foreseeable, it can become a challenge to warm up at bedtime – but given the current rise of energy costs, many will be reluctant to turn on the heating.

However, sleep experts Bed Kingdom have highlighted six of the best foods to have as a latenight snack that will naturally heat up your body as well as induce sleep.

Nuts Having nuts before bed, such as peanuts, almonds, and pistachios, can increase the speed of your metabolism and raise your body heat, therefore warming you up for bed. As well as this, these nuts contain melatonin, a natural hormone that helps to control your sleep cycle and therefore helps you get some shut eye.

Cinnamon It’s no coincidence that cinnamon is associated with winter – thanks to its thermogenic properties that increase our body’s heat when it’s cold, it’s perfect to consume before bed. Having a sprinkle of cinnamon in a glass of milk at night-time won’t just heat you up, but due to the tryptophan in milk which induces sleep you’ll also find it easier to rest.

Oats Oats may be something that you would normally have at the start of the day, but they have several benefits that prove useful for bedtime. They are slow to break down in your body due to being high in bran and fibre, and this slow digestion releases warming energy. Plus, this food also contains melatonin to improve your sleep.

Bananas Filled with vitamin B and magnesium, bananas help with the functioning of your thyroid and adrenal glands, thus regulating your body temperature in the cold weather. In fact, the high levels of magnesium don’t just keep you warm, but they also help your muscles to relax and calm your body to ensure you get to sleep easily.

Ginger Ginger is another excellent food you can consume to warm you up before you catch some Zs. With the vasodilating properties in ginger, your blood vessels are relaxed which contributes to an increased blood flow helping your body to heat up. Opt for a ginger tea – and if you’re suffering from a stuffy nose due to the weather, this will ease that to help you sleep better.

Carrots Being a root vegetable, carrots cause your body to heat up due to the necessity for more energy during digestion. And while some vegetables may not be the best thing to consume before you try to get some shut eye, carrots are one of the vegetables that will promote sleep as they contain the alpha-carotene nutrient as well as potassium.