Taste Sensations

Eat, drink and be merry

taste.blas delivers the verdict on a fabulous range of products available on the market now

1. The Naked Vegan Doughnuts

No eggs, no problem for outlandish creations

Out of her kitchen in Cardiff, Sarah Powney’s cakes are in high demand. She’s also founded The Naked Vegan to ensure everyone can enjoy her delicacies. With 12 different flavours to choose from that rival any of the big brands, TNV certainly has a lot of fun making its creations, with the Mermaid and Houston We Have Biscoff varieties raising a smile as well as tempting our sweet tooth. The Maple & Kevin Facon offers a salty, savoury contrast, the Chocolate Orange is suitably decadent and Oreo – yes, Oreos are vegan – is as tasty as you’d expect. Though the different flavours offer a host of merriment, it’s the doughnuts themselves that are most important, offering the soft, chewy inside and slightly crispy crust that you’d expect from an expert baker.

Buy it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: 6 doughnuts for £24

2. Mountain Mead

Snowdonian bees the keys to these meads

Our second batch of meads in as many issues, this time from Gwynedd producers Mike Cooke and Jacob Milner. Focussing on traditional flavours, all the Mountain Meads celebrate either Welsh honey or local ingredients, with each oozing silky sweetness and beautiful flavours. The Gylfinir (which uses Spanish and Mexican honeys) and Melyn Yr Eithin medium dry varieties are solid introductions for mead novices, with the former’s inviting golden colour and latter’s crispness ideal for beer and wine fans respectively. Those looking for more adventure should check out Grugiar Ddu’s clove-infused spice balanced by a hit of lemon, or the sweetness of Telor Y Coed that’s an ideal replacement to a dessert wine on a cosy evening.

Buy it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: £23.99 for a 750ml

3. Merlin Cheeses

Fabled characters help inspire cheese legends in their own right

Delving into Arthurian myths of the past for inspiration while looking to new horizons for both flavour and expansion, this family-run Carmarthenshire business have legendary status in mind for their products. All cheese producers need a solid cheddar as their centrepiece, and the Merlin Mature and Vintage varieties, matured for six and 18 months respectively, certainly deliver a wise and creamy result. Meanwhile, those looking to tantalize their taste buds need look no further than the Black Knight’s combination of cheddar with dark chocolate with its seductive twang, and our personal favourite, the nefarious Lady Morgana that packs a punch with garlic and powerful coriander.

Buy it from: merlincheeses.com/shop Price: £4.50 per 200g truckle

4. Little Grandma’s Kitchen

Homemade preserves perfected over generations

Though the family recipes of curds, chutneys and preserves are taken from previous generations who called the New Forest home, Little Grandma’s Kitchen has made a name for itself out of St Clears, Carmarthenshire. A delightful origin story of homemade chutneys being praised at a family wedding certainly bears fruit when sampling the likes of their brand new Cherry, Rhubarb & Ginger and Bramble Preserves. The new Apricot Chutney is also a grand addition to a bountiful larder that impresses at every food fest you’re lucky enough to encounter them, while the luxurious new range of marmalades including Kiwi & Orange and basic Orange prove that there’s no beating homemade produce made to perfection.

Buy it from: carmarthenfood.com Price: £4 per 280g

5. Puff Pigs sausages

The kings of the Welsh banger

Any winner of the red, first-place rosette at the Royal Welsh Show is worthy of our attention, even more so when the victors are part-time. Balancing jobs with rearing rare-breed British Saddleback pigs, the Hayward family of Ynysybwl wowed the Builth Wells judges with their Chilli & Garlic sausages to claim the prize, and it’s easy to see why. Yes, there’s plenty of heat and flavour from the garlic and chilli, but it’s the snap of the skin and the high-quality meat inside that brings home the bacon. Lean, fresh, light and absurdly moreish, the bangers are either champs in their own right or could form the centrepiece of a casserole or pasta dish.

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6. COPA Blue Cheese

e so blue that’s taken on the world, and won

Having bagged various awards throughout 2019, including Best So Cheese at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards, Carmarthenshire Dairy Products’ COPA Blue Cheese topped o the year by being crowned with a prestigious 3-star rating from Great Taste. Using milk from the Conwy Valley and packaged in Carmarthenshire, one of 10 Welsh products to gain the gold standard, the North Welsh cheese expertly brings together qualities of blue and so cheese, balancing deep creaminess and a tangy a ertaste from its delicate three-month aged vein. e rind adds a sharpness and bite while its subtle aroma already delivers a knockout blow before you’ve even taken a bite. However big your Christmas cheese board this year, make sure you save a substantial space for the current world champ.

Buy it from: Wally’s Delicatessen, Cardi Price: £18 per 1kg

7. Untapped Brewery premium beers

As well as their core range, Monmouthshire’s Untapped

Brewery also has a trio of premium beers for the more adventurous a cionados. e Saisan, a slow-brewed Belgian farmhouse style beer, comes in at a whopping 7.4%. However, more welcoming is the soothing aroma of fragrant fruit and freshly baked bread, and that’s before you even get to the taste. Yes, it packs a punch but there’s a cleanliness and subtle sweetness that makes it an extremely drinkable Belgian beer. e Crystal is similarly easy to consume, triple ltered for one of the freshest wheat beers we’ve tasted with a veritable platter of fruits vying for your attention. en there’s the IPA. Brewed cold in time-honoured fashion, though triple hopped, its hoppiness doesn’t hit hard, but slowly develops making it well-balanced with a crisp, Brut Champagne dryness and some citrus notes. A very classy American in uenced variation on a traditional Burton IPA.

Buy it from: untappedbrew.com Price: £45 for 12x500ml bottles

8. Grey Trees beer

Putting the Valleys’ ale scene to rights

Launched by enthusiast Ray Davies in response to the lack of local tipple in his native Aberdare, Grey Trees have been making a name for themselves far beyond the Valleys. Of particular note are their pale ales, which have been delighting a cionados and should entice newcomers to this on-trend beer. eir Afghan Pale Ale is crisper than a hot summer’s day and as refreshing as a relieving downpour, betraying its 5.4% AB. e Chinookan VPA adds a unique citrus avour to its light nish, while rugby fans will certainly appreciate the JPR Pale Ale that’s cra ed with skill but has the out and out toughness of the great full back himself.

Buy it from: greytreesbrewery.co.uk Price: From £2.80 per 300ml bottle

9. Aber Falls liqueurs

Sweet tipples just in time for Christmas

In addition to the co ee and dark chocolate options covered in our feature on page 33. Aber Falls also produce two more lavish liqueurs from their distillery. Made with Halon Mon sea salt, the Salted To ee variety is ideal for the upcoming festive season with the aroma hitting you from a distance – all to ee and burnt caramel. e Anglesey salt adds depth rather than an overtly salty tang and is a lovely counterpoint to the sweetness of the to ee, making for a balanced result that’s worryingly moreish. e pink bottled Violet Liqueur meanwhile delivers a heady bouquet of a garden on a summer evening when opened. is is backed up with a oral taste that gives way to a herbal nish that lingers. Delightful.

But it from: amazon.co.uk Price: £18.94 per 70cl

10. Flavour Fusion Parmesan Cheese

Welcome vegan-friendly additions to your favourite pasta dishes

Aside from the main thrust of the dish, it’s o en the little extras that you have to watch out for if you keep to a free-from diet. Good Carma Foods has the answer to any Italian fan’s prayers with this range of dairyfree Parmesan alternatives. Ideal on a salad or your go-to pasta dish, the Flavour Fusions’ combination of almonds and yeast akes with well-balanced seasoning hit both avour and texture on the head across their Original, Garlic and Chilli options. e crumbly, rich Garlic is our personal preference, adding even more of a punch to every dish. ey also do a tasty Spread Sensation made out of cashews, which is a hummusy option for those of you who enjoy mature cheese spreads on your mu ns.

But it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: £4.95 per 100g

11. Sarah Bunton Chocolates

Cooky treats with quality at their heart

Whether you’re looking for sophisticated boxes or slabs of joyful, seductive delight, Sarah Bunton has the cure for your chocoholic itch. It’s hardly surprising that these sinful treats come from the award-winning creator’s workshop in Devil’s Bridge in Ceredigion, but what is, is how smooth and satisfying the products are – enabling greedy people like ourselves to sco down a vast quantity without feeling sick. Among the most novel of the bars are a deep dark chocolate with large chunks of sugared ginger and a sweet white option studded with creamy fudge. What the bars lack in visual re nement they more than make up for in an unbridled joy of delectation. ose who appreciate the innocent charm can buy huge slabs with bilingual birthday messages too.

Buy it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: £3.50 per bar

12. Castle Dairies Butter

Caerphilly spreadable butter you can believe in

Life is far, far too short for sub-standard butter, and luckily you’re spoilt for choice with a range of excellent Welsh options. Having been making butter out of Caerphilly for 40 years, Castle Dairies are one of the most well-known and celebrated, using milk from West Wales for their sumptuous salted and unsalted varieties – we opt for the salted for everyday use but the latter will be a cornerstone of your cooking. Their more recent spreadable option bucks any reservations you may have. The rapeseed oil allows it to be used on your morning toast easily whilst holding onto the taste of the regular butter but with no additives and lacking the oily aftertaste associated with its rivals. If you’re still sceptical about such spreads we suggest you give it a go.

Buy it from: ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s Price: £2.05 per 250g

13. Wrexham Lager

Delicious Welsh beer bursting with national pride

With fire-breathing dragons, lines from Cwm Rhondda and a tag as ‘The Pride of the Celts’, Wrexham Lager isn’t subtle in reminding you where its inspiration comes from. Though made in a new micro-brewery in the town centre, the brand was started by 19th-century German immigrants and the modern-day equivalent continuing to use the same ingredients and recipe as past generations. The results are the traditional 4 % WXM Lager – that was supposedly sold on board Titanic – and the punchy 5% Export. The former’s crisp, fresh taste is certainly reminiscent of the German origins the original was founded on, and is deserving of its success with gallons of the stuff being sold to date. The latter follows suit, proving a lot easier and refreshing on the palette than much of its competition, opting for smoothness over pungent flavours, with both doing their homeland proud.

Buy it from: chesterbeerandwine.co.uk Price: £1.90 per 330ml bottle

14. Coles Distillery whiskies

Prolific underdogs expand their repertoire

Out of their small distillery and brewery in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Coles manage to create an entire bar’s worth of award-winning beer, cider, moonshine, gin, rum and vodka that they sell out of their White Hart Inn pub. But surely there was no way they could repeat their success with their new whiskies as well? We were delighted to have underestimated them as we tucked into a glass of the neat but mellow Coles Single malt. With aromas of liquorice and vanilla coupled with a charred bourbon taste, it’s a highquality drink that wouldn’t be out of place alongside some of the grandees of malt whisky. Unsurprising their Apple Jack drink has a fruity toffee scent and a similar finish to Calvados, but combining enough floral notes and Southern mellowness to make it a winner in its own right. We love an underdog story.

Buy it from: www.coles.wales

15. Llanllyr Source water

Wales’ most abundant resource given the pampered treatment

Having already stood proud among the big guns with their fabulous range of mixers – if you haven’t partaken of their Fiery Ginger Beer then you need to correct that – Llanllyr Source are literally going back to the source with both still and sparkling waters. Taken straight from springs nestled among Ceredigion’s organic farmland, its claim of unrivalled purity certainly rings true. Whether out of an aluminium can or glass bottle, Llanllyr is indeed unmistakably clean, refreshing that you feel the need to sip rather than gulp down in order to savour it. Like the mixers, the bubbles of the Sparkling Springwater deliver a subtle fizz, and with no rough edges it’ll go down like a charm. A premium price but one you’ll be happy to pay for such high, natural quality.

Buy it from: abelandcole.co.uk Price: 6x75cl bottles for £6.50

16. Purple Moose

Stunning beers with a sense of humour

As well as possessing a good sense of humour (Dark Side Of The Moose and Chocolate Moose beers anyone?) Porthmadog based brewers Purple Moose have also picked up a trick or two about making ale in their 14-year history. The aforementioned chocolaty stout definitely appealed to our sweet tooth, with vanilla penetrating through its dark colour and bitter malts. The other standouts on their cheeky roster are the smooth Snowdonia Ale and the unusual Ysgawen/ Elderflower Ale. The former is a classic golden beer with a lingering finish of bready malts, earthy bitterness and hints of citrus, while if you can get along with the latter’s subtle but unique ingredient you’ll find a light beer bursting with fruity tones. You can even sample them on a tour of the Purple Moose brewery.

Buy it from: purplemoose.co.uk Price: £25.99 for 12x500ml bottles

17. Blodyn Aur dressings

Rapeseed oil becomes a new gold standard

More and more of us are seeking out healthier options in the kitchen, with rapeseed oil a popular choice for its benefits, flavour and versatility. Blodyn Aur (Golden flower) from Corwen in north Wales prides itself on being the only Welsh oil producers, and not only brings a variety of silky varieties of its rapeseed oil to the table, but also uses them to make two excellent dressings. Neither the Beetroot & Thyme nor Honey & Mustard have that greasy aftertaste you can get from certain dressings, with Blodyn Aur’s key ingredient coming to the fore with its light taste and floral notes. While both balance sweetness and punch in equal measure, we were particularly enamoured with the Honey & Mustard’s silky zest and had to resist drowning our salad in it.

Buy it from: rhug.co.uk Price: £4.95 per 250ml