Craft spirits, made with care — and tasted properly.
A growing number of UK cocktail bars are not just infusing behind the bar — they are distilling. We look at the gins, rums and liqueurs made in-house, what it does to a drink, and how to tell a true house distillate from a clever infusion.
Peat is not the only route to a smoky glass. We talk to three UK makers using charred casks, roasted grains and local fuel to build smoke from the ground up — and explain what the word ‘smoky’ really means on a British bottle.
Most home bars become museums of half-empty bottles. A better approach is to buy for jobs, not labels. Here is a six-bottle craft shelf that covers sipping, mixing and hosting — without doing the same job twice.
What does it actually take to be trusted with a spirit run? We followed one trainee through twelve months of cleaning, sensory drills, logbooks and cut points at a UK craft distillery — and found that the hardest lesson is knowing when to stop.
The cut point is the distiller’s most consequential decision — and one drinkers can learn to taste. Here is a practical way to read heads, hearts and tails in three UK craft spirits, plus the questions that reveal how a bottle was made.
Mulled wine has its place, but the highball is the most useful winter serve for UK craft spirits. Here are five recipes with exact ratios, carbonation notes and a buying guide for bottles that keep their character after the soda goes in.
Five UK craft distillers reveal what they drink when the apron comes off, from supermarket stout to obscure amari. Plus a practical 'if they like X, try Y' list of UK bottles to match.
A £35 bottle of UK craft spirit can be fair value or a stretch. We break down duty, glass, still time, and margin with two small distillers — and give you three practical questions to ask before you buy.
We put six UK craft bottles priced at £30 or under against supermarket own-label spirits in a blind tasting. Craft didn't win every round — but the results showed exactly where the extra money goes, and when it's worth spending.
Cask finishes can add real depth to whisky, rum and gin. They can also hide young spirit behind a famous barrel name. We asked UK distillers what a finish actually does, where the shortcuts creep in, and how to taste one properly.