hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn December 2017 | Page 40

"Festive Spirit"
As we build up to Christmas many people “get into the spirit” by drinking a bit more of
their favourite tipple, or perhaps switching to a seasonal treat like mulled wine, sherry or
port. Consumption of alcohol in Britain increases by 40% in December so it’s important
to enjoy the festivities but also remember drinking in moderation is important.
One craze that is set to continue this Christmas is
the rise in popularity of gin. In the past year gin sales
in the UK have risen by 12% and for the first time
the Government has made more money from spirit
sales than beer sales. An example of gin’s popularity
is a local pub boasting a selection of 14 different
gins which may be a few too many to sample in
one sitting! Along with the traditional players like
Gordon’s, Bombay Sapphire and Beefeater, a new
breed of producers have cropped up making quality
products with their own unique style. Newer brands
to the Waitrose assortments are Sipsmiths, Daffys
and Portobello Road.
Adnams brewery in Southwold extended its
production to include spirits in 2010 as the early
part of gin making is similar to the process of making
beer. This is the fermentation stage, producing an
alcoholic liquor which will then be distilled, increasing
its strength and adding the things that make gin taste
of gin! The first addition to all gin is juniper, after that
each gin takes on its own style as other ingredients
are added.
has it’s own mix of botanicals including the likes of
cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel, logan berries, coffee,
cherry, golden berry, lavender and roasted hazelnut.
Gin is produced in “stills” which are often made
of copper. In these stills the liquor is heated and
botanicals are added, the heating process removes
essential oils from the botanicals which adds flavour
to the alcohol and concentrates the liquor to the
required strength
Gin must be at least 37.5% ABV to meet EU
regulations although some gins are made stronger.
“Navy strength” has an ABV of 57%. This is the
traditional strength favoured by the royal navy. Back
in the days of gunpowder, gin was the other valuable
commodity on board naval ships, the two were
stored together so the gin was made to this high
strength as gun powder soaked with 57% ABV (or
100% proof) gin would still ignite.
To find out more I visited a local distillery to hear
about the process and taste some gin; it’s a tough
job, but someone’s got to do it!
Gin is created by distilling fermented grain, or
ethanol with a strength of 96% and adding a number
of different botanicals for taste, the main botanical
used in all gin is juniper. Each different gin brand
At the end of your shop in branch, you’ll receive a token
to place in a box of the good cause you’d
most like to support. The more tokens a
cause gets, the bigger the donation they
receive. Each month every Waitrose
branch donates £1,000 (£500 in
Convenience shops) between 3 local
good causes that you choose.
Don’t forget, you can pick up copies of
Hiya Bucks in the following Waitrose stores:
A free cup of tea
or coffee everyday
as a myWaitrose
member.
Amersham, Beaconsfield, Chesham, Gerrards Cross, Hazlemere and High Wycombe
40 |
hiyabucks.com