Gincident with The Liquorists - Castlefield, Manchester

'Believe me my young friend, there is nothing, absolute nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats...'

From the moment my young ears received this infinite wisdom from Kenneth Graham, via Ratty, via the lips of my mother imaginatively mimicking what she thought a water vole would sound like if one could speak, I've been fascinated by boats. (By the way Ratty is a misnomer, Ratty is actually a water vole).

Having grown up an actual stone's throw away from the sea and surrounded by gallons of crystal clear welsh mountain lakes, many have questioned why, if so enamoured, I didn't learn to sail - we'll gloss over that (I'm a shit hot swimmer though). Whether I can sail or not, stepping onto the deck of a boat and (having someone else) casting off, the lap lap lap on the hull and the slightly hypnotic to-fro swaying, is what makes me happiest in this crazy world of ours.

The bars of city centre Manchester aren't renowned for their proximity to either crystal clear lakes or the salty tang of the sea; but what they do have is a) a canal and b) the genius of the The Liquorists to work out that the only thing better than messing about in boats - is messing about in boats with a tonne of cocktails. And in this case, a tonne of gin.

Our captains and the lovely Lowry

We got our sea (manky canal water) legs ready and were met with large grins (and even larger gins) by The Liquorists who had commandeered the L.S Lowry for the Gincident; a veritable vessel steered by the chaps from City Centre Cruises - luckily for us, they were wise enough not to let any of the reprobates from The Liquorists play captain.

Salmon thanks to Tone Photography

On board we were served an exceptional meal from Hannah Eddleston; The Liquorists usually serve up some good food, but this was amazing - cured salmon with dill was tender and light, melting spiced ham hock with juniper and jewelled cous cous, succulent spicy chicken drumsticks on white bean salad and an inspired savoury strawberry salad.

Hannah took inspiration for her dishes from the botanicals used to flavour the gins we were sampling that night, coupled it with her exceptional cooking skills and then served us hefty portions to soak up the torrent of booze that we were about to receive - she's one talented girl.

As with any Liquorists night, the aim isn't just to get sozzled (that's just a happy coincident); the nights are an educational meander through different versions of one type of spirit - the Gincident, very obviously, being about gin.

'Jamie Jones and THAT jacket

Our gin journey was lead by the very amiable/competent/dashingly dressed Jamie Jones (just look at that blazer!); he's just been crowned G'Vine's Global Gin Connoisseur 2013, so I'm not sure there's anyone more proficient in gin-knowledge - he certainly seemed to know his stuff.

We started with the history of gin; this terribly British tipple actually started life as genever over in Holland - there has been a history of distilling juniper based white spirits to cure medical ailments since medieval times, but it wasn't till we went to war in the 17th century that we got our hands on it.

Gin started being distilled in the UK in the 18th century; some of it was frankly frightening stuff and lead to many social ills, Hogarth producing THAT drawing and earning it the moniker 'Mother's Ruin.' These days, thankfully, it's a quality spirit that has been given the attention of many premium and craft brands - with Jamie Jones at our helm, he steered us through his favourite expressions of the spirit and showed us there is more to the G and T than just gin and tonic (indeed check why we put tonic in our gins HERE).

Bloom - thanks Tone Photography

G'vine - thanks Tone Photography

We tried:
Genever - tastes like bargain gin from the supermarket.
Plymouth - old school; what you think gin tastes like.

Miller's - thanks Tone Photography

Massimo - thanks Tone Photography

Miller's - uses Icelandic water to give it a clean taste.
Bloom - the most floral of the gins we tasted.
G'Vine Floraison - made from grape spirit in France; Flouraison is the sweeter one.
G'Vine Nouaison - far more musky than Flouraison.

For each spirit we received one shot to sip (sip that is, not down, this was a civilised boat tour or something), whilst Jamie talked us through the botanics used to flavour each; then, for each gin, we were given a cocktail made by the unmatchable Massimo - each one using ingredients to match the botanics in each.

Cruise over, the sights of Manchester and Salford (and many cool birds including a grey wagtail, cormorants, sand martins and a kestrel family) seen, we gathered our slightly less steady sea legs and departed into the warm summer Manchester night - all happy faces proving that gin is far from a mother's ruin these days.

If you want to book the Gincident, do so HERE and any other of the Liquorists services HERE (cos they don't just steer people round in boats and fill them full of booze you know).


Ps The cruise we took can be booked, sans booze/Liquorists, through City Centre Cruises - it really is a good way to see the sights and excellent for bird watching.

Pps The good pictures were all kindly supplied by the ace Tone Photography.

Please note I was given my ticket to the Gincident for free, but I'm not inclined to say anything nice, The Liquorists are just tip top at what they do. And I did like Jamie's jacket.

Drinks Enthusiast Spirit Tasting Night - 24/7, Manchester

There are worse things to do of an evening, than spending your night with a group of new people, learning about spirits and tasting drinks. No, really, there are.

And that’s the premise of The Drinks Enthusiast’s Spirit Tasting nights – book your ticket, turn up, meet new people, taste spirits, learn lots of interesting facts and then end of with a cocktail created especially for the night.

Oh, but it’s much more than that – Dave, aka Drinks Enthusiast, is a passionate, eloquent speaker who knows more about the brands he’s teaching you about, than the brands do themselves.

First up were two gins, both from G-Vine – the first gins to be distilled in France, apparently and, interestingly, made from grapes. We sipped both the green Fluraison version (hints of apple, green cardamom and floral sweetness) and the grey Nouaison (muskier, deeper and full of nutmeg overtones). Flouraison is marketed at the lay-dees and the grey for the gents – because of course, girls have no ability to appreciate a heavier drink and have to be all floral and twee. I for one, with my upright equalist principles, found this is a little insulting (although very good marketing) and rebelled and preferred the Nouaison. So there, clever marketing peoples!

Next in the tasting list was the June grape liquer – also made by G-vine; I’m guessing that this one is only marketed at the girls. Peach colour-way on the bottle, super sweet taste like frostie sweets/artificial peach flavouring – no way I was going to like this one. But to give it it’s due (and to look cool sprouting facts that I actually learnt from Dave...) it’s a grape liquer blended from three different types of grape and is very special because grape liqueuers are very rare. Still mings though.

Lastly we tasted a Roberto Cavalli vodka from Italy – yes, as in the fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. It’s Italy’s first vodka, so they got a well-known name in to design them a swanky bottle and give it some gravitas (oh and a £60 price tag). It’s clean, it’s smooth, but that’s where it ends – like high-edn fashions, this drink is all style over substance – it would make a great mixer, but with that price tag I’ll be sticking to the Smirnoff (which is actually decent as a mixer, just don’t start drinking it neat, I’d suggest a Belvedere for that..).

We finished the night off with a cocktail created especially by Allan Hudd, Bar Manager at 24 Bar and Grill for the tasting session (actually there was a choice of two, lucky us). I opted for the Nouaison Basil Smash as the other on offer was something with the June liquer. Heady, aromatic perfumes wafted up from the smashed basil and the over-powering pepperiness was toned down by the warm muskiness from the gin; the spicy notes in both complimenting perfectly – great choice by moi (yeah taking all the credit…!).

A spirit tasting night is a great alternative to throwing unknown, cheap drinks down your neck and being pawed at by strangers who think wearing a hat indoors is ok – at £15 a ticket it’s bloody good value too; ok you might not be taken by all the drinks you taste, but when else would you be bold enough to order something you’ve never heard of before?

NB The June liquer actually tasted gorgeous in the cocktail that was created with it, so not all bad.

Ps I was given my ticket to the trail for free, but was in no way obliged to say nice things about the night – please see HERE for examples of freebies that haven’t received such a glowing review (ouch!).

Ski Club - Spinngfields, Manchester

Ok, so I’ve been lazy with the blog – sorry, I’ve been dealing with life by sticking my head in the sand and putting my fingers in my ears. Enough of the complaining (as I’ll be doing a lot of that in the following post, so get ready) – the recent wintry weather has stirred me to write up a night I was invited to at Ski Club; with snow on the ground, what an opportune time to share.

The Ski Club is the newest (although pretty old now, hey? – ed) pop-up concept from Heart Soul Rock & Roll; those people behind Spinningfield's summer pop-up, Yacht Club. Being canny to the fact that Manchester's inclement climate isn't conducive to high sales of booze in an outside, barely covered venue, they've moved indoors to Quay House and recreated the high life on the ski slopes a la 1972.

Ski Club - vintage slopes luxury, apparently - thanks to City Life

Wood clad, with leather seats and faux fur throws, coupled with dim lighting and vintage pictures of the slopes, the decor is meant to invoke the snug hillside cabins of St Moritz; unfortunately none of the styling perks up the rather cold and soulless space that Ski Club seems to be. Maybe I visited on the wrong night (seriously PR people, you're going to have a press night? Please make sure there’s some ambiance in the place you're trying desperately to sell us),  or maybe it’s just soulless; but three cocktails in and I was still shivering under my blanket.

Those aforementioned PR people had kindly invited a bunch of press/blogger types to come together for a tasting of the Ski Club’s fare in the hope we'd get busy writing gushing prose about. Bad move. What we were served at Ski Club can only be described as vile.

As you readers are aware, if I’m invited somewhere to eat, then I’ll judge that place harsher than somewhere I just rock up to and actually pay for my food at (yeah, I do pay for food you know...); if you know someone is there to review, you make damn sure everything is tip top standard. If you invite a whole crowd of reviewers (a la the Ski Club night), then you make sure the food and service is so damn hot I’m burning my fingers on it and talking about it for years to come.

Arancini snowballs

Porcini arancini balls were massive, almost snowball sized dusty abominations that tasted of gravel. Sundried tomato, mozzarella and pesto on a stick – meh, I could get that at Pesto and that’s not saying much. Some sort of sausage roll had greasy pastry as thick as rhino skin and the fondue? Well I've already discussed that before - but let's get it off my chest again because it was so disappointing - claggy, cold, contemptible.  The only edible eats were some cured meats - but if they'd fucked up opening the packet and plating it, then I'd be even more worried about what's happening in the kitchen than I already am.

Oh and a note to the Ski Club staff - if someone asks you if the food served is gluten free, and that person is sitting in the group of press you invited to see how amazing this place is, please have the decency to get back to that person whilst the food is still on the table and not after it has been cleared and they've gone hungry. Thanks.

If the food's not up to scratch then at least you can rely on the drinks right? There's a good choice of spirits and beers, plus some quirky cocktail concoctions; even a blue coconut thing (Tiffany and Coco) - stylish to look at, yes, but the flavours in all the drinks fell somewhat flat and were smothered by an overabundance of sweetness. Great if you have a sweet tooth - I prefer something a bit bitter, with a kick (says a lot for you personality - ed), rather than the nursery soothers served, but they seemed to go down well with others in the party.

Blue drink - no advisable to drink off or on the slopes

The ski club will be hanging around in Spinningfields (above Artzu Gallery) until March if you fancy warming your cockles after a day on out the slopes of Manchester's shopping streets - however I'll take my apres-ski elsewhere.

Ps The bar staff, in contrast to the waiting staff, were exceptional.

Food - 2/10
Atmosphere - 5/10
Service - 6/10 (score greatly increased by the bar staff)
Value for money - n/a

Total - 13/30

Go again? No thanks. I'll be interested to see what Heart Soul Rock & Roll dream up next, as Yacht Club was pretty decent. Let's hope this is a seasonal blip for them.

The Ski Club, Quay House,  Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3JE - Facebook - Twitter - info@skiclub.co.uk

Please note I was invited to Ski Club as part of a press night and was given my food and drink for free. I am under no obligation to say anything nice in return for this - as is pretty evident from this review!

Tequila Trail - The Liquorists, Manchester

Tequila, it makes you happy? Not really - if like me and 99.7% of the UK population, your only tequila experiences are the usual cheap shots on a night out/lime/salt/floor; then no, tequila does not make me, you or anyone, bar cleaning product manufacturers, happy.

The Liquorists, Manchester self-styled sauce specialists do not agree with my above statement/experinces; they believe that tequila can be as good a sipping drink as a first rate scotch and as sophisticated as a high-end vodka. I did not believe them when they started spouting this poppycock - that was until I joined them for their latest spirit session, The Tequila Trail.

Starting at 22 Redbank, The Liquorists' now not so secret headquarter, Tom and Jody welcomed us warmly and in true Liquorists style, started handing out the first drinks along with a bucket full of information on the world of REAL tequila (you can read some of the facts in another article I wrote HERE).

To start off the evening we were given a Jose Cuervo; but hang on! Stop pulling those faces from grim recollections of running to the club toilets - this was a Traditional ie the good version they've only just started shipping to the UK. Made from 100% blue agave (this is important in ALL tequilas, otherwise what you're drinking is basically some good tequila with a bunch of cheap spirit alcohol mixed in - so beware of labels with the word mixto on them) and rested from 3-12 months in wooden barrels; it was a softer, sweeter drink than I remembered any tequila being, with toffee and vanilla notes and it actually tasted alright (well, pretty damn good to be honest).

And to dispel then myths around margaritas (NOT frozen, NOT blended, NOT with salt all around the rim), Jody flexed his drinks mixing skills and served us all a bang on margarita alongside plenty of food to line our stomachs before the rest of the tequila hit it (VERY WISE) - oh and as this is a food blog I suppose you want to know what we ate? Crispy fish tacos with a rich/piquant lobster sauce, crispy nachos with lashings of guacamole/salsa/sour cream/cheese and charred, salty, delicious corn on the cob - arriba!!

The premise of a spirit trail is to not only show off the best examples of each spirit, but to introduce you to the best drinking dens that Manchester has to offer. The Tequila Trail was no different; we hopped from great bar to excellent bar, with reserved tables and drinks awaiting as we did. Where did we go?

1. 22 Redbank - you know the story.

2. Apotheca - atmospheric, moody and a veritable potion palace; here we sampled the beautifully toffee-ish vanilla sweetness of the Don Julio Reposado; the cocktail at Apotheca was an exact taste match of a solero, otherwise known as the mango/passion fruit margarita.

3. Socio Rehab - a sophisticated stalwart of the Northern Quarter cocktail scene; out came the peppery, green, agave tasting El Jimador Blanco (unaged, so no softening in wooden barrels) and a Palemro with Ting.

4. Hula - tiki time was replaced by tequila time as we sipped another blanco, the Plata Judura, this time brewed using natural yeasts from the air; again very fresh, but with a lot more coffee and vanilla notes mixed in with that peppery green industrialness. Our cocktail pairing was a Tommy's margarita - very famous apparently, but I still preferred Jody's one at 22 Redbank.

5. Last stop was at Northern Quarter newbie, Kosomonaut for the best tequila (in  my eyes) of the night. The Tapiteo anejo is aged for over a year in wood - soft, silky, smooth with a spicy, muskiness reminiscent of a victorian dresser - The Liquorists are right, a great tequila can be a great sipper - I'd consider this over ice on a night out.

And with that we drifted off in to the night (or in my case the last train home) and yes, finally, the saying 'Tequila makes you happy' really did ring true.

The Liqourists spirit trails happen pretty often and range from about £30-40,  which is bloody cheap if you consider you get five shots, five cocktails, five food pairings, reserved tables, history/information/geeky facts about the drinks AND a full meal. Couldn't replicate it anywhere other than Weatherspoons and the only facts you learn there is how many guys Sharon copped off with last Saturday and why Amy's got a bruise on her arse.

Booking is EASY - just click HERE and see what other wonderful trails The Liquorists have got to tantalise your tastebuds with.

The Liqourists, tom@theliquoristsonline.com, Twitter

Ps Photos soon, not got them here.

Pps I was comped this spirit trail, but I wasn't under any obligation to write anything nice about it - however I had a brilliant time and still think the trails are one of the best after-work activities you can get up to in Manchester AND for a very reasonable price too. Oh and Tom and Jody are lovely chaps too, so that makes it super good.

The Liquorists Rum Trail - Northern Quarter, Manchester

What do you do if you want to a) drink a lot but not fall about with the masses b) go on a bar crawl but not have to queue for drinks/stand up all night/get refused entry for being a large group - you book a Rum Trail! (or Vodka, or Whiskey, or Tequila...).

The Liquorists are a plucky pair of alcohol aficionados that are using their considerable skills, knowledge and contacts mixed with verve, passion and cheeky chat to create The Trails - an upmarket bar crawl that aims to teach you about what you're drinking as well as get you well lubricated around the bars of Manchester's Northern Quarter.

As you all know, I like a drink; I'm not very good at drinking, but I do like one. With an invite from Tom (one half of The Liquorists) sitting in my inbox to try their new incarnation of the trail, Rumberdrone 3 (clue, this one is about Rum, it's in the name, see) and having no clue about rum mixed with a need to educate/distract/make a fool of myself I accepted in a heartbeat.

Tom  - our cocktail captain for ther night - "a gipping yarn I can tell ye"

This is the third rum trail The Liquorists have run and in order to debunk the myth that the third of anything is always bad eg albums/films/tv shows (they obviously weren't thinking about threesomes) they've gone all out on this trail and upped the number of bars/shorts/cocktails to six (from five) with a 'very special something at the end.'

We were met at Hula by the effervescent Tom and quickly got the first rum down us - a Plantation, which is special because each barrel is individually sampled and only those showing the true characteristics of the rum are bottled. Fact. Oh and it's bottled in oak casks, then transported to France and finished in cognac casks. Double fact. Hula had also created an Atlantic Boatclub Daiquiri with a Plantation 3 Star, which we matched with bananas and toasted pineapples. Think I offended Tom by leaving most of the cocktail, but I was seriously suffering from the Almost Famous Pig Out the night before and my hands were still shaking at this point.

Plantation rum, Atlantic Boathouse Daiquiri at Hula Bar

After a good chat and an introduction to the other ten rum-trailers (nothing like a good bit of booze to loosen the tongue) we headed off to THE home of rum in Manchester, Keko Moku - a tiki bar that makes insane cocktail creations and probably has more booze soaked in to its fabric than I do after a clumsy bar room fumble/night out. Here we tried my favourite two drinks of the night - an El Dorado 12 year - forget what you think about rum (yeah we all downed Bacardi aged 16 thinking we were both big and clever and no, this is nothing like that...) - this is the purest honey, caramel, toffee, butterscotch all the way from Guyana. Smooth and slipped right in; absolutely beautiful. This was followed by a Sanguine Sizzle, an award-winning cocktail created by Socio Rehab's (Keko's sister bar) head barman containing blood orange, grapefruit, peychauds bitters, maraschino liquor and earl grey tea. Looked girly, tasted fruity with sweet, floral undertones. I finished this on off and mysteriously my previous nights DTs were gone.

Smooth as silky legs - El Dorado 12 year Keko Moku

A quick trot across the road and we landed in Odd - a Manchester stalwart with seven years' service under its belt - however not a cocktail bar. Hmm, where was this going? First up the Matusalem to taste and during sipping we were recounted of turbulent tales, money lost and general intrigue from Tom. And then Odd showed us how a non-cocktail place does a cocktail; they give you a steel bottom. That's not a euphemism, but two glasses - one with rum in and one with beer, idea is you take a sip of each. I liked it, many didn't, horses for courses as they say. Here we ate mojito skewers - a cheeky rum based cocktail nod from the non-cocktail bar there.

A view of my steel bottom at Odd Bar

On again to Tusk, a new bar that's decked out like some exotic 70s boudoir and staffed by some of the friendliest people I've ever met; here we encountered the hard stuff - a 63% Wray and Nephew, that we were advised to 'soften' with water - I did, it could still knock me out at 100 paces. Luckily there was some kick ass homemade chocolates that contained the rum as a match - much softer, much more me, many were in my mouth, some of it dribbled down my chin - and a Hipster Daiquiri with so much lime in, that I continue to believe it was placed at this part of the trail to stop us slipping in to some comfortable alcoholic coma sleep.

After being thoroughly abused in Tusk we headed over to another Northern Quarter newbie - The Blue Pig. Very Parisian, very chic, very not like I would ever think to drink rum here. We settled back to a Brugal, very dry compared to some of the earlier rums we'd been drinking and a very luscious apple daiquiri.

Chic and sophisticed - Brugal and Apple Daiquiri at The Blue Pig

And then it was on to something special - a ten minute trek through some 'ahem' less than salubrious areas (yes, even less salubrious than the areas I usually inhabit) and into a railway arch. What was this? This turned out to be 22Redbank, or The Office, as The Liquorists call it (seriously, can I have a job here. Its has a bar and a ping pong table and golf clubs and a glass cabinet and everything). I'd probably call it something way cooler like 'secret underground booze bunker' but that's just me. Settled in leather couches we tried Pussers Navy Rum (yeah, I had a good time with that name), at 54.5% it's the original strength they'd drink in the navy and was as dark and thick as treacle. The guys also produced the Painkiller, a mix of Pussers and pineapple which did a great job at soothing out tongues from the spicy Thai curry we'd just been served up.

The Rum trail, or any trail that The Liquorists run, is a well thought out alternative to crowding in to sweaty bars, tipping overpriced drinks down your neck, jostling at the bar and generally trying to have a good time but it soon becoming a sweaty, rubbish cattle market. Each tour is well planned, all the bars know what time you're coming and have food/tables/booze ready for you and for the price you pay, you get more booze than I can drink in a week (well I am a cheap date), plus nibbles and a proper meal at the end. The Liquorists know their drinks, they can spin a yarn or two and it's been one of the most interesting nights I've been on for a while.

Ps All I can say is 'Sorry Tom, next time I won't have a hangover/go to Famous the night before. Promise.'

Rum Trail 3 is on for the next five weeks - book yours HERE. If not, keep an eye on their site for the upcoming Belvedere Vodka Tour and, rumour has it, some Tequila madness near to Christmas.

The Liqourists - Twitter - Website

Please note I was invited on the Rum Trail for free, but am under no obligation to write nice things, I just had a bloody good time! On and I got to meet some wonderful people - for their take on the trail click on their names; Old Fashioned Susie, MM Online, Drinks Enthusiast, Mel Hughs

Liquorice Bar - Manchester

So lately on the blog we’ve gone through dirty meat, we’ve gone through posh restaurants; but now, dear readers I think you need some booze and some posh booze in the form of a new cocktail bar called Liquorice.

Located on Pall Mall, off King Street – one of Manchester’s more salubrious streets and based on the old Destino’s site (it’s still got the same owner, they wanted to rebrand and thought a cocktail bar would be a great addition to that area of town), Liquorice is an upmarket bar that sports neutral walls, leather banquets and a wood topped bar.

Serving cocktails and drinks, it’s aiming to be an after work place during the week and then a bit more upbeat at the weekend. Their manager Ben Brooks (who was trained by Neil Garner and, claim to fame, was on Come Dine With Me) has designed a cocktail menu that’s inclusive rather than one that alienates people with unknown liquors and bizarre taste combinations; however there’s some still signature flares thrown in for good measure, which will make Liquorice stand out from the crowd.

When we visited there was a relaxed after work vibe and we managed to get a seat at the bar; chatting with the staff it was clear that a) they’re a friendly bunch and b) they know what they’re talking about. After sampling some of the more usual drinks I plunged in to that signature cocktail – after all, I am a massive fan of liquorice, so why wouldn’t I?

The sharpness of the orange is toned down by the salty, sweetness of the liquorice – sort of like chewing a fruit salad and a blackjack together, but without the chewy gak on your teeth or diabetes. It’s a stunning looking and lovely tasting signature drink that I think Ben can be proud of knocking up.

Chatting to Ben, the idea is to get the place buzzing and build up the clientele going form strength to strength and just making it a fun place to hang out and get some good drinks – there was even a cheeky hint that they may go on to open other things. If they keep the winning formula of good drinks, good chat and good atmosphere; then I don’t think it’ll be too long before they do that.

Ps Liquorice is also serving food, so you can line your bellies before imbibing too much (Nosh knows all the consequences that brings!). There’s going to be some old Destinos favourites on the menu such as pumpkin ravioli, seabass and meatballs.

Pps If you go this weekend (17-19th Aug) it's their opening weekend - so expect lots of freebie and fun!
Go and see them, you need cocktails!

Liquorice Bar, 50 Pall Mall, Off King Street, Manchester M2 1AQ - Twitter - 0161 832 4600

Trof NQ - Northern Quarter, Manchester

Food fads, they come and go. 90s it was pesto, few years ago it was meatballs and now it's burgers and ribs. Well, that was the fad in London last year, obviously that means it's arrived up here now. So where better to find this latest foodie trend other than the hipster drenched streets of Manchester's Northern Quarter?

Trof NQ - with thanks to Buttered Crumpet

Whether Trof have spotted an opening after Almost Famous' truly phenomenal, short lived success; or were just impressed by AF's dedication to making the burger an edible entity rather than a formless, grey slush in between some disintegrating bun halves is a question I haven't asked anyone; however Wednesday nights are now slider time upstairs in Trof's new bourbon bar and their main menu burger (available every day) seems to have undergone a good-taste makeover too - when we mentioned this to our server she summed up, 'well we do have new chefs and they are good.' Good to know, seeing as I'll be eating their food.

New Wednesday menu

The short Wednesday menu is basically sliders, hot dogs and other Americana related items such as slaw, shakes and onion rings. Actually that's all there is on it.  There's a choice of three sliders, so we had one of each. Pulled pork was soft and smokey, rather drowning in a sweet, piquant sauce (no bad thing) but the adverted crackling wasn't self-evident. The lamb slider was delicious - a warm, cumin-y and in no way sweaty tasting. Beef and bone marrow was pink, tender, salty and moreish with all the good umami tastiness from the marrow without the greasy sloppiness you sometimes get from sucking it out of the bone.

Sliders - mini-burgers, maximum taste (ps I'm not into this slider fab BTW, make em proper size)

Taking advantage of the 'slightly less price if you buy two sides' deal we wolfed down some lightly battered but way too greasy onion rings and some tasty parmesan and truffle fries that were very sans truffle. I got a hit off one fry and that was my lot.
As mentioned before the Trof burger has had a little makeover, it seems almost the same, yet it's just been cooked/assembled well (maybe that's because they've got good chefs? - ed). I'm old enough to remember Trof when it was just a one place operation in Fallowfield, the burger was my treat each time that much needed loan cheque came in - when Trof expanded the quality of their burgers went steadily down hill - but this was a juicy, pink in the middle, charred on the outside delight served in a proper bun. Good to see them back on form.

Trof burger - back on form

Sitting in the bourbon bar we ditched the usual burger complimenting beer and supped (a lot of) cocktails (£5 before 8pm) - a parma violet aviation; sugary, minty julep; sharp Hemingway daiquiri and a smokey Martinez (precursor the martini apparently). All well mixed, all lethal; don't think I'd have the Hemingway again, it was just a little too sharp and a little too fruity, but that's just personal taste.

Martinez - dangerous and scrumptious

Trof's new menu makeover/new chefs/whatever is a good thing - there's care put in to the food, they're sourcing everything local/high welfare (eg. they use Frosts Butchers for their meat and he informs me it's all from Cheshire) and they obviously understand taste. Everything (bar the chips) had a perfect harmony of flavour with accompaniments cleverly chosen to cut through, highlight and compliment everything else on the plate.

And what do I think of sliders? Turn 'em in to proper sized burgers, I like more than a mouthful - especially when everything tastes so good!

Price for three sliders, two sides, one burger, one rendang and six cocktails - £60.40 (please note, the cocktails take up £30 of that!)

Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Value for money - 6/10 - the sliders are a bit expensive really.

Total - 29/40

Go again? Yes it's good for relaxed eats and the food has got back to its initial (good old days) standards.

Trof Norther Quarter, 8 Thomas Street, Norther Quarter, Manchester M4 1EU - 0161 833 3197 - nqmanager@trof.co.uk - Twitter - Facebook

http://www.trofnq.co.uk/

The North West Spring Wine Festival - Manchester

Some readers may be a little confused by the steady drip of drinks related posts on the blog of late (awful pun most definitely intended); well sorry to say, this post is another homage to the hard stuff – but this time it’s a little more civilised than the usual whiskey and beer guzzling fests I usually attend. How can drinking be a lot more civilised? Well this post is about wine - and plenty of it too - at the recent North West Spring Wine Festival.

 

By accident I took a photo with a man in it who actually looks like he belongs at a wine festival

Held in the newly renovated St Peter’s Church in the Northern Quarter, the North West Spring Wine Festival was a collection of independent suppliers and boutique wines. The premise was thus; buy an entrance ticket and get given a glass, you then mill round the various exhibitors tasting wine and (they hope) buy some to take home with you. As well as the main exhibiting area, there were smaller masterclasses running - we chose to pay £5 extra each to attend the Aumbry wine and food matching class, bringing the price for each of us up to £15. For the amount of wine we put away, that was an exceptionally good deal. And yes, we did drink the wine – if someone’s pouring you a (rather generous) taster from a £20+ bottle, you’re not going to pop it in the spittoon are you?

The North West Spring Wine Festival was filled with about 12 different booze peddlers – from Manchester bar Epernay, to small wine producers, indie shops and some big brand names. In amongst this was a smattering of food producers, touting some very good local produce; much needed for soaking up everything we consumed. Not many exhibitors you may say, but enough for us and probably wise seeing that we didn’t see anyone else using the spittoons either – well accept to dump water in when they washed their glasses out so they could taste something else!

Spittoons - not used much

The Aumbry masterclass was hosted by the lovely Mary-Ellen (acclaimed chef-patron) and Siobhan, the brains behind the front of house. We taste three tasty morals from the Aumbry menu, each paired with two wines. Great idea; you saw how each wine changed each dish and in turn how each dish changed the wine. Stand outs were the amazing Clai from Croatia, which is full of heavy orange flavours and is naturally produced in small runs of 5,000 bottles; and a Brouilly served slightly chilled to inhibit the tannins.

Aumbry wine matching class with Mary-Ellen and Siobhan

Mary-Ellen and Siobhan were entertaining and passionate; it was great to see the thought process Aumbry puts into constructing dishes and how their wine choices influence their menu. I can’t say any of the food stood out because it was all bloody brilliant – a silky hare terrine, a smokey mackerel/sharp rhubarb nibble and a tarte tatin poached in liquid nitrogen (well there had to be some Aumbry kitchen wizardry, we'd have been disappointed if everything had been cooked conventionally!).

We had a great chat with Epernay who, contrary to every other table, were tasting spirits only – we tried the unfiltered Belvedere, quite raw and smoky, but an amazing vodka. This was followed by a locally produced, craft gin called Brockman’s. Distilled in Warrington it’s infused with berries, so perfect for drinking straight – must get me some.

Interesting drinks at the Epernay table

Some of the best tables at the show were the Spirited Wines chaps (used to be Nicolas’ on Deansgate) with bags of good wines and friendly, informed chat. We also hugely enjoyed chatting with Tour De Belfort who are based in the NW but own a small vineyard in France, producing some (almost) natural wine with very low sulfites (no headaches!); light and easy to drink, it would be a killer on a summer’s afternoon.

Lovely people of Tour de Belfort - search them out!

We did try and get to the Bakerie and the Hanging Ditch tables; two of our favourite places in Manchester, however they were totally mobbed so we hung out with the Co-op chaps and had a good chat about organics, fair trade and sustainability (well, that’s what I think we were talking about…).

Top of the food producers were the Cheshire Cheese Company; their range of cheese were going down a treat with the punters (t’boy didn’t think so, but he doesn’t like cheese). The poor staff had to cope with me eating all their cheese (for research, obviously) and blabbering on, but they were dears, even if I don’t really like their sweet cheeses – their four year old, Cheshire and Blue are another thing coming though (and yes I’m promising a future post about these guys, you heard it here).

Cheshire Cheese Company staff wishing I'd stop eating all their cheese

I couldn’t really round this post off without mentioning the lovely Ginger’s Comfort ice cream who created a special flavour of chocolate and spiced wine (double yum) for the day – poor lass was stuck outside in the cold and didn’t sell much due to the weather, however she was in good spirits and as always her ice cream was silky, soft and super moreish.

All in all it was a great day out for a very reasonable price. The whole affair was pretty civilised, professionally done and attended well. Some warm weather would have been nice, but by the end of the day I was pretty warm, all wrapped up in my tramp blanket.

"Ooh look at all this wine.."

Sad you’ve missed it? Don’t fear, there’s a summer festival on the way, so check out the Manchester Food and Drinks Festival website or follow them on Twitter.

Ps I was given my entrance ticket for free, though we paid for t’boy’s and the additional master class; however I was under no obligation to write nice things, I just enjoyed myself and thought the day was a bargain.

Brew Dog Bar - Manchester

Say ‘real beer’ and many people think of flat caps, tweed and country pubs that smell a little fruity. The following words do not usually signify real beer ‘punk,’ ‘young’ and ‘attitude.’ However some young punks on the British brewing scene are challenging this idea and last week landed in Manchester – home of flat caps and ale sippers galore – opening their alter to the craft beer with a big bang, right in the city centre.

Brew Dog's new Manchester bar - very busy already!

Brew Dog are newbies on the beer scene, first brewing in 2007 as a reaction to British beer being a choice between stuffy real ale or some watery chemical piss and nothing in between. Brew Dog are very much the in between with their feisty DIY spirit, their willingness to try new (and sometimes crazy) methods and their appeal to a wider, younger audience than the CAMRA crew. Obviously something's working as they've become Scotland's biggest independent brewery, bottling about 120,000 bottles a month for export.

Brew Dog Manchester, from the outside and much better than my attempt - with thanks to themselves

So this beer then? Based in Aberdeen you could think Brew Dog would go the way of a traditional Scottish mild, but instead they've looked over to the pond to the craft beers our American cousins are brewing, mixed it up with some crazy attitude and quality ingredients, then given a nod to another Scottish export -high strength tramp juice. Known as much for their high strength beer as their crazy stunts (they got in to a beer strength fight with a German brewer, made a beer called The End of History that was 55% and then bottled it in taxidermy - indeed, then got in to an eight month long dispute with the Portman Group...), Brew Dog are now branching out and taking their craft beer ethos to the masses.

So what’s the difference, it's just a real ale place right? No. Brew Dog Manchester is a proper bar, none of the old sticky carpet shtick – there’s funky neon lights in the company blue, there’s the on trend hip distressed look and there are actually other drinks on offer; mainly different craft beers they look up to - but there's also wine, spirits and the odd soft drink or two.

I liked this sign - craft beer gets a cool makeover

However we’re not here to chat about the other drinks, it’s the beer that does the talking at Brew Dog. The draughts and guest kegs change regularly - it's best to check their Twitter for the day's specials, or they can be found on the chalkboards that are dotted around the place: we sampled the Dead Pony Club, a light, malty session beer; their infamous (and the beer they first brewed) Punk IPA, a feisty, citrusy, tropical kiss on the gob that doesn’t taste half as strong as the 5.4% (my favourite); the ruby red 5am Saint and the Riptide, an 8% stout that’s full of chocolate, mocha and berry flavours. Yeah I just said 8% stout. Mental. And that's not the highest they had on when we were there...

Stout and a branded glass

As we has popped along on opening night, we also got to sample the limited addition Dog A, which comes in at 15.1%. Darker than the stout and served in an impressive branded chalice (to let the aromas out apparently) it tasted akin to salmiakki mixed with marmite. Not two flavours I’d put together willingly – I drank it because I know it’s about £20 a bottle – plus I was given it, so I would have been rude not to. I don't think t'boy was that happy with me drinking so much of it though. Let's just say I don't remember much of the journey home, apart from that he was driving. And grumpy.

This is 15.1% - that's quite a lot of 15.1%. I drank it all.

There's food too. Designed by an ex-masterchef person, they've gripped the zeitgeist with posh burgers, pizzas and the odd cheese/charcuterie board chucked in too. To be honest I'm not going to give them too much 'oh you're just jumping on the band wagon' stick for this as they are a bar and this is bar style food. From the bits we tasted they've done a bloody good job of it too, serving the burgers rare and juicy. Word of warning - don't venture near the veggie pizza unless you have an asbestos mouth - I had to gulp down a pint in record time (well a half, I am a girl you know) just to stop from jumping off the balcony.

I didn't take a picture of the food, so here is a picture of a man called Max who did the drinks tasting

Brew Dog's bar looks like it'll be a success and because it's owned by the brewery I'm hoping they won't be tempted to dumb down to the level of their neighbours just to pull in the punters; hopefully they'll spread the message that quality and quirkiness can go together to make a very drinkable, very likable product. There will be some bite back from the real ale purists, but personally I'd prefer to go to a place that I at least feel safe to sit down in as I know I'm not going to get stuck to the carpet topped bar stool that's had thirty years of over weight male buttock sweat seeping in to it.

Brew Dog Manchester, Peter Street, Manchester - Twitter

http://www.brewdog.com/

Whiskey Trail - The Liquorists, Manchester Northern Quarter

Mark Twain is famed for saying, "...too much of good whiskey is barely enough," and last week's Whiskey Tour, with bar consultants/boozy tour guides/general bon vivants The Liquorists, really lived up to Mark Twain's (and my) expectations - there was whiskey galore; plus plenty of good food and good chat thrown in for very good measure.

The concept of a Whiskey Trail is to sample some very good whiskey (note the 'e' you pedants, we're referring to non-Scotch here), taste it in a long drink and learn about the spirit - bit like non-geeky school trip for adults.

We started the night at Socio-Rehab; the old stomping ground of our guide Tom, who's one half of The Liquorists partnership. Gathered round in a booth with eight other strangers, I felt like a bit of a ninny, however Tom's warmth and boundless enthusiasm relaxed everyone immediately and we got off to a flying start with the American bourbon that is Woodford Reserve; sweet, salty caramel flavours with big hints of vanilla shining through. To highlight the versatility of the drink we were also served a Classic, apparently as drunk by those people on Mad Men all the time (how did they cope?), and a dark chocolate florentine. Perfect.

Classics and florentines at SocioRehab

From here we decamped to Trof NQ and their brand new bourbon bar - we scampered round our reserved table like excited primary-schoolers - our little faces all tuned in to Tom's captivating spiel about the Jim Beam and infamous mint julep in front of us - part history, part folklore, part innuendo, part tasting notes. To compliment we had a spoon of jelly and almonds, went down a treat I can tell you.

Mint julep - totally Hunter S Thompson

We formed a now less than orderly crocodile and popped in to the dark and moody Apotheca a few doors up; this time to the wonderful sight of two large drams, not just one! And we can say drams this time as one of them was the wonderful Auchentoshan - a smooth and delicate Scotch single malt; the only triple distilled malt in Scotland - see I was still listening, even if by this time I had a lovely warm feeling and things were getting a little hazy. This was contrasted against the fruity, slightly sweeter Yamazaki from Japan, which was one of my favourites from the trail.

By now we were all chatting amiably, no longer strangers, but partners on this unique guided discovery - good thing as we had the longest walk (all of two minutes) to Noho on Stevenson Square - to relax in some comfy sofas; just what we needed after four drams and three cocktails. Out came a Jameson, well we couldn't have trail without having a drink from the country that invented whiskey could we? Hmmm...they may have invented it, but I do think the Scots refined it (that's a debate for another post). Here we ate caramel and cheese popcorn, sounds gross but is surprisingly moreish.

This made the Jameson's taste nice! Basil, clove syrup and pepper cocktail at Noho

And for our last treat? A chow down at the Northern Quarter's now infamous secret meat den for plenty of alcohol absorbing, juicy, meaty, delicious (I could go on) burgers and addictive chicken wings - plus lots of Jack Daniels and cocktails that I think included root beer and cherries (yes 'I think,' I had to go by the photos I took and my twitter updates for this one). Good job Almost Famous had opened up especially for us as by this time we were all on the merry side.

End of the night, dirty beefy love mmmm.....

A tour through the whiskies of the world is something that may sound a little dry (no pun intended); obsessive booze geeks trailing around in chinos discussing tasting notes and cask weights, blah, bah, blah. Tom is obsessive, but in a very good way. His passion, interest and obvious knowledge shine through - coupled with an boundless friendliness and a true eagerness to actually know what you think about each drink, he makes the trail a very enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

Please don't fear that this is an overly boozy lads night out - it's not. The Liquorists have obviously gone to great pains to ensure the whole set-up is run as professional and smoothly as possible. Our tables were always reserved, the drinks were always ready and there were plenty of snacks and water to dilute the booze they were feeding us. For between £30-£40 it's a cheap night out, especially as we got through five whiskies, four cocktails and more food than I could fit in my gob (that's a lot, by the way).

Tom and his interesting spiel

The Whiskey Trail is on for the next five weeks so snap up your tickets here - you'll be gutted if you miss out, it really is that ace. Don't fear if it's already booked up; those sauce sessionistas will be back with a gin trail, and a vodka trail, and... well watch this space.

Want a bespoke party (they indeed will do these for 'a good deal'), or got some questions for Tom or his business partner Jody? Then head over to: http://www.theliquorists.com/ tom@theliquoristsonline.com or Twitter

Ps I was given the ticket to this trail for free, however I was under no obligation to write good things - Tom's enthusiasm for the drinks, his interest in us and just how jolly nice he was, plus the actual fabness of the trail means I think this definitely deserves a thumbs up.