Belvedere Vodka Trail, The Liqourists - Manchester

Booze, booze, booze – lots of booze on the blog lately and this post is no exception (and the next post might not be either…). But how can I resist from imparting to you my latest shenanigans with those professional booze hounds, The Liquorists, when it was a night out like no other?

Limiting itself to just one brand this time, Belvedere Vodka, the spirit trail started at the gloriously upmarket Lowry Hotel; we sipped Belvedere Pure (their premium vodka) amongst sumptuously dressed guests as we watched the lights ripple on the Irwell below. We tasted the brand’s signature cocktail, The Zephyr, a mouth puckering contrast of sharp grapefruit mellowed out with sweet almond syrup and ate delicate cubes of softly wobbling passion fruit jelly.

Classic, simple, sophisticated - Belvedere Pure at The Lowry

On to The Liquorists’ now eponymous headquarters, 22 Redbank; this time to sip the red peppery, spicy notes of Belvedere Bloody Mary. Made by macerating each different ingredient into the spirit so the actual essences are included (only premium brands do this, most only use flavourings) – this little shot was a fiery explosion of heady flavours that left you glowing all over.

To match the Bloody Mary vodka, what did The Liquorists do (apparently contrary to the advice of the brand), they made a Bloody Mary with it. Pretty good as far as Bloody Mary’s go; but it should be as Jody (of The Liquorists) used to own a bar that only specialised in Bloody Marys. To accompany these fiery drinks we ate platters of olives and chorizo, the salty food pairing perfectly with the savoury drinks.

Bloody Mary in a Bloody Mary - does that make it a Double Bloody Mary Squared?

Next stop Kosmonaut to sample the Belvedere Citrus – the brand uses both orange and lemon in this maceration to create a more rounded drink with layers of refreshing, perfumed flavour – this was my favourite of all the flavoured vodkas we tasted. Kosmonaut’s cheeky food pairing surmounted to the very posh and heady heights of Mr Kipling lemon fingers – well he does make exceedingly good cakes; it was good to see that they had put more thought in to the cocktail, The Belvedere Traingle; basically a rhubarb and custard in a glass. Belvedere Citrus mixed with rhubarb liquor, grenadine, clementine juice and egg white – creamy, sweet, vanilla, childhood memories in a glass.

Penultimate stop on the trail and very suitable for this upmarket jaunt through this premium brand, was champagne bar Epernay. Unlike the Citrus Belvedere, the Pink Grapefruit maceration we drank here only uses pink grapefruit to create as true a likeness to the fruit as possible – Belvedere have certainly got it right; this vodka has that same heady, floral, sharp sweetness as the fruit itself.

Staff handed round tiny squares of Black Forest gateaux with pink grapefruit vodka cream for us to daintily nibble whilst sipping the Hemingway Royale they created with Moet champagne (of course), pink grapefruit Belvedere (well of course) and kir soaked cherries. Decadent, delightful and playfully light, this cocktail was my favourite of the lot (well, this lady does have expensive tastes…).

Before you make insinuations, these weren't all mine...

On to our final destination, we landed on the slopes at Ski Club, Manchester’s newest winter bar that’s popped up at Spinningfields, bringing the style and sophistication of the winter playgrounds of the rich and famous to Manchester’s…er…sodden streets. The last vodka was the Belvedere Unfiltered – a heady, musky, almost after-sex bedroom smell to the nose and a rich, heavy warmth in the mouth.

Unfortunately the cocktail and food pairing at Ski Club didn’t match up to the brand or the rest of the (as per usual) faultless tour – the Ski Club’s take on a mojito was far too dominated by rosemary and sugar, basically like licking a Sunday roast created by someone who’s over-Jamied a lamb joint by stuffing a whole rosemary plant up its jacksie. The cheese and meat platters were good (but it’s hard to fuck up food that you take out of packets), but the accompanying fondue was claggy – the pots they are using are warmed by three small tealights meaning the cheese is not at the right temperature (plus it could have done with some extra garlic if I’m being picky).

Fon-don't at Ski Club (nice 70s arty shot to go with the old-skool ski club theme)

However by this time we were merry and warm so this little downer didn’t detract once again from an excellent, fun and fact filled night from The Liqourists. Raise your glass to many more!

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 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. 

Brew Dog/Trof Mash Up, Deaf Institute - Manchester

Ok so I'm a little late posting this one, but I've had heart/brain/job/house stress so you'll have to forgive me.

Week before last the crazy craft beer creators, Brew Dog joined forces with Trof for an epic night of beer tasting, good food and great times. The idea of the night was a bit of beer and food matching at The Deaf Institute (Trof's beautiful music/food/beer place) - showing off Brew Dog's DIY crafts ales and the great cooking from Trof's chefs. Seated at trestle tables with glasses and plates passed down, the atmosphere was friendly and convivial - all helped by super friendly staff and the boundless energy of the brew doggers.

We kicked off the night with 5am Saint - a 5 x hopped beer; creamy, piny and very sessiony. Paired with a mini yorkie pub, chipolatas and sage, the beer's pine notes coupled with the herby sage brilliantly. We then moved on to my favourite beer, Punk IPA - this has fruity note with mango and papaya, softened by caramel hints - this was matched with haddock goujons - the citrus in the beer cutting through the batter without overpowering the delicate fish.

So far, so easy - very generous half pints of 5.3% or so beer - now it was time for the big guns. Out came a Hardcore IPA, pretty hardcore at 9.5%. This is a double dry hopped, aggressive beer with a big hit of resinous pine, softened out by the sweet caramel, toffee from the higher alcohol content. A big shouty beer like this needs a big shouty dish, so The Deaf institute whacked us out some cheesy Welsh rarebit with some beer cooked onions. The cheese and sweetness paired perfectly with the cheese, which softened out some of those piny resin flavours.

Then we moved on to the Dogma - hardly any hops in this one, it's all about the malts; 10 different types to be exact. This was really smoky, full of chocolate and rich salty flavours (can't say I liked it that much), which complimented the red meat of a soft Lancashire hot pot (which I liked a lot). This was served with a hand pickled red cabbage; the astringency cutting through the heavy beer and meat perfectly.

Next along were two porters - I took some sips, but they were way too heavy for me. Alice Porter was had some creamy exotic flavours (but not the ones you buy from Thailand), some chocolate and vanilla - this was paired against cheese. I loved the cheese. And last was the 12% behemoth that is Lost Dog; a collaboration with Lost Abbey Brewery in California. Pretty special this one - once brewed it's shoved in to rum casks with rum soaked raisins, so it basically tastes like a big piece of fruit cake - continuing with the cakey theme, this was paired with a brownie, double richness that my mouth loved.

From reports from other folks who stayed on (damn you Northern Rail and your early last trains) there was more tasting after we left of the super special, very high percentage beers (think 30%) - might have been a good thing that I was constrained by those trains after all.

This one off night was a great way to get to know the beers of Brew Dog and consider that it's not just wine that can be matched with food - it was also a great night to get to see the variety of food that The Deaf Institute can produce. Let's hope it's not a one off - more Dog Trof mash ups please!

Please note I was given my tickets for this for free, but I didn't have to say nice things, I just had a really good time and enjoyed the food and beer matching.

Ps sorry for no pictures, I did take some but it was so dark in there and my phone camera is so rubbish that there’s no point putting them up – even after a good old photoshop, they’re still pants. Anyone thinking about upgrading their Iphone? Donations of a 4S greatly welcomed – I’ll even cook for you to say thanks!

The Deaf Institute, 135 Grovesernor Street, Manchester M1 7HE - a great venue for food, drinks and especially gigs/music - goo check it out.