Aloha drinkers! It’s time for a brand new Bring a Bottle Podcast, and it’s jampacked with knowledge and experience this week. Expert guests, refreshing tonics, chili liqueur, cheese chat - we’ve got it all. What drink goes with classical music? Can Aidy guess exactly where a wine is made? Those questions and many more are answered in this one. Listen and as always, let us know your thoughts!
Our Guest Drinkers
We’re treated to two guests this week. First up, Aidy welcomes Georgie Bentinck to the podcast! From PR, Events, Communications, and every creative job under the sun, Georgie’s done it all in food & drink. These days she’s the Head of PR for Campari Group looking after a seemingly endless range of drinks such as Aperol, Campari, Appleton, and Glen Grant. Welcome, Georgie!
Our second wonderful guest is Master of Cheese Dan Belmont. Discovering and teaching for some of the most famous cheese retailers on the planet, Dan branched out further, and in this case, those branches had grapes on. He’s got a particular passion for the wines of his home nation, which you’ll figure out as soon as he speaks! After years of learning all there is to know, Dan took the plunge and founded his own retailer called Good Wine x Good People. Listen to find out what the exciting new concept for his company is!
What’s In Our Glass?
Episode 92 marks the final episode in which we’ll be exploring Franklin & Sons tasty tonics and sodas. In this episode, Aidy’s chosen their Grapefruit & Bergamot tonic, and this time he’s pairing it with Ancho Reyes, a Mexican chili liqueur.
Ancho Reyes is a perfect addition for your margaritas, or to add a kick to your mixer. Made with Ancho chiles, it’s a smoky spice rather than a fiery spice and is a fantastic option to have if you’re into cocktails.
Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £36.44
At the other end of the spectrum, the Franklin & Sons Grapefruit & Bergamot tonic contains pink grapefruit, bergamot, spring water and a new one for us, Cinchona bark extract, which adds a pleasant bitterness to the drink.
Size: 200ml
Find here: £17.50 Franklin & Sons 200mlx24
The two drinks combined work so well - if you like a Bloody Mary, then definitely listen in to Aidy’s recipe as this drink is for you!
Cheese With Dan
Our resident cheese master imparts his wisdom on us with many amazing cheese facts. If you’re lactose intolerant, you might usually skip a section like this but hold up! Dan lets us know that as cheese ages, the lactose decreases, so you can still enjoy cheese! Listen in for this and many other facts!
Drinks News
Our drinkers debate one of the world’s most unique vineyards where the owner actually encourages you to never drink his wine! Producing just 29 bottles a year, each one is priced at $5000 and you can only buy them at the local art gallery in Reggio Emilia. Is it art? Is it a vineyard? Either way, the backstory it is fascinating.
Cocktail and Music Matches
An interesting thought experiment this week as the team match up genres of music with drinks…
What’s the perfect drink partner for trance?
And what cocktail matches the finery of opera?
Find out and see if you agree!
Drinkers Discovery
Aidy’s wine senses are put to the test as he tries to identify a wine Dan brings in. A difficult challenge to pinpoint the wine and where it’s from so how will Aidy fare? You’re not going to want to miss this bit!
Perfecting your Negroni
Finally, Georgie fills us in on how to make the perfect Negroni, and she would know! Listen to find out the common mistake people make!