Drinks Archives

Discovering Cotswolds food and drink

If you visit a new area, where do you choose to eat and drink? Of course you ask people you meet, but with an area as large as the Cotswolds, you’ll inevitably not find all the gems.

The Cotswold Cook Book will help. It celebrates the amazing food and drink in the Cotswold and includes more than 40 recipes. I’ve been reading through and getting very hungry. I’ve also started to plan visits to many of the places mentioned. What better way than to read a recipe and think, “I’d like to visit and try more”.

Cotswold Cider Bread Recipe

My cider bread made with Blow Horn Cider

Cotswold Cider Co’s quirky ciders inspired Danielle to create a wonderful cider bread

Let’s make winning sloe gin

A really delicious alcoholic drink that can be drunk neat or added to a cocktail, sloe gin is easy to make with fruits from the hedgerow

Make award winning sloe gin

Sloe gin is a gorgeous tipple. Drink a tot on its own or add to a cocktail. Simply delicious.

This year's crop of sloes — This year’s crop of sloes

Its latin name is prunus spinosa which might give you a clue to its spiky nature. Do go armed with gloves! Look for the blackberry bushes and if you’re lucky you’ll find the sloe bushes also known as blackthorn. They can grow up to 6 or 7 metres high and live for 100 years! But the ones round here are much smaller. The fruits are mostly similar in size to a blueberry although I did find some woppers this year.

Capreolus Distillery – Prepare to be amazed

Barney working with the still at Caproulus Distillery

Spirit of the Year 2016

Drive down an ordinary road in Cirencester, park and walk down the path to Capreolus distillery (Capreolus is the latin name for a roe deer). To one side is the area where the ingredients are processed. On the other side is the distillery itself. It’s housed in the lean-to greenhouse of Barney Wilczak’s childhood home. The garage is now designated a bonded warehouse – there can’t be many of those in Gloucestershire.