Welcome To The Gin Ignite Podcast

Whether you want to party or have a quiet night in gin will ignite

News

Welcome

• Hello and Welcome to Episode 25

Christmas Gifts

• Please support your local distilleries for Christmas. 
• There are so many lovely Christmas ideas. I'm so tempted by the The Gower Gin Company GŴYR Six Pack
• Stockport Gin - bauble selections are a back and they have great lockdown bundles
• Don’t want to shake your own cocktails on Christmas Day but you want extra special drink ? Why not checkout Cheshire Mobile Bars national cocktail delivery service. Proper professional bartender cocktails sent directly to your door !! Want to know more continue listening to this podcast.
• I also got sent a gift from a friend for my birthday coming up next week @murphysgin. I posted about it in the week. The flavours sound amazing original, orange and passionfruit and pomegranate and kaffir lime.

Subscriptions

• Craft Gin Club
• The Botanical Trading Company

Gin To My Tonic

• With so many Christmas markets cancelled the Gin To My Tonic are having a virtual GinMas on 4-6th December
• Go to https://thegintomytonic.com/shop/virtual-christmas-market/ to find out more
• It cost £10.00 or if you order GinMas 5cl samples then you can get admission free.

The Only Way Is Gin

• If you sign up to her e-mail list then you can get 10% over the weekend.
• It will be officially available on Monday 16th November.
• Congratulations Nikki so please for you.

LAW Gin

• Thank you for joining me last week. I really enjoyed it. You have also made a deep impression on me.
• Your gin should be the go to for Dirty Martini. It is made for it !!!
• If there is a UK distributor who wishes to bring LAW gin to the UK then please get in touch with me or with LAW gin directly.
• It would be great to get this in the UK’s hands for Christmas !!!

Review

• Reviews really help the podcast in a given podcast directory. So if you did have a chance to review the podcast I would be most grateful

Weekly Gin Recommendation

The Edge Gin - London Dry

• This has been on my recommendation list for a long time. For some reason it slipped through but not this week.
• As you know Merlin the wizard from Alderley Edge get on very well although we are missing each other in lockdown as he has been forbidden to allow me to apparate to his thatch.
• We are able to talk on the Wizard Gin Network but like Zoom it is not the same as meeting in person.
• The nose of this gin resembles that of a familiar London Dry although there is something magical about it which you don’t get till you taste it
• On tasting it neat you get a very smooth London Dry Gin with the dryness up front followed with a sweet finish.
• When I spoke to Clare about this she said this is the Goji beans that are added.
• I have bought the Pear and L’Orange gin and this one is next on my list
• I paired this with a mediterranean tonic and it made a fabulous G&T. I believe that you could pair this with any standard premium light tonic or Elderflower
• I am desperate to buy this gin so that I can try it as a dry martini and would love to try it as the base of cocktails to make with Merlin.
• If you want a solid London Dry Gin with a unique sweet finish this is the one for you and one which will very soon have a proud place on my gin shelf.

Harry and Victoria from Cheshire Mobile Bars

What made you setup Cheshire Mobile Bars ?

• Lot of room from growth in the events industry
• Lot of people trying to get into the industry but did not really know enough and did not have the knowledge and training
• Saw gap in the market to provide a proper quality bar with the knowledge of the industry to back it up

How do the roles in the business work ?

• Victoria does the finance and marketing, looking after customers putting together quotes etc
• Harry does the creative side and has the knowledge behind drinks menus and drinks 

If you were to go back back to 2 years ago and give yourself advice what would it be ?

• Go for it quicker
• Did not push it much
• The appetite is out there for the services
• Covid opened up more opportunities that people want to have parties at home
• Grown organically
• Differentiate a little

What equipment do you need to start cocktail making ?

• Shaker boston shaker / old style shaker
• Strainer
• Bar Spoon
• Mixing Glass

Whats the best way to start making cocktails ?

• Start with core spirit
• Think about what kind of drink you want ? e.g. short, martini, or summer drink
• Citrus, juices, fresh fruit
• A lot of recipes online
• Remember cocktails are designed to be fun

How do you garnish a cocktail ?

• Curling lemon peel. Wrap around straw
• Something like Mojito go big or go home icing sugar, lots of mint, edible flowers
• Pay homage to the classics e.g. dirty martini then only should have 1 olive on a cocktail stick

What inspires you personally ?

• Comes from food. Understand how flavour profiles work
• For example if someone came in and said I would like a cocktail that tasted that like a roast dinner. 
• Think about meaty style whiskey, apple liqueurs etc
• Important to get the balance of the cocktail right.

How would you describe your creative process ?

• Find what they like and don’t like
• What they don’t like is very important
• Where do they go on holiday ? Caribbean then probably like rum but which rum dark, light, spiced etc
• Bartending is about hosting. It is a relationship between bartender and customer

How would you make a classic G&T ?

• Want to make sure that either gin or the tonic is the stronger flavour 
• e.g. if you asked for hibiscus tonic would need to pair with London Dry because hibiscus is very strong
• Don’t want the flavours to fight

What makes your master class different ?

• Harry makes the master class different
• A lot of companies offer but don’t know what it entails
• Don’t want a printed out worksheet or name that garnish game
• Want a masterclass in it a true form
• Cheshire Mobile Bars start with a recipe that have been pre-agreed with a customer. No set menu
• Everything is built around the customer
• Want to know that if ask Harry a question he will know the answer
• Important to understand who the client is and what their level of experience is
• Understand how involved they want to be
• Understand what the host wants
• Quite often it is the people that don’t want to go that are the most enthusiastic

How do you cope with someone who is too enthusiastic and wants to create a cocktail of their own ?

• Breath of fresh air to find someone as passionate as Harry is
• Harry would talk to you about things happened in the past
• In my case would get me to try a breakfast martini - gin, sweet vermouth, lemon and marmalade
• Variations are the difference between the cocktails
• Classics are the classics which have stood the test of time
• Mixology can be quite prohibitive. Can make cocktail bartending out to be something that is quite elite and out of the reach of a lot people 
• Discourages people from having a go.
• Cheshire Mobile Bar try and take this perception away. Try and make open for everyone
• Plenty of bartenders make what they want
• Authentic bartenders that know their craft. Some people pretend they know they’re craft and make it elite
• Give a bit of different experience
• Can run masterclass over zoom and don’t need to be there. 
• Family business

What make you different to other mobile bars ?

• Lot of companies that are bar hire companies
• The bar hire is secondary to creating experience with customers
• When driving van away and the customer is happy with the experience gives Harry and Victoria a really good feeling
• Cheshire Mobile Bars build the menu around the customer
• 40th birthday party for example. Supposed to be going to Jamaica so designed a series of rum based cocktails
• Getting the bar experience. You can sit at the bar in your home. 
• One customer said how nice is it to sit at a bar again but not having to jostle past everyone.
• This is another option and you can have your own bar experience

If money were no object how can Cheshire Mobile Bars switch it up ?

• Do decorations, flower panels, balloon arches, event dresses, light up numbers etc
• Give a theme and they will design it
• Also can do master class

How did you come up with the idea Cocktail delivery ?

• During lockdown part 1 Harry got carried away with making up too many cocktails and made quite a big batch
• Put in a bottle and put in the fridge
• A lot of people can make cocktails but perhaps can’t be bothered
• Some people don’t want to go out and buy the ingredients
• Can’t take the bar to you but can take the cocktails to you
• Lot of bars doing it locally but difference is nationwide
• Proper bartender cocktail mixed
• The cocktails range from Christmas cocktails like Egg Nog to Pornstar martinis to Long Island Ice Tea

How long will they last for ?

• Last for 2 weeks in the fridge
• Sealed
• Chill it, shake it and serve it
• If you want something off menu then you can get something off menu

How much does it cost ?

• Either £6 or £7 per serve + £3.99 shipping
• Good value for a very good cocktail

Bulk Purchase Option ?

• Get in touch if you would like something in bulk or something different

How would describe the Cheshire Mobile Bar Brand ?

• Name borne out of the private parties in Cheshire
• Black and Gold colours show quality
• Reasonable prices not cheap
• At the core is family company which is the standard of customer service
• Proud of the brand
• If don’t provide a good service then people won't come back
• Value customers
• Treat your family as your family party

Where will the brand goes next ?

• The bread and butter of the business is the parties
• The bottled cocktails attempt to insure the business survives
• Keeping the business in the public eye
• If works will keep it in the business plan
• If love having cocktails at a party they can do so without breaking the bank because don’t need 
• The future of the business is not set in stone
• Building the business slowly
• Taking one step at a time
• Make sure do it properly and in the right way
• You could order some cocktails before you plan a party to try before you buy.

How can people get in touch ?

• Webite
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

What is your favourite gin and how would you serve it ?

• Depend on mood
• Solid G&T go with a Beefeater or Plymouth Gin with plain tonic
• If wants to be extravagant would choose Monkey 47 with grapefruit tonic
• Victoria would go with one of those but is also quite partial to a pink gin
• If wants a cocktail then would go Gimlet or Gin Martini

What does gin mean to you ?

• That has changed over the last 10 years
• Gin was something served in any glass, gin at the bottom, ice, tonic and slice of lemon
• Such a variation of gin
• Gin liqueurs
• Gin shows expansion of gin industry
• Lot of people don’t like gin and tonic because done as classic way it has been served. Now so many other options.
• People are spending more on better quality
• Pleased that Sipsmith challenge the literage in which gin had to be produced. Was 5000 litre batches but this has now been significantly reduce which opened the chance for small batch distilleries.

Instagram Community Shout Out

@ahnahdrinks

• Hannah I was so pleased to see your post on Sunday. It was a great day for #equality and you also looked very cute with your friends dog Miki.
• It sounds a bit wrong but I really enjoyed your Hankey Panky post. Whats not to like gin and vermouth with orange twist and two dashes of Fernet Branca (an Italian bitter)
• I also like your post on the special lemonade you made your aspartame free of course. Interesting flavours honey, lemon, gin, blue pea flower and soda water. Sounds a great cold cure to me. I normally use rum but I guess I could dig out a non-craft gin and try it when I am feeling I need a bit of a pick me up
• I really loved your alternative Negroni from @cocktailpete with Gin, vermouth, campari, coffee liquor and amaretto! Might need to replaced the Campari with Aperol but definitely one to try !! I have also started to follow @cocktailpete as well. Some of the cocktails on there look magnificent.
• Finally I really loved your session at @artandbonding. It looked so much fun although I could imagine a lot going wrong if the drinking got out of hand !! The pictures looked really good too.
• Keep up the posts and so pleased that #equality is starting to move forward all be it a small bit at a time. Everyone should be able to have their own opinions and beliefs respected.
• Thank you very much for supporting ginignite and the podcast and I will be including you in my stories all week.

Get In Contact

• IM me at @ginignite Instagram or @ginignite on Twitter
• E-Mail me at [email protected]
• If you have ideas IM me or e-mail at [email protected]
• If you want to be on the show then IM me or e-mail me at [email protected]

Final Thought

• The thing that I like about the gin community that I have met so far is that no one judges anyone for what they believe, what they look like or who they choose to be.
• The world would be a better place if everyone took that view.
• Grab your drink, toast those you love, enjoy your weekend and whether your decide to party or stay in I will be with you in spirit !!!
• Seriously though enjoy your weekend and I look forward to joining you for another episode next Friday.
• Cheers