May is the most wonderful month where nature seems to give itself a whopping great shake and come alive. Opulent colours mix with the deafening noise of the birds and bees, it is simply superb is it not? In the midst of this excitement, Frances and I decided to experiment with our new Dry British Vermouth, just to see if we could remember how to make a Classic Dry Martini and develop some new Martini cocktail recipes.

Our new Dry British Vermouth is at the heart of our Martini experiments. It is a unique and complicated drink, handmade just North of Edinburgh. A British White Wine delicately infused with 24 herbs including Wermod, produces a simply magical ingredient for any Martini Cocktail or gentle aperatif when mixed long with soda, ice and lemon.

Like the natural World around us, not only did we giving ourselves a whopping great Spring shake, but we discovered just how simple to make and pleasurable the Classic Dry Martini cocktail can be. Top of our new creations was our Sloe Gin Martini, followed closely by our Morello Martini and Raspberry Vodka Martini. What we really discovered is that May is for Martinis. What that means for June is hard to tell....!

Little Clarendon Street Party - Sat 20th May

Thankyou to all who came oozing with enthusiasm to see us at Badminton Horse Trials at the start of the month. It was a tremendous way for us to kick off our year. Our next event is a big party in Oxford this weekend. Come and join us on Sat 20 May for the second Little Clarendon Street Party. Between noon and 4pm all the small independent businesses in our street will be celebrating in style with various live music performances and bunting to give the day a little sparkle. We will be mixing up some Mocktails to try and hopefully the sun will shine!

2017 Events Diary

Please be warned that we are deliberately exhibiting at some new events this year. As a result we will not be at the BBC Summer Good Food Show for example. Instead, if you are in North Yorkshire, we will exhibiting at the Ripley Castle Grand Sale near Harrogate for the first time, between Thurs 8 and Sun 11 June.

All of our events for the year are listed on our Fairs & Events page and are updated regularly. If you have missed us, sorry. Please either visit one of our shops or order from us online.

Win a Ball of Marmalady Gin

Congratulations go to Mr Peter Walker from Warminster for his win at the end of March of our Certainly Wood £30 Wood Bundle and Olga Brecht in Oxford who won our Easter competition for a Chocolate Orange with a Difference. Click to enter our new competition for a Ball of Marmaldy Gin which is now in full swing. Good luck!

Thankyou for reading and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Yours,