DRINK TO ME ONLY

That season where drinks start to flow is approaching, so we sent some very pertinent questions to three of our local producers, so you can start to plan those social gettogethers as well as stay-at-home refreshments

That’s because we create an artisan spirits range of small batch gins using signature locally sourced botanicals –watercress from organic beds, roses grown in Chard, lavender from Warminster and Somerset cider apples from Perry’s orchard.

This Christmas we are showcasing our Christmas London Dry Gin, with its distinctively festive flavour of cinnamon and spices, and sweet notes from redcurrants. It is served perfectly with simple tonic, a stick of cinnamon and a slice of orange peel. This year it comes with edible 23-carat gold flakes in a star-shaped bottle, perfect for dressing the Christmas table.

We also produce a range of ginbased liqueurs –our bestselling Christmas Gin with added gold sparkle is set fly out this season. This Chistmas the distillery is hosting a number of gin-tasting eves to sample and select from their award winning range.

Which of your beers are perfect for entertaining? All of them! Depending on your preferred style, our mixed cases are perfect for sharing with friends or sampling solo at your leisure. With our Bear Box mixed beer case, you’ll receive a variety of styles in one easy order. Carefully curated by our brewers, this selection showcases the freshest and very best of what we have available and is truly eclectic for lovers of all beer styles. What beers have you recently introduced? After undergoing a huge re-brand, we have re-introduced the core range in its new look –two seasonal specials and a collaboration stout that we brewed with fellow indies, Girls Who Grind Coffee. We wanted to create a new visual identity to really capture who we are, both as a brewery and a brand. A lot of passion and personality goes into our beer and we wanted our new image to say just that. Put simply: Be free. Have fun. Make Great Beer.

Why might you choose highly hopped high-strength beers over easy-drinking ones? It depends what kind of experience you are looking for. To take your taste buds on a trip; highly hopped, high-strength beers would be your jam. The modern IPA takes influences from the US with its loud flavours and carbonation, while still retaining that hoppy backbone.

What are some of your cider bestsellers for seasonal festivities and party time? Our best-selling Thatchers Gold is a winner all year round, and a definite favourite at party time. If you’re looking for something slightly different as a celebration drink, we love Thatchers Katy served in a champagne flute – it’s fantastic to accompany a meal too. Our limitededition ciders in our Cider Barn range are always a talking point too. We bring different styles out each year –look out for our brand new Spiced Apple, available in our Cider Shop and online.

What’s the latest kid on the block in the Thatchers cider world? We launched our Blood Orange Cider earlier this year, and it’s really gone down a treat with cider lovers. Blood Orange is the flavour of the year, and it’s a definite winner here, making a fruity, vibrant and refreshing cider.

Can you recommend a cider cocktail that will go down a storm? Thatchers Toffee Apple Cider Cocktail is a great one for the autumn –it makes a beautifully warming cocktail for the colder evenings. (See cocktail to right.) thatcherscider.co.uk

Ingredients 25ml Jameson Whiskey 25ml Kracken Spiced Rum 25ml Tia Maria 25ml Cinnamon Syrup 25ml ginger beer 150ml Thatchers Gold Thatchers Blood Orange cider, to top up Method Simply shake 25ml each of Jameson Whiskey, Kracken Spiced Rum, Tia Maria and Cinnamon Syrup over ice in a Boston Shaker. Strain the liquid into a glass over more ice. Then add 25ml ginger beer, and 150ml Thatchers Gold. Top up with Thatchers Blood Orange cider, and garnish with a slice of apple and a cinnamon stick.

DUNCAN CAMPBELL

Antique silver specialist

After thirty odd years in the antiques trade, the notion of a sentimental attachment to an object has become rather alien to me. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not.

Strip away the scholarship and historical research and the antiques trade is simply an efficient way of recycling the chattels of the deceased. The business of buying and selling antiques does not concern itself with sentiment. Rarity, provenance and age are all very relevant whereas personal attachments are not. Sentimental value usually conflicts with commercial value because the world is so completely indifferent to what an item meant to our relatives. The fun and games begin when an object of sentimental value also happens to have a significant commercial value. On Antiques Roadshow days I frequently hear owners declare that “we’d never sell it but would just like to know its value”, only to see the very item crop up at an auction a few weeks later. Pragmatism clearly plays a part in the formation of sentimental attachments.

Aside from financial circumstances, the other consideration as to how deep the attachment goes is space. The great stately homes of England are amply able to keep Great Uncle Mortimer’s collection of stuffed bear heads because there is always some room in the attic or the out buildings. Most of the population having no such storage have to make the hard decisions every generation.

The only family ‘treasure’ I have inherited is a pile of 300 year old paperwork that belonged to an ancient relative of my mother. I happen to know that in the 1920’s my grandfather wanted to help my great aunt out of a financial hole. He took the old velum to Christie’s in order to raise some cash and would have sold them there and then had Christie’s not said that they were worthless.

Why then should I attach sentimental value to something that, had it been worth any money, I would never even have known about? n beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234