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MEMBER’S AREA

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

Firstly, thank you so much for being a part of the Club! Each month we will be posting exclusive content and discount codes in the Member’s Area, so please ensure you check back each time you receive the monthly box.

We wanted to create a unique Cocktail Club, different from the standard offerings out there, and so we decided to take a new approach:

• We release a new cocktail every month. It must be seasonally focussed and delicious

• We only use premium spirits in our cocktails, no cheap products to bulk up margins

• We want to champion and showcase Independent British brands in our drinks and will be highlighting products we truly believe in each month

Joe Schofield, our Creative Director, will be designing the cocktail recipes each month and Joe has won many awards over his career working in bars. Having worked at The Savoy in London, and The Tippling Club in Singapore, in July 2018, Joe was awarded one of the most prestigious honours an individual can receive in the industry; 'International Bartender of The Year' in the Tales of The Cocktail Spirited Awards. This was shortly followed by the equally as prestigious title, 'Bartender’s Bartender' at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2018. He is the first person in history to have won both awards. He is also an author, having written the definitive classic cocktail recipe book, ‘Fine & Classic Cocktails’, available on Amazon.

Naturally all these cocktails will contain our Asterley Bros products, so each drink will veer towards being either an Aperitivo (Pre-dinner / Primer) or a Digestivo (After-dinner / Finisher) drink.

Over 12 months we will be releasing 12 cocktails, all with an intensely seasonal focus, to be part of our Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter collections. We want to take you on a journey through the world of seasons, flavours, spirits and serves that we love, and we want to share them with you all!

Next up…

winter COLLECTION: EPISODE 1

winter gin spritz

Kicking off the Winter collection with a deliciously light and refreshing drink, perfect for the post-Xmas indulgence and recovery. This is a bright, vibrant spritz and a low-abv cocktail which is perfect for January.

Over recent months we have indulges in rum, whisky & brandy cocktails so we thought it would be a good time to have a slightly lighter touch. For those wanting a bit more booze in their drinks, we have snuck in a couple of extra treats for you this month, read on below to find out more…

But first back to The Spritz: as always, a super simple serve.

• Pour 75ml spritz ‘base’ from the pouch into a frozen highball glass (chill one in the freezer for an hour) add ice and top with a can of the tonic.

• Slice a little wedge / quarter off the clementine and rub it on the rim of the glass before popping it in.

This month we also sent you an ice bag (just fill with water and put it in the freezer) as lockdown has made it a little difficult to get provisions…

RECIPE

If you wanted to recreate this month’s recipe at later date, simply follow the steps below…

• 37ml Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD’S Dry Vermouth

• 37ml Reverend Hubert Winter Gin Liqueur

• 2 Dashes Celery Bitters (we like Bitter Truth bitters for this)

Build over ice in a frozen highball glass

Top with 150ml London Essence Indian Tonic

This spritz will come in at around 7.5% ABV if you follow the recipe above and is a lovely aperitivo cocktail. Long, effervescent and complex with a touch of bitterness on the finish.

LIVE TASTING

We were joined the one of the founders of Reverend Hubert, Thomas Lester, for a live tasting on Instagram live on Thursday 21st January at 6pm. You can see the video below.

Cheers,

Rob, Jim & Joe.

SO WHAT MAKES A SPRITZ?

The spritz is generally known as a drink from Northern Italy, an aperitivo with both bitter and sparkling elements. There is no hard and fast rule about how one is made, but generally it is acknowledged that is should have a bitter component (think Aperol) a wine component (often prosecco) and a dash of something to lengthen it (usually soda or tonic).

In our Winter Gin Spritz recipe you get the bitterness and wine complexity from our SCHOFIELD’s Dry Vermouth, along with rich cherry, spice and citrus notes from Reverend Hubert, lengthened with a very light tonic from London Essence.

For more info on our SCHOFIELD’S Dry Vermouth, please take a look here!

OUR INDEPENDENT BRAND PARTNERS

EPISODE 7: REVEREND HUBERT

Each month we aim to showcase one of the independent brands that we love and have used to create the cocktail of the month.

This month its the the turn of Reverend Hubert & their Winter Gin Liqueur, a wonderfully rich take on a classic gin liqueur.

winter gin liqueur

THE REVEREND

The Reverend Hubert Bell Lester (1868 -1929) was a charming and caring man who also enjoyed a good party.

He created his winter liqueur recipe in 1904 for the joyful Christmas gathering of his army colleagues and congregation. Over the years, the original recipe was fine-tuned according to wherever in the world he was stationed.

Today, Thomas Lester, the Reverend’s great-grandson, has updated the original formula, recreating it entirely by hand, and working closely with the Drinks Guru Joe Wadsack to develop the recipe.

The result is a balanced, warming, smooth gin liqueur bursting with aromatic notes of dried fruit, winter spices and the freshest organic orange and lemon zest from Amalfi, handmade in the Cotswolds.

TOM’S STORY:

Following my honeymoon on the spectacular Amalfi coast, I returned to London with a limoncello habit. At the time, you couldn’t get a decent version here for love or money. Fluorescent yellow, heavy on saccharine and with a synthetic aftertaste, the choice was decidedly limited.

With the finest vodka and large juicy lemons ordered online from Amalfi, I set about making some decent pure liqueur. The results were lemony, fragrant, slightly syrupy, clear... not bad at all. Perfect for ending a summer’s day lunch.

I was soon eyeing up the magnificent cherry tree in our garden, which had just fruited with a bumper crop (usually there were only a couple of handfuls). The wonderful organic cherries were bathed in various spirits and, experimenting with only my intuition, cherry gin, vodka and brandy were born. They were marvellous and lauded by friends and family during the winter’s festive parties and dinners.

During one dinner, my aunt presented a smashed up WW1 hipflask with a barely legible label - it contained Reverend Hubert’s winter liqueur and a recipe of sorts. Here began the lesson.

I recreated the Reverend’s homemade liqueur for Christmas day with family and various stragglers. It was basic, as you would expect, but heavenly. With a nightcap in hand and a Fortnum and Mason mince pie (they are the best in the world) for Santa left by the stockings, it occurred to me that after 40 years I had found my calling and a skill had passed through the genes from my great grandfather.

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Notes of cinnamon, clove, citrus peel, dried fruit and of course juniper. Lovely fragrance of Winter, mulled spices.

PALATE: Warming and spicy, with loads of oily citrus zest, a good handful of dried fruit and peppery juniper underneath it all. Not too sweet or cloying, with a touch of acidity on the finish.

perfect serve

THE REV & TONIC

50ml Reverend Hubert Winter Gin Liqueur

100ml London Essence Pink Peppercorn Tonic

Build over ice and garnish with a slice of orange

EXTRA JANUARY GIFT #1:

We have also included a little extra bonus HYKE Gin miniature for those who might want this one a little boozier! Simply combine 25ml HYKE, 25ml Reverend Hubert & top with 75ml tonic, finish with a dash of Aromatic Bitters (Angostura will do!)

If you prefer however, you could use it to make a ‘Hanky Panky’ cocktail. Keep reading for the recipe…

IT’S…*FAINT DRUMROLL*………MYSTERY AMARO TIME!

We at Asterley Bros absolutely love the mysterious world of Amaro. It’s a subject very close to our hearts and we have been making both Italian and English Amari* now for the next part of a decade. So we thought we would take the time to introduce some of our favourites to our Club Members!

BACKGROUND

Amaro is the Italian word for ‘bitter’ and Amaro is a hugely popular category of Italian Digestivo liqueurs, usually consumed after a meal to aid digestion. Bittersweet, with a heady mix of herbaceous, medicinal, bitter, aromatic & floral notes, Amari (the plural for Amaro) are very much an expression of terroir. The botanicals and flavours found in Amari are hyper-reflective of the regions in which they are made, using locally grown fruits, herbs and botanicals to create complex and layered bitter liqueurs. Campari, Aperol, Cynar and Fernet Branca are all examples of types of Amaro. *Amari is the plural of the singular Amaro…

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EXTRA JANUARY GIFT #2: WE HAVE 2 MYSTERY AMARI FOR YOU THIS MONTH!

Firstly, Mystery Amaro A this month is:

vecchio amaro del capo - 31% ABV

THE HISTORY:

Made by the Caffo distillery, the Caffo family business dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, when Master Distiller Giuseppe Caffo began distilling. His sons founded what has now become Gruppo Caffo, distilling a small range of spirits from grape and they soon began earning recognition for their fruit and herbal liqueurs and classic Italian spirits.

Today, their approach remains driven by ingredients and agriculture, and Gruppo Caffo operates estate farms in Calabria and Sicily, solely to supply their spirit productions. Made in Calabria in southern Italy (the toe at the end of the boot!) this amaro is a blend of 29 botanicals including orange, liquorice, mint, camomile & juniper.

TO SERVE:

The classic serve is to take the bottle straight out of the freezer and sip at -20C…we are perhaps a little more traditionalists at heart, and shooting frozen amaro doesn’t really allow you to take in the complexities and nuance of the botanicals, but what do we know!? We like it over a single ice cube, to sip and allow some dilution to reveal the aromas and flavours.

TASTING NOTES:

Wonderfully bitter and balanced, with quinine and sweet honey notes intertwined alongside mint, liquorice, a burst of orange zest and aromatic clove.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

MYSTERY AMARO #2

Introducing our special January bonus amaro….the heavyweight in the corner…

fernet branca - 39% ABV

THE HISTORY:

Created in Milan in 1845 by herbalist Bernardino Branca, it was designed as a medicinal cure for stomach ache, cholera, fevers and many other ailments.

Made from 27 botanicals, the exact formula (as always) is known only to the president of the company, Niccolò Branca, who personally measures out the aromatics during the production process. Not sure if we really believe that to be honest, but known ingredients are aloe, gentian, camomile, angelica, cinchona, rhubarb, myrrh, mint & saffron.

Fernets are a sub-category of amaro and are usually much lower in sugar, bracingly bitter and between 37% & 45% ABV. Fernet Branca is one of the few amari to be aged in a barrel for a full year and is not for the faint hearted! This is one of our favourite quotes on Fernet:

“Given the complexity and highly bitter finish, the first taste can be somewhat polarizing, especially for the new drinker, who may not yet have developed a palate for bitter flavours. While a few folks absolutely love Fernet from the start, most are less enthused at first, but after a few experiences, develop a taste for Fernet, and dare I say crave it!”

TO SERVE:

Fernets are super strong, and incredibly intense but are perfect for after dinner sipping if you’ve had a big meal. Here are a few options for this one:

1. Over ice

2. Mix 25ml Fernet with 75ml Coke, over ice (this is the national drink of Argentina!)

3. Straight from the freezer as a shot to sip

4. In a classic Hanky Panky recipe:

• 25ml HYKE Gin

• 25ml Sweet Vermouth

• 2.5ml Fernet Branca (sml teaspoon)

  Stir all the ingredients with ice for 30 seconds and pour into a frozen martini glass

  Garnish with a strip of orange zest

TASTING NOTES:

NOSE: Incredibly complex, woody and menthol with a tiny touch of the saffron on the nose and a hint of coffee

PALATE: Intensely bitter with a green, chlorophyllic hit from the aloe. The complex florality of the myrrh starts to shine through and the finish is dry, austere and cleansing with a minted, menthol aroma! Like nothing else!

WE HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

MEMBERS ONLY - DISCOUNT CODES

As a member of the Asterley Bros Cocktail Club you also get 15% discount from any online purchase in our store - Use Code ABCC15 at checkout

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