Cocktail Craziness – Pride at Island Bar

It’s now the final round of our tour of sins with Bitters ‘n’ Twisted, and hosted by the wonderful Vicky Osgood of Brumderland. Previous events can be read about here:

   Greed  Wrath  Inferno

Lust  Gluttony Envy

 

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Situated just off Suffolk Street in the heart of the city and less than a minutes walk from Beetham Tower, it’s a bit of a Brum stalwart.

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The Island Bar is coming up to it’s 10th anniversary after opening in 2006, though in my hazy memories of youth it feel like it’s been there since before I can remember! Downstairs has a funky retro bar but upstairs (where we were located for the evening) is a Tiki Bar, bringing a slice of Hawaii to Brum.

The Island Bar is centred around a particular beverage, as are all B&T venues, this one being the sailor’s favourite, rum!

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Starting off with a ‘Banana Colada’, a fun twist on the classic Pina Colada, this creamy little beverage got us into the cocktail mood whilst general manager Simon Gilligan talked us through what fun we were to enjoy this evening

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First up we made B52’s:

This is a classic cocktail of Kahlúa (coffee liqueur),  Cointreau (triple sec) and Bailey’s (Irish Cream). Built (rather than stirred or shaken) correctly, it separates into distinct layers giving a really pleasing effect and always a good one to make when showing off. The Island Bar has taken a unique twist on this, putting the Irish Cream last rather than the Triple Sec giving it a little bit of a mini pint of Guinness look.

I made a right mess but you can see Dave Massey of #BrumHour and Laura of Brum on a Budget making their fantastic efforts below:

Next up was a very special little drink. The Island Bar’s famous Flaming Moe!

A tribute to this classic Simpsons cocktail (you know the one with the Cheers theme parody). No Cough Syrup in this one but instead  heady mix of Wray & Nephew Rum, Orange Liqueur and Cotton Candy flavoured syrup, all set on fire in spectacular fashion!

Our final cocktail to make was Island Bar’s most well known cocktail and named after a legendary old Birmingham night club, The Rum Runner.

This one was made of Appleton Rum, blackcurrant liqueur, banana liqueur, grenadine, and orange juice. A rather fruity mix and slipped down lightly, I even got to test out my shaking skills:

Don’t forget The Bitters & Twisted cocktail trail is back and runs until the end of June. Across 8 Birmingham venues, including: Island Bar, The Victoria, The Jekyll & Hyde, Buffalo & Rye, Marmalade, The Rose Villa Tavern, Bodega Cantina and The New Inn. Each have their own special cocktail in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice with 50p from the sale of each special cocktail going to the charity. At the end of the trail, every full cocktail trail card exchanged for a free cocktail will generate an extra 50p for Acorns.  By my accounts, that gives you a day a cocktail so get cracking!

You know, I could get used to this bartending lark…

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Disclaimer: For this evening, we were guests of Brumderland and The Island Bar who provided all drinks for Wifey and I; this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 26/05/2016

Where:  The Island Bar, Suffolk Street, Birmingham

Who: Brumderland,  The Island BarBitters & Twisted

 

Deliveroo Round 4! – Pho to Finish

Time for more of Birmingham restaurants to our home. It’s been awhile since last time so it’s good to see if their standards are being maintained!

As you may have previously read (coughcough, cough), Deliveroo supply a delivery service for a wide range of the best eateries in Brum, what I like to term a ‘restaurant concierge service’ providing ordering, payment and delivery services for some of the city’s biggest independents with a few chains thrown in.

Tonight’s choice was Pho.  Set up by Stephen and Juliette Wall in June 2005 after they travelled to Vietnam and ate Pho in Ho Chi Minh City, it has since expanded to London, Brighton, Leeds, Manchester, Cambridge, Bristol and of course Birmingham.

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Like the last few times, ordering with Deliveroo is simple: select your food and order time, the website keeps a running total of dishes and adds a reasonable £2.50 for Deliveroo. There’s even space for a driver’s tip too, if you’re feeling generous. Food ordered and just shy of 50 minutes later, it arrived well packed and in a sturdy carrier.

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To start, we ordered a Nem Hài Sàn, this was a large crispy spring roll of tiger prawn, crab & pork with núóc chãm dipping sauce, already split in two.

We had half each and Wifey said it was deliciously crunchy with generous sized portion filling, a touch on greasy side. I enjoyed it and the meaty filling was nice with the sweet / sour sauce but I agreed with Wifey that it could’ve been a tad less greasy.

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For main, Wifey went for Phò Xào (Chicken) (No Nuts): wok fried flat rice noodles with lemongrass, chilli and Asian greens. Served with peanuts & núóc chãm dipping sauce. Wifey’s opinion was light, not too spicy for her palate, with the lemongrass coming through without overpowering the dish. A good portion of chicken pieces but it could have done with a bit more greens to help balance it out. IMG20160516192608

For my main, I chose Cà-ri (Chicken) a rich, fragrant Vietnamese curry with veggies & mushrooms, topped with nuts & served with broken rice. The sauce was very rich with enough of a chilli kick for me.  There was plenty of chicken heaped in but again, a little more veggies would have been great.

Next time Wifey and I are in the mood for Vietnamese and a trip down to Chinatown is just too far, I’ll be more than happy to order again.

When: 16/05/2015

Where: BG HQ, Birmingham

Who: Deliveroo, Pho

 

Whisky, Wine and all things fine -Stilnovisti Whisky and English Wine Takeover

A few months back (!), I had chance to spend an evening with Birmingham Whisky Club and the wonderful Colin Hampden-White, whisky writer extraordinaire. We were to taste a wonderful selection of Stilnovisti whiskies and learn about Whisky Quarterly magazine at the Upper Room of The Wellington.

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Stilnovisti is the oldest alternative investments company in Central and Eastern Europe, and manages investments for private and corporate clients in Poland and abroad,
focusing on assets such as wine, whisky and art. Their whisky portfolio is not usually released to the public so tonight was a special treat to dip into this elusive collection.

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Colin gave a remarkable talk on his own career, starting off with becoming a photographer for The Scotsman in 2001, moving to the Times, FT and Conde Nast and then moving onto having his fine art photography in galleries by 2008.

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His other passion, whisky, led to the creation of Whisky Quarterly magazine. Perhaps the most exclusive Whisky magazine in the world, available only through subscription. Rather than just whisky reviews, it concentrates on stories of the people who run distilleries and who work within the field, covering the heritage of the whisky and the lifestyle that surrounds it. Previous issues are made available 2 quarters behind for free on their website!

Back to the beverages, we tried 4 whiskies from the Stilnovisti Private Reserve:

  1. Mortlach 4th fill sherry hogshead (315 bottles) 58% – this was a very young and very pale whisky, and given as an example given of how bottling a young whisky may not be the best idea. It was a touch on the harsh side and felt very ‘raw’
  2. Aultmore 2008 6yr old 1st fill sherry butt (534 bottles) 64% – our second taster was a much more rounded and balanced drink, which shows the alcohol content is not the only factor when it comes to taste.
  3. Ledaig 2005 8yr old 2nd fill (280 bottles) 58% – this was my personal favourite of the night. From Tobermory distillery, this was their peated expression. I’m a huge fan of peaty whisky and this was no exception, smoky and floral it was a superb dram.
  4. Rage Whisky [Peatside] – 4yr old Bourbon / Madeira casks (490 bottles) 63% – the final taster for the night, this was a very nice drop with a well rounded flavour.It was a different experience to the others but was my second favourite from the evening.

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Stilnovisti is now on its third bottling and is a large investor in especially new make whisky, with over 10,000 casks purchased in the previous few years. It was a fascinating chance to see some whiskies which you’d never see again in the wild, presented with wit and charm and genuine love by Colin.

More recently, Wifey and I tried another sort of alcohol. The English Wine Takeover from The Food and Drink Events Company (sister to the Birmingham Whisky Club) at The Bond Company in Digbeth.

English wine has had a bad rap in the past few years. Though English sparkling wine has started to gain popularity, there is now a wide range of reds whites, roses and dessert wines for all occasions.

After wandering through the main hall with a wide range of wines on display.and making a few purchases, we popped outside to have a snack from the amazing team at Peel & Stone:

We picked up Aunt Sally’s picnic box, with cheddar, honey and mustard roasted ham, pork and apricot sausage roll, pickles, sauerkraut, beer chutney and a hunk of sourdough (which we were greedy and grabbed some New York Deli and Raisin multigrain too).

Wifey loved the sausage roll, the apricot adding a sweetness to the meaty filling inside a light pastry. My favourite bit was the bread, we loved it so much we bought a sourdough and a New York  Deli to take home after being advised it freezes and keeps really well.

Back to the wine and we were lucky enough to snaffle the last two tickets to the Gusborne Sparkling Wine Masterclass hosted by Laura Rhys.

Based in a small village in Kent and starting with a 20 hectare plot (expanded to 40, and a second vineyard in West Sussex) and growing a variety of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, classic champagne grapes. These three are used across their range of wines. They first planted in 2004 and released their first wines in 2010 to critical acclaim.

We sampled 4 of their selection:

  1. Brut Cuvee – A classic blend of 40%+ Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and the remainder Pinot Meuiner. It was rich and velvety with a complex nose.
  2. Blanc de Blanc – Made from 100% Chardonnay and pressed in a champagne press to give the grapes a gentle squeezing. The wine is aged for a minimum of thirty six months on lees and three months on cork with two fermentations to get the best out of the grapes. This was much softer and fruitier than the first with a clean citrusy palate.
  3. Blanc de Noirs- This was a blend of 80%+ Pinot Noir with the remainder Pinot Meuiner – This one was a stunner, with a strong acidity, really making the Pinot Noir shine
  4. The final taster was their award winning English Rosé, which had beaten our the Bollinger Rosé at a blind taste. Made from 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay and Pinot Meuiner, it was an astounding little beverage and one of the best examples of a sparkling Rosé I’ve tasted

It was a very fun and informative talk from Laura and it made us appreciate how good English Sparkling Wine can be.

Feeling lifted by the wines, we had another wander around the producers there and even got to taste a non-sparking Gusborne White and Red.

It was a thrilling introduction to the world of English wine and mine and Wifey’s english wine knowledge was expanded immensley by our visit.

Birmingham Whisky Club runs regular Whisky events throughout the year and discounted for members, you can find their website here, and regular updates on twitter at TheWhiskyMiss and WhiskyMsJnr

The Food and Drink Events Company also run a variety of events throughout the year which you can find out more on their website and Twitter.