Presenting... Aspall Cyder at The Grove

We have all heard of wine parings, perhaps you’ve even been to a cocktail and food event. However last night a compact group of locals gathered to enjoy a rather unique event, Aspall Cyder pairing dinner. Now cider is about the only thing I will not order but the other half is a fan and I am always looking to learn so here is how it panned out.

Arrival drink: Aspall Cuvee Chevallier (the name of the family who started Aspall’s back in 1728 and still run it today) served from a champagne style bottle in flutes. Your mind says “Champagne” but the palate says “cider”, which is weird. Nice and light.

Scallops with Aspall Lady Jennifer: named after the grandmother who added apple juice or water to her glass to “keep up with the boys”, the additional apple juice means this is a lighter 4% offering and has a nice spritz. Works very well with the seafood (which was delicious, love the edible flowers)

Duck with Aspall 2012 Imperial: bit of a beast at 8.2% and a darker colour but this comes from the addition of Demerera sugar. I liked the first few sips but then it became…cider. One to try though! The confit

duck leg that unravelled from the cabbage was a huge hit!

Apple and Rosemary Tarte Tatin (with apple jellies, sorbet and crisps) with Aspall Perronelle’s Blush (added Blackberry Juice): what can I say, this blew me away. Not the cider but the dessert, delicious  and the chef gave us the recipe! The cider was a little lacklustre against the previous, I would have enjoyed drinking more of the Imperial with this. However it was suggested that you can use this as a cassis so top up with the Cuvee.

So what did I learn? Well a lot about cider, the (actual) difference between White Lightening and “proper” cider beyond quality. A lot about a family owned business with a lot of success. I met the lovely Nathan of Aspall (thanks!) and now have a very valid alternative to Champagne which some friends – for some reason – do not enjoy.

(But as a Champagne Academy alumni I’ll stick to the real fizz for the mo!)

Youngs are running several events with Aspall throughout the summer and I urge you to go and learn and taste and then spread the word yourself. The specialties are available in some Waitrose, Sainsburys but it never hurts to ask your local to stock something you want. #quackingcyder seems to be the twitter tag to follow, @nathansloane or @youngspubs or @aspall 

And thanks to The Grove (who I wrote about just before!) for great food and hospitality

Presenting...Chase Vodka and Williams Gin

I won’t go into the mission that was dealing with the new Gouman Grosvenor hotel – needless to say they are missing their bar manager who is on paternity leave – but made it to an upstairs room for a trade masterclass with James Chase.

James is really personable guy with great knowledge and an inexhaustible work ethic, bombing up and down the country to educate us about the family run property that is Chase. The brand started with the delicious potato product that we all know – Tyrells crisps. On a USA business trip to investigate deep frying, they were invited “round the back” of one small manufacturers to see their small time brewing facilities and there was the eureka moment

“This vodka tastes of something”

So this moment paired with the secretaries’ clear ability to guess the base product of the bottle they returned with (potatoes) and quantities of small potatoes that were not put through for crisps gave way to vodka and before they knew it (well another business trip including Austria this time – source of their still) they had a 3000l still with a rectifying column so large it emerged from the roof.

So Chase English potato vodka was born and is entirely produced by Chase from potatoes to vodka to maintain quality; quite frankly, it shows.

Chase Vodka

The nose is so different from most vodkas with a sweet creamy almost toasted marshmallow nose. The palate has the same creamy buttery potato mash flavour with some spice notes and an oily texture that combine to give a really long finish. This is very smooth and rich and tastes buttery to the end.

Serve: with soda water and a squeeze of lemon to cut the oily texture

When the Chase brains got buzzing next they moved to gin. Back to Austria for a 300l still with three rectifying points where the gin sits in the belly and above is a “pillowcase” filled with their 11 chosen botanicals – including barley apples, hops and elderflower. They are also moving towards growing all their own botanicals and hope to see this come to fruition in 2012 with new greenhouse plans. However, the potato vodka had too much flavour so they thought again about the local products and came up with…

Naked Chase (apple based spirit)

The nose implies spice and high alcohol but the palate is much more pleasant, smooth and although still quite raw there is a remaining sweetness and spice in between layers.

Serve: in a Vesper with Chase Vodka

William Chase Gin

Distilled to 48% to retain the flavor is not just a tag line. This is so smooth and strangely is very reflective of the creamy full body of the vodka. Then comes the juniper so essential to gin (debate still raging!) and then sweet citrus, next comes the clear elderflower notes though not sure I got hops.

Serve: as a gin and juice with organic cox apple juice

Lastly those crazy guys got experimenting with flavours (Christmas trees don’t work if you were wondering!) and came up with what is now a regular in their line –

Chase (Seville) Marmalde Vodka

Straw colour, the nose is of sweet zest oils. The more you get into this, the longer it lingers, the sweeter it grows on the palate making it definitely – for me – one to mix rather than one to drink straight. Breakfast martini, spice it up for winter warmers, the possibilities of this one are great.

Serve: with ginger beer, few drops of bitters and a squeeze of lime

So they do not grow the oranges themselves but they do make the marmalade that gets infused with the orange skins. I’ll leave you with an interesting fact: it takes 25kg of potatoes to make just one bottle of Chase Vodka

To look out for:

- Aged vodka expressions

- Chili infused vodka

- Rock the Farm – the generously put on industry festival in July