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Taste The Quarter at Birmingham Whisky Club

Taste The Quarter at Birmingham Whisky Club

What does the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham taste like? According to Amy Seton, founder of The Birmingham Whisky Club located on the JQ’s Vyse Street, it tastes of craft beer, innovative cocktails and some really good whisky.

I was invited along to an exclusive event at The Birmingham Whisky Clublast week, with some fellow bloggers, to Taste The Quarter, featuring a stunning selection of drinks…

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Scotts of Harborne

How can a courgette, a rather unexciting vegetable, become an absolute sensation? To answer that question, you’ll have to try the courgette fritters at Scott’s of Harborne.

After a particularly boozy affair at Brumderland’s whisky tasting at The Anchor, a rather hungover George (of Caramel Latte Kissfame), Dave & I were in dire need of sustenance, and sustenance we found in the form of coffee,…

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For those of you who’ve been reading my blog a while, you’ll know that I’m no stranger to whisky. Ever since I met Vicky from Brumderland, she’s been introducing me to wonderful whiskies at every opportunity. Vicky put on a very special whisky tasting a couple of weeks ago for a select few friends come bloggers – Caramel Latte Kiss, Bite Your Brum & Hey It’s Fay and respective husbands – along with food from Digbeth Market Kitchen, at The Anchor Digbeth.

We took over one of the rooms at The Anchor so we had a cosy, private area just for us, and 7 different drams to try.

First up was Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky. I love Nikka, especially the story behind it which you can read in my blog about Whisky Women, and despite being a grain whisky which can get a bit of a bad rap, I really enjoyed this.

Like most Japanese whisky, this had a smooth, rounded flavour. A good start to the evening.

I gave it a solid 7/10.

Next we tried Johnnie Walker Double Black, which is a blended whisky, touted as a smokier interpretation of the classic Johnnie Walker black label.

Vicky talked us through the amazing skill that goes into creating a blended whisky like this, and how master blenders need to be able to consistently create the same flavour profile with different malts.

Personally I wouldn’t normally choose a blended whisky, but I really enjoyed the Double Black, the smokier, spicier profile was really enjoyable.

I gave this one a 7.5/10 as it just had the edge on the Nikka.

Our third dram was Highland Park 12, our first single malt of the evening. This was the Viking Honour edition, so the bottle is beautifully patterned.

In terms of flavour, I picked up on a floral, honey sweetness in this, which I’m told comes from the heather in the terroir where this is made.

This was also a 7/10 for me.

At the halfway mark, we stopped for food, courtesy of Digbeth Market Kitchen. The menu features light bites and bigger plates, with some crispy pub grub treats like chicken wings & club sandwiches, but also some Asian inspired dishes like crispy pork belly with pickled veg and noodles in teriyaki sauce, which I went for on the night.

The dish looked beautiful, but was a bit of a mixed bag. The flavour of the pork belly was gorgeous, and it was really tender, but wasn’t crispy. I didn’t mind that so much as the flavour was good, but unfortunately for others on the night the crispiness of the pork was a dealbreaker. Credit to Mike (chef) he prepared more pork belly for us, perfectly crisped, for us to try, and took on board the criticism with grace and humility.

Onto the other elements of the dish, I really enjoyed the pickled vegetables, which were sweet, sour and crunchy. The rice noodles were a little underseasoned for me, and could have done with drenching in more of the teriyaki sauce.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a good bowl of food, but knowing a bit about Mike and the way he cooks, I know this could be even better, with tonnes more flavour, heat and excitement. That said, bang a great stock in there and you’ve got a delicious ramen just as it is.

As for the other dishes, Fay’s crispy tofu club sandwich and Ian’s portion of ALL the chicken were both met with utter joy. I’m excited to see more of what Mike does and how he progresses the menu.

Onto the second half of our whisky tasting, we started part 2 with Glen Moray Port cask finish.

Now, I had real high hopes for this. I love Speyside whisky, and I love Port, so a Speyside whisky with a Port cask finish should have been right up my street. Unfortunately this wasn’t for me.

You could pick up on some of the sweetness from the Port cask, but there was really no body or finish on this for me. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was the only dram I didn’t finish.

4/10

Next we headed to the States with Wild Turkey Rare Breed bourbon, barrel proof at a whopping 56%.

Despite being eye-wateringly strong, this was surprisingly smooth, and had a really creamy flavour. Which gave Ian and I an idea…

We made a boilermaker with this and a pint of Surf – a seasonal beer on tap at The Anchor – and I kid you not, it tasted like Butterkist popcorn. The saltiness in the beer matched with the creaminess of the bourbon and ended up tasting like butter.

True to form whenever we all get together, the night descended into a certain level of chaos after discovering this. Although it was one of my more regrettable decisions of the night, this flavour combo was a winner for me.

8/10

Last on the list for our official tasting drams was a 25 year old Inchmoan Island Collection.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, this bottle cost over £200. This peated whisky from the Loch Lomond distillery is aged in bourbon casks for 25 years. I can’t always tell the difference between expensive and cheaper whiskies, but boy can you tell with this.

The flavour is complex and interesting. It’s smooth like the leather of a well-worn Chesterfield. Smoky like the lingering scent of an expensive cigar. Warm and sweet like your Nana. This was, quite simply, one of the best whiskys I’ve ever drank.

10/10

Our bonus dram of the evening was Jameson cask mates IPA edition. As an IPA drinker and craft beer addict, I had high hopes for this one. Sadly it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I wanted it to be.

I was hoping for a zesty flavour with a touch of bitterness, but it really didn’t come through for me. There was a hint of fruitiness, but nothing that I wouldn’t expect from an Irish whisky. Maybe I was biased because the Inchmoan before it was just so good, but it left me a bit deflated.

5/10

As always though, Vicky took us on a whisky journey, that stopped off at many countries, many price ranges and had a healthy dose of history involved. Tasting notes were delivered without pretension, with something for whisky novices and enthusiasts.

Her game of getting us to guess how much each bottle was worth showed that we were actually pretty on the money. The only one we struggled with was the Inchmoan, as we knew it was expensive, but not quite how expensive!

I hope this is something Vicky will consider doing again, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even if I didn’t enjoy the hangover the next day…

Cx

All of my drams were supplied from the extensive whisky collection of Vicky & Dan, thank you SO much for sharing.

Aside from a welcome pint, other drinks & food were paid for by me. My opinions are, as always, my own, and I was under no obligation to provide a review of the whisky tasting, The Anchor or Digbeth Market Kitchen. I’m just nice like that… 

Whisky Tasting at The Anchor with Brumderland For those of you who've been reading my blog a while, you'll know that I'm no stranger to whisky.

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Despite giving the bigger food festivals a miss this year (you can read my posts about Foodies Festival & the BBC Good Food Show from previous years) I’ve still managed to spend pretty much every weekend eating and drinking my way around Birmingham and the Midlands this summer.

Here’s what I’ve been getting up to in June, July & August.

Lichfield Gin, Cheese & Ale Festival

I love a trip to Lichfield. It’s one of those cities that never fails to be beautiful, but especially so when the sun is shining and the gin is flowing.

The Gin, Cheese & Ale Festival brought sunshine, street food and slushies to the streets of Lichfield.

I spent an afternoon drinking my way through aromatic gin & tonics, Prosecco cocktails from Proseccart and an amazing elderflower gin slushie.

  California Craft Beer Residency at The Junction

Another thing that’s awesome when the sun is shining? A nice, cold beer. I got invited along to The Junction with George of Caramel Latte Kiss to try some of the beers in their California Craft Beer Residency.

I had a rather delicious chorizo & mozzarella burger (£11.25) for dinner before we got stuck into the beers.

As the resident beer nerd of our little blogger group, I thoroughly enjoyed drinking my way through a selection of Anchor Brewery & Sierra Nevada summer beers.

We tried California Lager & San Franpsycho IPA from Anchor, and Hazy Little Thing IPA & Otra Vez Goze Ale from Sierra Nevada. I loved the Hazy Little Thing IPA, which had that tropical fruit hop flavour I like, but the Otra Vez was my favourite. A lime and agave infused sour beer that was super refreshing, tart and fruity.

Although the “tasting” left a lot to be desired – as they pretty much just delivered us the beers and left us to it – I enjoyed the selection and getting to try something new. Check out my post on beer & chocolate tasting at The Cock & Hoop Nottingham to see how beer tastings should be done!

Jailbird Cocktail Masterclass

I headed back to Steak & Seafood restaurant Jailbird – formerly Nosh & Quaff – with Vicky of Brumderland for a cocktail masterclass in their downstairs bar.

We got shown how to make a Negroni, an Old Fashioned and an Espresso Martini, as well as sampling some of their spirits, and judging one of the cocktails being entered into a competition by their rather talented bar staff.

Although I’m not convinced Jailbird would be the place I’d choose to go for just a drink (though I would certainly go back to eat again) it was undeniable that the cocktails were very good. The classics were well made, and there were some unusual ingredients in there to give each drink a twist, including some Spanish vermouth for the Negroni which I’ve never seen in bars around here before.

The cocktail competition entry was great too, and the staff were more than happy to take constructive criticism from our resident whisky expert Vicky!

Reggae Brunch

Reggae Brunch, which is a big hit in London, made its debut in Birmingham this summer, and I was invited along for the party with my gorgeous friend Claire.

I must admit, walking into Bierkeller Birmingham on Broad Street at midday on a Saturday felt very strange, but after one or two (or three, or four…) rum punches, I got well into the swing of things. We had unlimited rum punches for free for the first hour, but paid for drinks after that.

The vibe was amazing – banging reggae tunes, thoroughly entertaining MC and a great bunch of people who were all up and dancing on the benches.

The three course meal wasn’t the best. The starter was really small – as in, a slice of a lamb patty and a fried dumpling – the main of jerk chicken was tasty but the rice was quite dry and bland, and the dessert was a small portion of cake that was fine, but nothing to write home about.

But, lets be honest, if you’re going to Reggae Brunch, the food probably isn’t the main reason you’re there. The music, atmosphere and the crowd were amazing, and we had such a laugh with the guys on our table, who totally embraced our terrible dancing!

Burger Shop Worcester

The Coven (aka my Birmingham Blogging Girlfriends) headed to Worcester for the day to celebrate Miss Pond‘s birthday. I missed out on Gin at Tonic Bar, but made it over for dinner at Burger Shop.

Underneath one of the Railway Arches, this funky little place is definitely a hipster haven.

I opted for the Pulled Welsh Lamb Burger with celeriac slaw and a brioche bun (£9.50). This was a serious slab of tender, falling apart lamb, which was complimented beautifully by the peppery slaw & minty pesto.

For sides, I’d heard amazing things about their cheese curds, but when it came to it, I ordered the cauliflower cheese bites to share with Laura from Bite Your Brum. These were delicious, crunchy breaded lumps of creamy cauli cheese, but ended up in some quite chronic indigestion for me & Laura!

We managed to hit up two of the city’s craft beer pubs, Wintrip Brew Co. (where Emma ended up doing some impromptu first aid on the bar staff!) and Firefly Bar before we had to head back on the last train home, where I proceeded to instantly fall asleep the moment we left Foregate Street! Luckily I had George to wake me up as we got to Snow Hill.

That’s not all either. I’ve also been shamelessly spotted at Birmingham Cocktail Weekend, and Independent Birmingham Festival, stuffing my face with more burgers, boozy slushies and whatever else I could get my little paws on. I’m sure there’ll be much more going on as we head through into Autumn. If this heatwave ever subsides…

What have been your favourite events of the summer?

Cx

Disclaimer: my beers at The Junction, cocktails at Jailbird and my tickets to Reggae Brunch were complimentary. Everything else has been paid for in full by me. Opinions are, as always, my own, and I was under no obligation to provide a review for any of the events visited.

Gastro Goings On – Summer 2018 Despite giving the bigger food festivals a miss this year (you can read my posts about…

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A Night Out in the JQ with MyBull

A Night Out in the JQ with MyBull

The Jewellery Quarter is, for want of a better phrase, one of Birmingham’s hidden gems. It’s somewhere I don’t get to often enough, but thanks to the MyBull – from the team that brings you Birmingham Updates –I got to go on an adventure in the JQ with George from Caramel Latte Kiss, including food, drinks and getting trapped in a room for fun!

MyBullkeyring gets you exclusive discounts at venues…

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Unlimited Tacos at Antojitos, Nottingham

Unlimited Tacos at Antojitos, Nottingham

Unlimited. Tacos. I’m just going to let that sink in for a second. I’m always down for tacos, so when I found out Antojitos had a pop-up at Last Chance Saloon and were dishing out as many tacos as I could fit in my face, I had to get down there.

Their Taco Revolution menu cost just £10 and you could literally eat as many tacos as you could handle. There were also 241 cocktails on offer from 5-7pm…

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Independent Birmingham Festival 2018

Independent Birmingham Festival 2018

Boozy slushies, dirty burgers and great company. That’s just a small snapshot of what was on offer at the latest Independent Birmingham Festival. I spent a gloriously sunny Sunday at Aston Hall with Bite Your Brum, Caramel Latte Kiss & Eat with Ellen, plus a guest appearance from Brumhour‘s famous Dave eating ALL the food.

The Independent Birmingham Festival always seems to attract the best of…

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The Cube is one of those places that’s always confused me a bit. Other than the flagship Marco Pierre White restaurant at the top, I’m never quite sure what’s there or whether it’s worth a trip, so when I was invited by their PR company to spend an evening at The Cube, I was interested to see what would be on offer.

I headed along with Laura from Bite Your Brum, George from Caramel Latte Kiss and others to check it out.

After one of the most disappointing drinks receptions I’ve ever had at Rodizio Rico (music WAY too loud, slow service, and a mouthful of granulated sugar that was supposed to be a mojito…) we gladly headed to Shogun Teppanyaki for dinner.

If you’ve never been to a teppanyaki restaurant before, it’s all a bit theatrical. We were seated around a large iron griddle where our chef gave us a bit of a show, as well as cooking all our food fresh in front of us.

We started off with an impressive selection of sushi and sashimi, but its worth mentioning that you don’t usually get this as part of the teppanyaki experience.

All of the sushi was delicious, but the tuna sashimi and the soft shell crab rolls were my standout options. I could literally eat sushi all day long, but we’d barely made a dent in this selection before the fried appetisers started arriving

The spring rolls were tasty and packed with crunchy vegetables. The tempura prawns were also tasty, but had quite a lot of batter, which was really filling.

The staff were also VERY specific about which sauces to dip which bits in, which made me laugh.

Then it was onto the main courses, with the first of our teppanyaki dishes being fried rice.

While I enjoyed watching the chef prepare the rice dish, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Laura from Bite Your Brum having a go on the teppanyaki grill, I wasn’t as big a fan of having bits of scrambled egg thrown at me to try and catch in my mouth, but that’s probably because I didn’t catch mine…

The main spectacle for me was definitely the grilled fish selection. We were spoiled for choice with prawns, lobster tails, queen scallops and salmon.

All of these were cooked really well, and there was enough for most of us to have seconds if we wanted to. The scallops were my highlight.

The meat options were teriyaki beef and lamb, with a side of pyrotechnics.

Both were fairly enjoyable, but as they were both marinated in teriyaki sauce, there wasn’t that much difference in flavour.

The sheer amount of food we had was insane, and I think it’s safe to say we all left with a significant food baby situation going on.

Our last stop of the evening was the Haig Club bar for a cocktail masterclass.

Now, I have to be honest right from the outset, I don’t like Haig Club whisky. I’ve also had bad experiences with the management team in the past, so right off the bat I wasn’t expecting this to be a good experience but was hoping to be proved wrong.

Unfortunately I wasn’t.

While the bar is very attractive with great views, if I’m going to a cocktail bar, I want the cocktails to be delicious, and they just weren’t here.

  The first of our cocktails to make was their take on an Old Fashioned, which I was distraught to find out contained cola.

The component parts were Haig Clubman, sugar syrup, a dash of bitters and cola, with a twist of orange to garnish. The resulting drink was sickly sweet and just tasted of cola, the whisky was barely discernable in the mix, but I think that’s largely due to the fact that Haig Clubman itself doesn’t have much flavour. Not a great start for me.

The second was Blood & Sand, which looks good, but again didn’t deliver for me on flavour.

This was a mixture of Haig Club, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur & orange juice. Again, the whisky was barely discernible and while I thought I’d enjoy the cherry flavour (as I’m a big fan of a Manhattan) I found the vermouth and orange were the dominant flavours in this.

The final drink was the Haig twist on a Bramble, made with Haig Club and Raspberry instead of gin and blackberry.

This was the prettiest, and tastiest, of the 3 we made, but was too fruity and sweet for my palette. Had this had a stronger flavoured whisky in, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

For me, I love the decor and the glassware in Haig Club, but the whole thing just feels like a pretentious gimmick to me, reinforced by the gigantic poster of David Beckham that adorns the wall. The fact they call themselves Birmingham’s first exclusive whisky bar, in the same city as the Birmingham Whisky Club, I find a bit ridiculous considering they only sell one brand. For anybody who is interested in or enjoys whisky, the Haig Club bar isn’t the place for you.

I also found it disappointing that the management didn’t seem to have any answers as to why the place has been closed when so many of us had tried to go there for a drink, what the actual opening hours were, or how the new concept was any different from the original one (other than changing the sofas). It was a disappointing end to the night so I left pretty sharpish after the masterclass ended.

While I enjoyed the experience at Shogun, the other venues we tried left a lot to be desired. It would be tough to convince me to go back to The Cube for a full evening out, but I’d be happy to visit Shogun again in the future.

Cx

I was invited to drink & dine at The Cube as a guest, so my meal and drinks were complimentary. My opinions are, as always, my own, and I was under no obligation to provide a positive review. 

An Evening at The Cube Birmingam The Cube is one of those places that's always confused me a bit. Other than the flagship Marco Pierre White restaurant at the top, I'm never quite sure what's there or whether it's worth a trip, so when I was invited by their PR company to spend an evening at…

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Birmingham Cocktail Weekend 2018

Birmingham Cocktail Weekend 2018

For one weekend only, the streets of Birmingham are awash with cocktails, thanks to the glorious Birmingham Cocktail Weekend in association with Edinburgh Gin. 40 venues from all over the city get on board over a weekend in July to offer exclusive £4 cocktails to wristband holders.

This year I headed along with some of my favourite blogging ladies Bite Your Brum, Caramel Latte Kiss, & Brumderland

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Beer and Chocolate Tasting at Cock and Hoop, Nottingham

Beer and Chocolate Tasting at Cock and Hoop, Nottingham

Ever since I tried my first sip of Punk IPA, more years ago than I care to remember, I’ve been a craft beer convert. Getting smacked in the face with the citrus flavour of new world hops and a few percentage points higher ABV than the watery excuse for lager I was used to drinking, was an eye opening experience that genuinely changed my taste. In the years since then, Brewdog have been heavily…

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Steak and Seafood at Jailbird Birmingham

Steak and Seafood at Jailbird Birmingham

The mere mention of steak is usually enough to get my attention. Add seafood into the mix and you’ve got me hook, line and sinker. A good surf and turf is a thing of beauty. The sort of meal you can go for on a date, with your folks, a business meeting… any excuse really. So when Paul Fulford invited me to join him & some of my fellow foodies (Laura aka Bite Your Brum & Charlotte Ruff) on a night…

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Edinburgh Gin Afternoon Tea at Harvey Nichols Birmingham

Edinburgh Gin Afternoon Tea at Harvey Nichols Birmingham

Last Saturday was World Gin Day, but if you didn’t make the most of it, don’t worry, as Harvey Nichols Birmingham & Edinburgh Gin are keeping the celebration going until the end of July with their Edinburgh Gin Afternoon Tea.

I’ve long been a lover of Edinburgh Gin for years. I’ve also been a lover of cake for as long as I can remember, so this combination is right up my street. I was invited…

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Blogger or Blagger

There are some pretty outspoken people in the food blogging scene who apparently oppose accepting free meals in return for reviews, and publicly berate other bloggers who do this.

Some of those same people take freebies, and just don’t declare them. Or take them and don’t write a review at all.

This is something I have a problem with.

Alongside many other bloggers I know, I’ve regularly found…

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Summer Cocktails at Toms Kitchen

Summer Cocktails at Toms Kitchen

Nestled in the Mailbox, away from the main drag of bars and restaurants outside, Tom’s Kitchen isn’t necessarily the first place you might think of for an evening of summer cocktails, but their new summer cocktail menu makes it worth seeking out.

I was invited along one evening with my friend to drink our way through their seasonal offerings and enjoy a bit of a masterclass.

The seasonal cocktail…

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Don Diego Edgbaston

When you live in the UK, it’s easy to think that Spanish food is all tapas and paella. While both of these are undeniably Spanish, Don Diego Restaurante Edgbaston are showing Birmingham a different side to Spanish food.

Where tapas and paella are best served to share, Don Diegohas curated a more intimate and romantic menu, inspired by the best of Spanish produce. I was invited to review the…

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A Chef's Life 1987 - 2018 at Merchants Restaurant Nottingham

A Chef’s Life 1987 – 2018 at Merchants Restaurant Nottingham

Hotel restaurants don’t usually have the best reputation. They’re often mediocre places serving mediocre food. They serve a purpose, fill a hole, but they’re not the kind of place you’d choose for a special occasion. Unless of course, you happen to be at Merchants in the Lace Market Hotel in Nottingham.

General manager Steve Cook and head chef Luke Holland are on a mission to make Merchants…

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Win a pair of tickets to BBC Good Food Show NEC Summer

Win a pair of tickets to BBC Good Food Show NEC Summer

The BBC Good Food Show is one of the biggest dates on the foodie calendar, where the country’s top chefs, producers and food entrepreneurs descend on the NEC in Birmingham for a weekend of pure, unadulterated food porn. I’m giving you a chance to join them with a pair of tickets to the BBC Good Food Show NEC Summer.

You’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mary Berry, Michel Roux Jr. and…