There’s nothing like a refreshing drink in the warmth of the spring sunshine. Yes it’s that time of year again – the days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and when the sun does pop out, any space that can hold drinkers starts filling up quick. From French craft cidre to English brewed kombucha, here’s what we’re sippin’ on this spring.
El Sueño Watermelon Tequila
Premium mixto tequila El Sueño Watermelon, made with fresh watermelon and unrefined Mexican sugar, is perfect for a spring cocktail making sesh. Add soda to turn it into a spritz or shake up with lime juice and agave and you’ve got watermelon margs.
Beavertown’s Critical Mass IPA
With grapefruit, passion fruit and white grape notes, this juicy, dry-hopped newbie from Beavertown is the perfect spring beer. It’s a very drinkable 4.7% and it also happens to be gluten-free so it’s a double win.
DECEM Aperitif
If you love a spritz but are getting a bit tired of Aperol, give new British aperitif DECEM a go. Created by MasterChef 2016 finalist Billy Wright, the 10% ABV spirit is lighter on the alcohol but not on the flavour, with 10 botanicals (including strawberries, burdock, red grapes and rhubarb root) blended with real fruit juice. Just add some sparkling wine and soda water and spritz away.
Tarquin’s Cornish Dry Gin & Tonic Cans
You can now get Tarquin’s flagship Cornish dry gin in a handy can, so you can crack one open wherever you are. Pre-mixed with a light, fragrant tonic, expect notes of pine and citrus with a floral finish. The perfect accompaniment to a spring Sunday at the park.
London Essence’s Pink Grapefruit Soda
The Paloma is set to be one of the drinks of the spring and summer, and as pink grapefruit is a key ingredient, the new Pink Grapefruit Soda from London Essence has arrived at just the right time. It’s got the perfect balance of zesty pink grapefuit and freshness from lime leaf distillate, so shake it up in your cocktails or even drink it solo as a thirst quenching softie.
Madame F Rosé
There’s nothing like a nice chilled glass of rosé when the sun is out and this one from Madame F delivers all the fruity notes you could want thanks to its blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes. The wine is also made in collaboration with LGBTQ+ charity and museum Queer Britain, so it’s the perfect bottle to pop this Pride.
Rosé Galipette Cidre
French craft cider – or cidre as they say across the Channel – brand Gailpette is making cider that’s both traditional and modern. Created from apples from Brittany and Normandy, there are four ciders in the range but the Rosé one is where its at – red flesh apples are lifted with red berry and blackcurrant flavours and it goes down a treat.
L.A Brewery’s Sparkling English Blush Kombucha
If you’re off the sauce you can still treat yourself a to bit of fizz with this Sparkling English Blush Kombucha from Suffolk-based non-alcoholic microbrewery L.A Brewery. It’s got fresh, floral notes of rhubarb and elderflower and great acidity, making it perfect for some spring sippin’, and as a bonus, it’s low in sugar and high in gut-friendly bacteria.
Chandon Garden Spritz
Chandon’s new pre-mixed spritz is perfect for easy and delicious spring sipping. The brand’s award-winning sparkling wine has been blended with a hand-crafted orange bitter liqueur of fresh herbs and spices and orange peel from Argentina. For an added bonus, the ready to pour fizz is made with half the sugar of other spritzes on the market.
Birrificio Angelo Poretti
This Italian lager is new to the UK and is a blend of four hops including Columbus and Zeus, which are known for their herbal and peppery notes. As a result, Poretti makes the perfect accompaniment to food – especially Italian favourites – so be sure to have a bottle at your al fresco dining table.