PDA

View Full Version : UK: Cocktail Ingredients and Equipment



Pages : [1] 2 3 4 5

Mr Flibble
Mar 27th, 2006, 09:39 PM
I've put UK in the title of this because it's talking about brand name ingrediants not generic, and the production methods of the same brands often vary from country to country. Just because something is vegan in the US it doesn't mean it is in the UK etc.

I thought I'd start a thread so that those of us who enjoy making and drinking cocktails can share info. Before I go any further I'd like to point out that I'm well aware of outdated lists floating around the web of vegan spirits and utterly useless/misleading bits of info like the vegan society's "most spirits are vegan" animal free shopper quote. Anyone posting links to such sites will be made to stand in the corner for not reading the first post ;)

The thread is designed to serve these purposes:

1) Share which ingrediants we know to be vegan, where to buy them and what price to expect to pay per litre
2) Request info about where to source vegan ingrediants
3) Share info about equipment, books etc
4) Share recipes and info about making them (although for classic cocktails you're better off just buying a book off amazon)

The only rule is that if you post that a spirit or ingrediant is vegan you state why you think this is so and whether it's a hunch or something verfified.

RedWellies
Mar 27th, 2006, 09:50 PM
Great thread, Mr Flibble!:)
OK, I must go to bed, but just quickly...I just bought a book cheap (£4.99) from one of the supermarkets. It's called "Cocktails" (!!). Published by Hamlyn and has "over 200 recipes".

Mount Gay rums are vegan, had conformation email from them.


I'll just add on that Britvic cannot guarantee that their juices are vegan (their suppliers reserve the right to filter using gelatine).
Tesco and Del Monte juices are vegan and the fruit has not been waxed before juicing.

Mr Flibble
Mar 27th, 2006, 09:55 PM
Spirits I know to be vegan, as they are labelled as such on the bottles, all generic, average quality and from co-op's own brand:

London Dry Gin
White Rum (Fair trade) - (Edit 11/7/06 - doesn't seem to be available anymore, replaced by non fair trade that is not labelled vegan)
Scotch Whisky
Brandy

Estimated guesses, and why:

Cointreau - The ingrediants are listed on the back. The 35cl bottles ingrediants differ from the 70cl - I guess they are made in different places. Both are made from alcohol, sugar, vegetables and orange. The alcohol is extracted from sugar beet. It's listed on several restuarant menus as vegan, although no info can be found from the manufacturer. One site claims it is not kosher in the US, however it's unclear as to why or whether the interpriatation of Kosher status for the list requires jewish workers to be involved with the production of or not. Averages at £10 per 35cl, £17 per 70cl, and I've used about 60cl so far this year ;)
Tia Maria - It's been sold at vegan festivals and I've heard from several vegans that it's OK. Average £10 per bottle
Smirnoff Red - Smirnoff was the first distillery in the world to use charcoal for filtering. Several people have written to them and been told no animal products are used in production. Unfortunately the UK website is shite, aimed at piss heads and 14 year olds.

Requests:

I'd like to know where I can get: Cherry Brandy/Kirsh, Apricot Brandy, Tequilla, Sherry, Port, Shnapps (inc Peach), Chartreuse, Absinthe/Pastis, Advocaat, Creme de cacoa, Amaretto, Sloe Gin, Bitters (various), Vermouth, Marsala, Madeira, Grenadine

I think i need a bigger cupboard ;)

Fruit:

Sainsburys do not seem to sell (in the Midlands) either lemons or limes that are stated as waxed or unwaxed. Morrisons do.

Book:

Title: The Complete Guide to Cocktails and Drinks
ISBN: 1843099373
Publisher: Hermes House
Author: Stuart Walton
Year: 2003
List Price: Unknown
Price Paid: £2
Comment: An excellent book which is well recomended, but not available through amazon. It's approx 250 a4 sized full colour pages long, has tonnes of recipes, pictures, information about spirits, history, equipment information etc. I paid £2(!) for it, but I've bought books for £15 before which arn't as good. It isn't a vegan book, but most of the info is relavent to us - it isn't a book obsessed with the current UK binge drinking faishon of creamy alcopops like vodka mudshake etc.

Equipment:

Martini Glasses - I've just acquired some LSA Jazz glasses (http://www.johnlewis.com/Home+and+Garden/Tableware/Tableware+/Glasses/230230631/Product.aspx) (priced at £35 for 4). I shopped for approximately a year for some decent martini glasses and I think I've found them. To some they arn't worth the money, to me they are ;). They're handmade, not dishwasher safe, a good shine, size and weight. They hold approximately 120ml, so a double measure of an average cocktail recipe or 6 standard 25ml shots.

Non standard/Vegan Recipes:

Hot Chocolate: a few cubes of 70% cocoa chocolate warmed in a mug of soya milk till almost boiling and blended with triple sec to taste. Topped with squirty vegan cream and chocolate shavings. Works well with Green and Blacks, So Good, Cointreau, Soyatoo and Cocoa Tree shavings

Cherry
Mar 27th, 2006, 10:16 PM
We want your cocktail recipes Mr F :)

I like fruity cocktails on the whole but I'm quite fond of Kahlua milkshake :)
(Kahlua is vegan according to several vegan sites). It's like Baileys if you make it strong enough.

I prefer to get my fruit juices from the coop as it says on them if they're from waxed fruit or not. I can always find unwaxed lemons in Morrisons , but can never get limes :confused: Does your Morrisons have limes? It's very annoying when you want to make margueritas.

Mr Flibble
Mar 27th, 2006, 10:32 PM
Mount Gay rums are vegan, had conformation email from them.

Cool, can you say what date this was and cut'n'paste the email you got from them if you still have a copy?

VeganJohn
Mar 27th, 2006, 11:14 PM
I used to love a tequila sunrise :>

Also like Manhattans and Long Island Ice Tea.

RedWellies
Mar 28th, 2006, 06:45 AM
Here's the mail from Mount Gay. Received this month...

We did receive your message on our web site and we thank y=

ou for your interest in Mount Gay Rums. We do not use dairy or anima=

l products as ingredients in the manufacture of our rums. All of the filtra=

tion media for rum production eg. cellulose filters, activated carbon, are =

of plant origin.

Mr Flibble
Apr 6th, 2006, 09:27 AM
Mail from Bols 6/4/06

We thank you for your interest in Bols products.It is hard to give you the right answer because we understand that there areseveral kinds of vegans with different opinions.But we are pleased to let you know that almost all Bols products aresuitable for vegans. Only Bols Advocaat and Ponche Cuba are containing eggsor milk/cream, which is related to animals.Kind regards,Lucas Bols Brand Group

--

Interestingly I didn't state vegan in my mail to them, i posed it as an allergy information request. Think they need further poking though for a more verbose responce, they haven't said anything about refining methods. Would be good thou, I need something blue :)

Pob
Apr 6th, 2006, 09:42 AM
Perhaps your reputation precedes you ;)

The organic lemons and limes in Sainsburys are unwaxed (as are all the organic citrus fruits they sell). Obviously they may not stock them in every branch.

Tesco, as I recall, sell non-organic unwaxed lemons - not sure about limes.

Cherry
Apr 6th, 2006, 10:24 AM
Thanks Rob : ) I'm glad not *everybody* is ignoring my limes request :)

:p Mr F.

RedWellies
Apr 6th, 2006, 12:02 PM
I'm sure I've seen unwaxed limes in most supermarkets but I haven't bought any since last summer.

I have re-checked with Captain Morgan that their rums are suitable for vegans. They are, so...

Take a glass, fill 1/3rd with Mount Gay rum, just over 1/3rd with orange juice and pineapple juice, lots of ice, then carefully pour in Captain Morgan's spiced rum to top up the glass. Very nice!!

Cherry
Apr 6th, 2006, 12:45 PM
I'm sure I've seen unwaxed limes in most supermarkets but I haven't bought any since last summer.

Penrith isn't exactly great for supermarkets. There's a coop, a morrisons and a something else...somerfield I think. Morrisons do unwaxed lemons in packs, but not limes, and coop strangely don't seem to have unwaxed either.

I get around though and do visit sainsbury's now and then.

I think that your recipe may have to be tried Red Wellies :)

saucyvegan
Apr 6th, 2006, 12:53 PM
Great thread, Mr Flibble!:)
OK, I must go to bed, but just quickly...I just bought a book cheap (£4.99) from one of the supermarkets. It's called "Cocktails" (!!). Published by Hamlyn and has "over 200 recipes".

Mount Gay rums are vegan, had conformation email from them.


I'll just add on that Britvic cannot guarantee that their juices are vegan (their suppliers reserve the right to filter using gelatine).
Tesco and Del Monte juices are vegan and the fruit has not been waxed before juicing.

Ooh ive got that book Redders!! Yes great thread mr flibble. Im having a party soon and want posh cocktails to go with all my lovely vegan food!!

Mr Flibble
Apr 6th, 2006, 02:13 PM
I have re-checked with Captain Morgan that their rums are suitable for vegans. They are, so...

I just bought a bottle of spiced. I had a tiny swig in the office carpark to see what it is like - hopefully no one saw me! Tis nice, quite vanilla'ry. Can you paste the email with date if you still have a copy?

RedWellies
Apr 6th, 2006, 03:23 PM
Glad you like the rum, I love it! Don't you trust me when I say it's vegan? I'm very careful, honest!

From: "Lucas, Kevin" <Kevin.Lucas@diageo.com>
Date: 3 April 2006 15:56:39 BDT
Subject: Captain Morgan


I am glad to inform you that Captain Morgan does not contain any animal products, also none are used in the production process. Enjoy!!

Thanks,

Kevin Lucas
Consumer Relations - Supply Quality
DIAGEO North America

Mr Flibble
Apr 6th, 2006, 03:27 PM
cool :)

I emailed diageo yesterday, no reply yet. May hafta email Mr Lucas direct if i've heard nothing by the end of next week ;)

Mr Flibble
Apr 12th, 2006, 11:01 PM
I just bought a bottle of spiced.

We've managed to get through half the bottle in under a week :D


Take a glass, fill 1/3rd with Mount Gay rum, just over 1/3rd with orange juice and pineapple juice, lots of ice, then carefully pour in Captain Morgan's spiced rum to top up the glass. Very nice!!

Do you mean 1/3rd white rum, 1/3rd spiced rum and 1/3rd a mixture of orange and pineapple --or-- 1/3rd white rum, 1/3rd orange, 1/3rd pineapple and a splash of spiced? We tried the first and it was very pleasent, although somewhat strong! A large glass each lasted the whole evening and i was falling asleep on the sofa by 11pm ;)

Tonight's experiment of 75g melted chocolate, 600ml fresh so good, several dollups of vanilla icecream and 100ml spiced rum blended, chilled and topped with squirty cream was rather successful :)

RedWellies
Apr 12th, 2006, 11:13 PM
I meant 1/3 Mount Gay DARK rum (much nicer!), 1/3 mixed pineapple and orange, then ice, then the spiced rum. If you add the spiced carefully after the ice, it kind of floats on the top so you drink the rest through it....mmmm...

Yes, sorry, should have mentioned I love my rum and like it strong! Glad you liked the spiced...I had a laugh at the image of you in the car park swigging from the bottle like a drunk!!;)

Wildflower
Apr 17th, 2006, 06:03 AM
4) Share recipes and info about making them (although for classic cocktails you're better off just buying a book off amazon)


I know I am not in the UK, but your letter verifies that all Captain Morgan's products (in the UK at least) are vegan. Do you have Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay Coconut Rum?

If so, this is my favorite fruity drink recipe -

1/3 Captain Morgan Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
1/3 Pinapple juice
1/3 Orange juice

Pour over ice and enjoy! :)

Mr Flibble
May 3rd, 2006, 04:58 PM
Mail from dekuyper 28/04/06

Can you please tell me from which of our products you want to know this, because we do have a very big product-range.
It's not possible for us to investigate this for all our products.

--

So, any suggestions? Now I have a contact address that seems to work i'm going to reply with the main things they sell in the UK, such as tripple sec.

RedWellies
May 3rd, 2006, 05:06 PM
Can you ask about cherry brandy and cassis?

twinkle
May 3rd, 2006, 05:08 PM
Vintage Roots (http://www.vintageroots.co.uk/) do a lot of vegan stuff, as well as it all being organic. I have had vintage port from there a couple of times and it's always been very nice.

Mr Flibble
May 3rd, 2006, 06:08 PM
Lurgashall make a selection of wine, mead and liquors using traditional english methods and flavours. You can get their stuff in the gourmet shops in London/the South, mail order and at country/re-enactment fayres. I used to live a few miles from their base, have bought their wine several times in London and via mail order. None of the mead is vegan as it's made with honey, but the rest with a few exceptions is good. I first checked several years ago, the last time i contacted them about their wine and liqour (not mead) nothing had changed. As it's been a year now I'm going to contact them again and perhaps buy some spirits, but here's last year's email:

Mail from www.lurgashall.co.uk (http://www.lurgashall.co.uk) - 12/04/05

All of our products are suitable for vegans with the exception of Apple Wine and Elderflower Wine.

--

I've just seen on their site that the ginger is listed as containing honey now. Good example of why out of date info really shouldn't be trusted as current ;)

Wildflower
May 5th, 2006, 05:43 AM
Mail from dekuyper 28/04/06

Can you please tell me from which of our products you want to know this, because we do have a very big product-range.
It's not possible for us to investigate this for all our products.

--

So, any suggestions? Now I have a contact address that seems to work i'm going to reply with the main things they sell in the UK, such as tripple sec.


Heee hee, I can't stay out of this alcohol thread. Ask about the peach schnapps, and then mix half and half with oj for a Fuzzy Navel. :)

Mr Flibble
May 22nd, 2006, 08:44 AM
Luxardo make various italian liquors available in the UK including limoncello and amaretto. I'm gonna get a couple of bottles tonight :D

Mail from Luxardo - 22/05/06

There are no animal products used in our liqueurs, and the alcohol is filtered with carton filters.
I hope that this answer you questions,
Regards,
Matteo Luxardo

* Update: I surveyed 4 large supermarkets this evening - Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda (yes, i feel dirty) - Sambuca is available in all, Limoncello in Sainsburys - all about a tenner for 50cl *