Not only do I like food, I also like a nice drink.

You know how some people have a particular drink that they always order?  I’m not one of those people.  For me, what I choose to drink depends very much on the mood I’m in, and if it’s to accompany or begin a meal, what I’m going to be eating.

As with food, I love to try different drinks and experiment with different flavour combinations – unless I’m in the mood for something in particular, you can pretty much guarantee that I’m going to pick something off a cocktail menu or wine list that I haven’t tried before to see what it’s like.

As drink is so often consumed before, with or after food, I thought it might be interesting to share some of the things I try with you.

We’ll be starting with gin

A dear friend of mine has been introducing me to gin over the past few years.  She’s a big fan and I wasn’t.  But when we first went to the BBC Good Food Show together a few years ago, I joined her in tasting all of the samples on offer.  I must admit, I wasn’t keen at first (although I drank them anyway) but a few years on, I’d started to get quite a taste for it.  So I asked for her advice on which to buy.  She suggested several, and in the end, I went for Sipsmiths as they had a 35cl bottle available at Asda for £14.50 and I thought this would be a good place to start. I’ve since acquired a bottle of Hendricks from another kind friend and I’ve been trying different mixers and garnishes out over the past couple of weeks.

I look forward to sharing my drinks with you in the coming weeks.  If you’ve got any favourites you think I should try, please let me know.