Do you know what eggnog is? Aside from that it's a sweet Christmassy drink, I'm not sure I did. In a recent survey Waitrose Cellar found that 96% of people don't actually know, so I don't feel too ignorant. Essentially, eggnog is a egg based drink blended with cream, sugar, alcohol and spice and I promise it is much much nicer than it sounds. Also - it's not even American, which seems to be an overriding misconception: it originates from East Anglia. Who knew? Anyway, Waitros

Excuse the blurry pic - obviously I was in a big hurry to get to my drink before Milly did. Just sharing a new thing I've tried recently - Vermouth! My experience of vermouth until now has been limited to literally swilling it around a frozen glass and tipping out before filling with gin and an olive for a martini. This is nothing like that kind. BELSAZAR is a high end German (yes, German!) Vermouth made by aromatising and fortifying wine and botanicals in the Black Forest. T

This week I was invited to drink Tanqueray cocktails at Quaglino's new botanical bar installation that they're calling 'Giovanni's Gin Garden' (FYI it's not an actual garden as I thought it was). I haven't been to Quaglino's since their revamp, so I trotted along to have a look, bringing a gin loving friend with me. Quaglino's was looking very smart after its refresh and I loved the styling of the central bar in the middle; all decadence and glitz and glamour with some vegeta

Recently I was sent a lovely selection of biodynamic iced teas from local company Hampstead Tea - thank you very much - and I've been having a little play around with them. They're all completely organic, made from proper leaf tea and real fruit so they taste delicious as a standalone iced tea drink, but of course even better spiked with alcohol. I'm not actually a fan of the much-feted Long Island Iced Tea (despite it being the usually most alcoholic cocktail on the menu) as

This week's cocktail in the spotlight is what the nice people at The Greek Larder (GREAT newish place in Kings Cross, more on that later) call a 'Greek Aperitif'. You'll all be able to make it at home already as I will bet my bottom dollar you've got a bottle of Ouzo lurking in your drinks cabinet from 2003. If you hate Ouzo, bear with me as so do I but this is nice. It tastes like a refreshing little blackjack drink. Mix cucumber juice with apple juice and a shot of said Ouz

It's a bit late today, but I can now confidently declare it to be Cocktail O'Clock. And what a lovely day for it! Recently my friend told me about certain gins being served with grapefruit slices instead of the traditional lemon - or cucumber in some cases - and I thought this sounded pretty good. I experimented with a slice of nectarine in my usual Opihr gin & tonic the other day and it was definitely a success. So, strolling around M&S this afternoon, this little Pink Grape

Ah, sangria. Let me count the ways I love thee, Spanish wine based punch. A: a lot. For me, a sangria can take various forms; I basically chuck whatever I've got in the fridge in along with a bottle of white wine, bottle of red, some brandy and some OJ mixed with lemonade. Once in Lanzarote, my mum and I shared a very pleasant jug of Cava sangria for breakfast after a long walk on the coast, and that is always the one my sangrias aspire to these days. It was kind of orangey,

This time last week saw me in Borough Market having a lovely time eating all sorts of delicious things and quaffing lovely Monmouth coffee just before the crowds hit. It was thirsty work, so come 11am my friend Julia and I decided that refreshment was definitely in order. Luckily the Borough Bar was on hand to provide us with this yummy Prosecco Spritzer. It's so refreshing and (probably) low in alcohol that it's practically a breakfast drink anyway. Make a big jug of it at h

This is an absolute classic. I was first introduced to it by Joe McCanta, the brand ambassador for Grey Goose, when he did an excellently boozy masterclass at Shoreditch House. It's such a simple cocktail and tastes just incredible - really refreshing and actually kind of like champagne in a weird way and not at all like a vodka and soda. You will need: One shot elderflower cordial One or two shots of Grey Goose vodka Squeeze of lime Soda water Shake all the ingrdients bar th

I had this cocktail at the launch of Shuck, an amazing amazing amazing new oyster bar in Borough Market (more on that later). Basically it's a Bloody Mary - which I LOVE - but with gin - also LOVE. Yes. Shuck use Gin Mare, which is that particularly botanical herbaceous gin I've mentioned before, and they emphasise this with the big stick of rosemary as garnish. I think there was also some fresh horseradish in here too, which was nice and hot but not 100% necessary if you're