Things are getting pretty exciting here! We’re just putting some final touches on our travel plans for our next big trip.
We’ve had plans to be in Europe over May (for my birthday) for a while, but we’ve decided to try and incorporate some North American travel in there too. And seeing as how cheap and easy it is to get from Canada to Cuba, we thought it’d be rude not to at least look into it!
The only trouble we’re having now is finding affordable flights that don’t go all round the houses to get us from Havana to London. Surprisingly tricky.
Anyway, our IG Edition this week is quite boozy! We’re really pushing against the whole Feb Fast movement, aren’t we?!
We’ve got some new gins to try, some new rosés for Valentine’s Day and Christina is enjoying a delectable lunch whilst experiencing a new paint. Yes, paint. Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense in a minute.
We hope you have fun reading this latest Edition. Cheers
Jim & Christina xx
You might remember this photo from a couple of weeks back. It’s actually an award winner! Well, gin winner.
We were in Wilhelmina’s in Balmain for a gin masterclass as part of their Ginuary event run. This – our favourite cocktail bar in Balmain – was running a photo competition for some amazing gin-based prizes. And this is what we came home with:
A set of Dasher & Fisher gin from Southern Wild Distillery!
This Tasmanian distillery uses local produce to make their gins. Each one has a different blend of botanicals to represent the three major landscapes that the gins’ eponymous rivers – the Dasher and the Fisher – travel through.
The Mountain Gin is Southern Wild’s take on a classic London Dry – easy to drink and juniper-driven flavours are balanced with spicy pepperberry and fragrant herbs. This is Christina’s favourite.
The Meadow Gin is more herbaceous and floral with lavender and savoury sage notes, but a fresh zing of orange that appeals to me.
Finally, the Ocean gin – the most delicate of the trio – has a salty, sophisticated palate. The unusual botanical of wakame seaweed adds a layer of umami to the lavender and pepperberry base.
Of course the best way to drink gin is in a martini! Well done, George Burgess and Southern Wild Distillery. This is definitely a gin we’ll be revisiting.
Here’s one you might have missed on the blog last week: in line with Valentine’s Day coming up (yes, it’s this Wednesday!), I thought I’d put together some gift ideas to buy the man (or men – no judgements!) in your life. These are all style-based presents – he’s gotta look good, right?
Carrying on the Valentine’s theme – or perhaps just the alcohol theme – we thought we’d share three of our new favourite rosés to try this romantic month.
Plus it’s still warm enough here in Sydney that a delicious glass of well-chilled pink goes down a treat. And these three rosés are perfect quaffers.
In spite of its bright pinkness, which often alludes to a much sweeter rosé, the Chapel Hill Sangiovese Rosé 2017 has a sharpness that really makes this wine drinkable. Sour cherry notes and fun pomegranate aromas add a bit of fun to this wine, which is surprisingly complex considering its age – though its short legs in the aftertaste do give away its youth.
The pale – almost orange hue of the Bird in Hand’s Pinot Rosé 2017 promises exactly what it delivers. A deliciously light Provençal style of rosé, this fresh young wine also owns a lively dose of strawberry aroma, which adds to the experience. Again, this is a complex rosé – rich beyond its years.
The label on our last bottle – the Spanish Lovers not Toreadors Rosé from Ribera del Duero – says it all. This bright and unusual rosé is as minerally as a good Riesling but as juicy as a young Shiraz. Laden with berry notes and herb aromas, this rosé dances to the tune of its own flamenco guitar.
Shop: Chapel Hill’s Sangiovese Rosé – $20.00 at BWS and Dan Murphy’s
Shop: Bird in Hand’s Pinot Rosé – $19.99 at Dan Murphy’s
Shop: Lovers Not Toreadors’ Rosé – 24.99 at BWS and Dan Murphy’s
This afternoon, Christina is in Redfern learning about paint. Actually she already knows quite a lot about paint from her time running a high-end interiors showroom in England.
Today, Taubmans is releasing its new line of Endure paint with the clever tagline of Beautiful and Tough. Here at Work-Shop art school in Redfern, they’ve set up a boxing ring in the middle of the art studio for the launch event for a boxer vs ballerina dance performance. Pretty incredible.
In the background, you can just see the mural of Estelle the Elephant painted by artists Kirst Gilbertson and Mulga (check out their IG accounts here). Kirst and Mulga have used Taubmans paints to create this amazing piece of art.
And to cater the event, Taubmans have invited in talented chef Nelly Robinson, who owns renowned restaurant nel. in Surry Hills. Nelly’s concept today is to bring food memories back from his past with a slightly more adult take on them.
Christina is almost overwhelmed with the dessert station – those balls are filled with liquid raspberry, and the pink knots are the lightest marshmallow puffs.
The cocktail looks pretty good, right? Well, it’s the table I’m most impressed with. That’s not a cloth – it’s paint. And why not?
Christina later tells me this is the matt finish – and that it’s the best matt finish she’s ever seen. Christina not only knows more about paint than me (not hard), she knows more about it than most people, so I’m suitably awed by the new line Taubmans has brought out.
A delicious lunch with superb cocktails – and a tin of Taubmans Endure to take away with her. I think Christina’s had a pretty good afternoon.
Now we’re thinking of repainting the apartment. Wish me luck!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s IG Edition. Chat again soon.
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx