Old Curiosity brings the festive spirit with colour changing Christmas Gin

Scottish craft distillery, Old Curiosity, has launched a new limited-edition Christmas Gin ahead of the festive period, perfectly capturing the essence of the season by blending classic aromatic spices, and naturally coloured with botanicals to create a fitting rosy red colour.

The Secret Garden Christmas Gin (50cl, 39% ABV) is distilled with botanicals grown in the distillery’s Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom are distilled to create a distinctly festive flavour, while hollyhock petals give the liquid a natural festive red colouring.

The Secret Garden Christmas Gin comes in three sizes to suit a range of gift ideas. Starting from a perfect stocking filler size of 5cl (£5.95), 20cl (14.95) to 50cl (£35.95), ideal for a gin lover’s present. The range also includes a festive gift set of a 20cl bottle of Christmas Gin paired with the distillery’s renowned Wild Gin (20cl, 40% ABV), priced at £29.95.

To create the perfect festive serve

Fill a Tall glass with ice
Add 50ml Christmas Gin
Top up with low sugar tonic
Garnish with Orange

Once the tonic is poured into the glass, the bright red Christmas Gin turns to a striking fluorescent pink.

Hamish Martin, Director at the Old Curiosity Distillery, commented: “We really wanted to explore a new range of festive flavours using traditional seasonal ingredients to make our Christmas Gin.

“We drew influence from medieval Christmas feasts by distilling the gin with cinnamon and aromatic cardamom, while the ginger gives the spirit an extra kick for warmth!

“We’ve proud to say that our Christmas Gin contains no preservatives, sugars, colourings or flavourings, only truly natural ingredients from our very own Secret Herb Garden in Midlothian. We hope gin lovers enjoy our festive tipple this Christmas.”

The botanicals used in the Christmas Gin carefully grown at The Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The Secret Garden is an award-winning herb nursery with over 600 naturally grown and tended varieties of herbs and flowers which are picked, dried and distilled by hand to deliver the pure essence of nature.

It is most renowned for the highly acclaimed and multi award-winning collection of premium, 100% natural, Secret Garden Gins which are stocked by some of the UK’s most prestigious retailers and now exported to 11 countries around the globe. The distillery also produces ranges of teas, soaps and hand sanitisers.

The Secret Garden Christmas Gin is available now online at theoldcuriosity.co.uk.

To find out more about the Old Curiosity distillery and The Secret Garden Gins please visit www.theoldcuriosity.co.uk.

Morrisons to donate 15,000 lunchboxes daily to help schoolchildren in need

– Move aims to help fight holiday hunger this half-term –

– Customers can also purchase pre-packed bags of groceries to feed young people –

Morrisons stores will join the national effort to ensure no school child in need goes without an adequate meal this half term.

Morrisons colleagues in 498 stores will prepare 30 lunch boxes in each of their stores this half-term. That’s 14,940 lunches daily with packaging donated by distribution company Bunzl.

The lunchboxes will be distributed daily by each store to local food banks and schools so they can get them to school children in need. The lunch box includes a freshly made sandwich, a piece of fruit and a Soreen snack pack.

Morrisons is also to offer customers the option to support the effort by buying their own ‘Pick Up Packs’, which will also be distributed to young people.

The packs’ cost between £1 and £5 and contain a nutritionally balanced mix of food products that have been requested by the local food banks and schools according to their needs. The pre-packed parcels are available at the front of all Morrisons stores and are paid for at the checkout. The pack is then put aside for delivery to those in need.

Rebecca Singleton, Customer and Community Director at Morrisons, said: “We want to do our bit to ensure that as many school children as possible can eat good, nutritious food while they are out of school.

“We will be delighted if customers are also able to donate food in our stores to help fight holiday hunger.”

Local Morrisons stores on Ferry Road and Granton Waterfront are already providing great support through contributions to the North Edinburgh COVID-19 Foodshare Group.

For more information visit www.morrisons.co.uk

Halloween drink recipes with Ardbeg Wee Beastie

With Halloween just around the corner, Ardbeg has created some beastly cocktails using Ardbeg Wee Beastie.

These colourful cocktails include Bramble Bite, Bloody Rob Roy and Bubble Beast.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie is the latest permanent expression to join the Distillery’s core range. At just 5 years old, the incredible smokiness of Ardbeg Wee Beastie is untamed by age. This feisty young creature boasts a formidable bite

On the snout, Ardbeg Wee Beastie’s intense aromas of cracked blacked pepper mingle with sappy pine resin and a sharp tang of smoke. Suddenly, an explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. Savoury meats sink into the palate before a long salty mouth coating finish slinks away… revealing the inner beast of this Islay icon.

Young and intensely smoky, this is a monster of a dram. Matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, Ardbeg Wee Beastie is perfect for enjoying neat or as the mouth-watering main ingredient in a powerfully smoky cocktail.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Bright Auric
Nose: Very bright, fresh and herbal, with hints of vanilla, pear, freshly cracked black pepper, honey-glazed ham. Rich Turkish coffee, sappy pine resin. With water, more herbal top notes like vetiver and fennel, along with aniseed, green apple and leather.
Taste: A rich, explosive mouthfeel with lots of chocolate, tar, creosote and smoked bacon, followed by a burst of antiseptic lozenges, eucalyptus and more aniseed.
Finish: A long, salty and mouthcoating finish with hints of cocoa, fudge and savoury meats.
Casks: Ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry.

Morrisons launch ultimate Halloween and Bonfire Night in boxes

With trick or treating and big bonfires off the cards, Morrisons is helping customers celebrate Halloween and Bonfire Night at home this year with the launch of two new food boxes – delivered direct to your door.

Priced at £23 for Halloween and £17 for Bonfire Night, each box includes delivery and is available for pre-sale from today. The limited edition boxes have everything you need to celebrate the spookiest and sparkliest nights of the year at home.

For customers looking to create their own spook-fest, the Morrisons Halloween Box includes terrifyingly tasty treats to tuck into like Cadburys Goo Heads or a slime cupcake kit for the kids to enjoy and for that haunted house at home there’s spooky bunting and balloons.

And for those looking to celebrate Bonfire Night with a bang, Morrisons is launching the ultimate Bonfire Night Box – packed with 5th November classics from hot chocolate, marshmallows and cinder toffee to bangers and pork pies.

What’s in the boxes?

Morrisons Spooky Halloween Box – £23 Including DeliveryPreorder 8th October – Delivery 24th – 30th OctoberMorrisons Cheese balls 150gHaribo Starmix 176gCadbury Goo Heads 89gMr Kipling Fiendish Fancies 8 PackCadbury Family Treat Size Pack 222gSlime Cupcake Kit 295gMorrisons Sweet Popcorn 100g Halloween Party Pack includes:Paper Napkins 20pkSpider Paper Straws 20 PackSpider Web Cups 10 PackSpider Web Plates 10 PackHappy Halloween Banner 2mSpider Garland 2mSpider Printed Confetti Balloons 5 PackTattoos

Morrisons The Ultimate Bonfire Box – £17 Including DeliveryPreorder 8th October – Delivery 30th October – 5th NovemberMcvitie’s Jamaica Ginger CakeMorrisons Snack Pork Pies 2pk x3Morrisons The Best Pork Sausages 400gMorrisons Lighter Dairy Spray Cream 250gCadburys Drinking Choc 250gMorrisons Marshmallows 200gParrs Cinder Toffee Crunchy Handmade Pieces 150gMorrisons Chip Shop Mushy Peas 400g x2Morrisons Finger Rolls 6 pack

Aidan Buckley, Food to Order Director at Morrisons said: “We know this year is like no other for customers and many may feel Halloween and Bonfire night are off the cards.

“These boxes provide a stress-free way to still enjoy a little magic at this time of year.”

For More information on Morrisons Food Boxes visit www.morrisons.com/food-boxes

BrewDog’s tongue-in-cheek ALD IPA hits Aldi shelves

Supermarket Aldi launched BrewDog’s ‘ALD IPA’ in stores on 15^th October
The brand was created during a Twitter exchange between the two companies after shoppers drew similarities between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment Beer and BrewDog’s Punk IPA
For every case bought, both BrewDog and Aldi will donate a tree to BrewDog’s Forest, supporting the brewer’s commitment to reducing carbon and fighting climate change

Craft beer fans will be heading to Aldi after the supermarket revealed it will be stocking ALD IPA, a beer born out of Twitter banter between best-selling independent brewer, BrewDog and the leading supermarket. No, you’re not reading that with your beer goggles on!

The eponymous beer was first created as a joke tweet after shoppers commented on the resemblance between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment beer and BrewDog’s popular Punk IPA. BrewDog initially suggested it would create ‘Yaldi IPA’ in a mocking social media post.

However, the supermarket, which is known for its ‘Like brands’ approach, responded with: ‘We would have gone with ALD IPA, send us a crate and we’ll talk…’^[1] The crate must have done the trick, because now just two months on, what started as a spoof brand is being sold exclusively at Aldi stores!

The brew-tiful ALD IPA will be available as a Specialbuy from Thursday 15^th October and is BrewDog’s first ever exclusive creation for a supermarket. A 4.7% session IPA, it is based on BrewDog’s beloved Hop Fiction recipe and will cost just £1.39 per can.

The humorous Twitter exchange that sparked the creation of this beer was followed with anticipation by tens of thousands of people^[2]. As the conversation unraveled, it was decided that for every case sold, Aldi and BrewDog will each donate a tree to be planted in the BrewDog Forest located in the Scottish highlands. BrewDog announced earlier this year that it is now a ‘carbon negative’ business as it takes twice as much carbon out of the air as it emits.

Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director Aldi Scotland, says: “We couldn’t resist stocking ALD IPA, which supports our mission to work with the UK’s best independent suppliers.

“Plus, with customer enquiries through the roof after the conversation broke on Twitter – it really was a no brainer to give our shoppers what they want.”

James Watt, co-Founder of BrewDog comments: “Ald IPA has been one of our favourite collaborations to date, it’s definitely one no one saw coming! From a mockup on Twitter, to being stocked at Aldi stores across the UK, the response has been incredible.

“Most importantly, both BrewDog and Aldi have agreed that for every case sold an extra tree will be planted in the BrewDog Forest. A win-win for our customers, and the planet!”

For those that fancy themselves a bit of a hop-head and want to get their hands on ALD IPA, head to Aldi stores now to pick up a can. Shoppers will need to get in there quick though – as with all Specialbuys, once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Heineken fine should be wake-up call for Scotland, says CAMRA

The decision by the Pubs Code Adjudicator for England & Wales to fine Edinburgh-based Heineken UK’s pub arm, Star Pubs and Bars, £2 million for serious and repeated breaches of the Pubs Code should be a wake-up call for the Scottish Government.

That’s the message from CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, which is calling on the Scottish Government and all parties in the Scottish Parliament to give their backing to the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Bill being put forward by Neil Bibby MSP.

Licensees in Scotland are currently exempt from regulations that are in place across the rest of Great Britain which stop large pub companies from taking more than is fair or sustainable from pub profits by forcing licensees to buy their beer from them rather than on the open market.

It means whilst Heineken’s pubs arm Star Pubs and Bars were found to be making pub tenants sell “unreasonable levels” of the company’s beer and cider brands, the Pubs Code Adjudicator can only stand up for publicans and fine pub companies for unfair practices south of the border because no legislation exists in Scotland.

The proposed Scottish Tied Pubs legislation is due to be debated and voted on by MSPs next month and would give tied pub tenants protections in law from unfair practices from pub-owning businesses.

Commenting, CAMRA Chief Executive Tom Stainer said: “This announcement from the Pubs Code Adjudicator is a good and deserved outcome for Star’s tied pub tenants – but disappointingly only for those in England and Wales.

“It isn’t fair that Star’s tenants in Scotland don’t have the same protections in law from any unfair practices like pub companies taking more than is fair or sustainable from tied licensees’ profits – or making it harder to sell a range of locally-brewed products.

“The fact that the Adjudicator for England and Wales has felt the need to use their financial penalty powers clearly shows that pub companies need to be regulated, in law. We are appealing to MSPs from all parties to support Neil Bibby’s Pubs Code Bill, which calls for a powerful pubs code to govern the relationship between pub companies and their tenants to ensure licensees are treated fairly.

“The pub sector as we know it is currently under threat due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. Pub companies operating across Scotland need to be supporting their tied tenants through this, treating them fairly and making sure they can earn a decent living. One way the Scottish Parliament can help is by voting in favour of the Tied Pubs Bill next month.”

One stop shop: Morrisons launch luxury Christmas food box to feed family of four

Morrisons has announced it will be offering customers the UK’s easiest-to-buy Christmas dinner. Customers won’t need to beat the queues, select their items or even book a delivery slot.

Instead, with a touch of a button, customers will be able to order a Christmas Dinner Box online and it will be delivered direct to their door just in time for the big day.

With many families across the country self-isolating or avoiding supermarkets, Morrisons is launching the one stop shop 16-piece Christmas Dinner Box to take the stress out of festive food shopping.

The dinner contains festive favourites such as Turkey and all the trimmings, a cheese board and crackers, deep-filled mince pies and a festive yule log.

Priced at £50 including delivery, the Morrisons Christmas Dinner Box will go on presale on the 13th October and will be delivered to customers’ doorsteps on the 22nd and 23rd December. It will arrive in a specially developed box so that items remain cold and fresh until they reach customers’ fridge.

What’s included:

Morrisons British Turkey Parcel (serves 4-7)	Morrisons The Best Goose Fat Potatoes
Morrisons The Best Pigs in Blankets	Morrisons The Best Deep Filled Mince Pies
Morrisons The Best Sage & Onion Stuffing Balls	Morrisons The Best Mature Blue Stilton
Morrisons The Best Cranberry Sauce	Morrisons The Best Brie De Meaux
Morrisons The Best Turkey Gravy	Morrisons The Best Caledonian Vintage Cheddar 300g
Morrisons The Best Sprouts with lightly smoked gammon	Morrisons The Best Festive Fruit Chutney
Morrisons The Best Heritage Carrots with butter	Morrisons The Best Rye Sourdough Crackers 130G
Morrisons The Best Honey & Mustard Baby Parsnips	Morrisons The Best Yule Log

Aidan Buckley, Food to Order Director at Morrisons said: “We want to take the stress out of Christmas food shopping and give customers the ultimate hassle-free Christmas dinner to enjoy. In a difficult year, this is the simplest way to get your Christmas meal.”

The Morrisons Christmas Food box is available to order from Tuesday 13th October at https://www.morrisons.com/food-boxes for £50 – with delivery on the 22nd or 23rd December this year.

61% increase in demand for food parcels between now and Christmas

Approximately 2.2 million people in the UK are living in food poverty, many of whom require support from foodbanks on a regular basis. Before the outbreak of the pandemic a record high 1.9m emergency food parcels were distributed between April 2019 and March 2020 by the Trussell Trust. It is estimated there will be a 61% increase in demand for food parcels between now and Christmas.

This equates to six parcels being distributed per minute. Mass unemployment, on a scale not seen since the early nineties is predicted, which will result in a further rise in food poverty. An estimated 670,000 additional people will be classed as destitute by the end of 2020.

Since its launch in 2014, Bounceback Food CIC has been committed to fighting food poverty. Their public cookery courses and foodbank drive uses the ‘buy one, give one’ model to generate social impact.

The cookery courses have enabled them to provide free places to people using foodbanks or getting third sector support, teaching them how to cook.

Their foodbank drive is supported through donations at market events. This proactive approach to tackling food poverty has helped them teach thousands of people how to cook, donate over 10,000 items of food to foodbanks and provide over 75,000 meals as part of their wider community outreach work which includes catering, supper clubs and corporate cook offs.

Prior to lockdown, Bounceback’s outreach work predominantly supported people in Greater Manchester, Cheshire & North Wales. However, as the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic continues, the non-profit organisation is adapting its model to social franchising, so they are able to support the increasing numbers of people living in food poverty nationwide. By introducing this model the team at Bounceback are more confident they can help combat the growing number of people in food poverty in the UK.

Its current crowdfunder aims to raise sufficient funds so they can expand with three additional teams in new locations throughout the UK by November 2021, supporting the social enterprise’s long-term plan to have 20 teams operational by 2024.

Each team will manage regional cookery workshops educating people how to cook as well as their market events generating food donations which will then be distributed to foodbanks in the community.

Discounted tickets to cookery workshops are just one of several rewards that people who pledge their support to the crowdfunder will receive. Signed first edition copies of the new recipe books are also available.

The organisation is determined to make things fun too and have introduced an innovative way for people to stay connected, learn about food preparation and global cuisine, even in these difficult times.

Their Secret Supper Clubs is a new concept that will bring a group of friends together for a dinner party with a difference. Bounceback’s team serves up a feast based on their favourite recipes as the host joins an interactive, virtual cook-a-long session.

In line with the current UK Government ‘rule of 6’ guidelines, these intimate social events may be a welcome alternative way to spend an evening, as the nation faces more restrictions on socialising out of the home – although this would not currently be allowed north of the border, where it would only be permissable for one household.

A range of corporate sponsorship packages have also been developed providing businesses with an opportunity for exposure by sponsoring an episode of Bounceback’s weekly Share Your Secrets podcast.

The podcast celebrates the diversity of food, art and community and includes interviews with the artists involved in the production of ‘Secret Dishes From Around the World 2’, insights about community and culture from people in the featured countries and updates from Bounceback’s team as they scale up their proactive fight against food poverty across the UK.

Bounceback’s founding director Duncan Swainsbury (above) said: “I’m proud of the progress we have made over the last 6 months and that we have developed new ways to work.

“We have pledged 5 million free licenses to our online Cooking & Nutrition Portal and donated all remaining stock to our foodbank drive in the North-West – this is as well as adapting our catering service to deliver meals door to door, and launching online cookery workshops that provide free places for our beneficiaries.

“As claims for Universal Credit soar and with the furlough scheme coming to an end, we know that our organisation will be needed more than ever before to support those living in food poverty.

“It is essential that we scale up our social enterprise and build delivery teams in multiple locations to provide effective support to people nationwide.”

Aldi is donating food to charities in Edinburgh and the Lothians over Christmas

Here’s how to apply …

Aldi is once again embracing the season of goodwill by calling on charities, community groups and food banks in Edinburgh and the Lothians to register now to receive surplus food donations this Christmas Eve.

Last Christmas, Aldi donated nearly 48,000 meals to good causes throughout Scotland, and expects to increase this number for Christmas 2020. The meals will support those in need at a time when more households are experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity as a result of the pandemic.

Thanks to Aldi’s successful partnership with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to food banks and charities, all of Aldi’s 92 Scottish stores now donate surplus food seven days a week, all year round.

Christmas provides an opportunity for even more charities to benefit from the initiative, and any charities and community groups in Edinburgh and the Lothians with the resource to help can get in touch to register for a festive food donation from Britain’s fifth largest supermarket.

Charities will be paired with local Aldi stores and can collect fresh and chilled food products that are near the end of their shelf life – including fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and bread – ahead of stores closing on Christmas Eve.

Luke Peech, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “Our Christmas food donations scheme plays a big role in supporting those in need during the festive period and is something we are very passionate about. This is our fourth year running the initiative and we look forward to working with local charities in Edinburgh and the Lothians once again.

“Last year we were able to help thousands of people across Scotland, and this year we’re hoping to extend this even further in what has been a challenging year for so many.”

Steve Butterworth from Neighbourly, added: “Sadly, charities and local causes are expecting record demand for their services this Christmas because of the pandemic and its impact on communities up and down the country.

“We’re sure there are lots more groups out there that could put the food to good use, so we’d encourage them to get in touch.”

Organisations do not need to be a registered charity to apply but must:

Have a level two hygiene certificate gained in the last two years
Be able to transport and store chilled food products after collecting them on Christmas Eve at 5pm

Those interested in working with Aldi this Christmas should contact Neighbourly at aldichristmas@neighbourly before 7^th December 2020.

Morrisons introduces new measures to help people who are self isolating

– Customers can order a delivery to their doorstep from items across the supermarket –

Morrisons has launched a service aimed at ensuring customers who are self-isolating can get a delivery of food to their doorstep.

With coronavirus cases rising, Morrisons wants no customer to be left behind and the ‘doorstep delivery’ service will offer all customers who are self-isolating a next-day food delivery (from 10am-6pm).

Customers simply have to ring the doorstep delivery service where they can choose the items for their emergency delivery. The service was previously only available for elderly and clinically vulnerable people.

Now anybody who is self-isolating can:

Phone 0345 611 6111 and select option five.
Choose from a items across the supermarket, guided by the telesales operator
Place the order and then the delivery is made the following day by a store colleague from their local store, often the store’s Community Champion, who is tasked with helping the community.
Pay for delivery on their doorstep via a mobile chip and pin device. The delivery charge is £4.50 (students £2). There is no delivery charge for elderly and vulnerable people.

Students can also contact Morrisons on email: students-ug@morrisons.co.uk.

Anna Lane, Morrisons Local Director, said: “This doorstep service will ensure that more people who can’t leave their home to go shopping will be able to get a delivery of affordable food.”

Morrisons will be delivering from more stores in order to extend the service across the country.