In pre-coronial times, tasting sessions with The Liquorists would be on the water.
We’d all pile onto a canal boat, and gently bob along from the Castlefield Basin, thought locks and past ‘Gnome Island’, to Media City and back. There would be booze aplenty, and lots of chat. Maybe a flirt or two with the table next to you, food pouring (not literally) from the teeny tiny galley, and lots of people queueing to film the boat’s progress across the water.
Whilst their E-Cruises may not be on the water. And you may not be seated next to a pretty stranger with which to flirt, almost everything else is the same. There’s gin banter. There are other people (in their own homes admittedly), there is food. And there is booze. Plenty of booze.
It was perhaps the first thing I noticed about the bag when it was hand delivered – the not un-generous three cocktails, and two gins and mixers that featured on our event. There was also the food platter of nibbles and crackers which is an optional extra.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.
The E-Cruise works similarly to their normal cruises. Drinks, chat – but this time instead of getting glam, you can do it in your pyjamas. If you want. There are so few opportunities to get glam in the middle of a pandemic, nobody would blame you.
Each session is different, so ours was a cocktail heavy session, plus G&Ts. This means that the prices also vary a little, but they start around £30, with all the mixers, garnishes, and local delivery included. Nationwide delivery is also an option, and there is also the option of nibbles – cheese, charcuterie, crackers and pickles (£9.95).
As you can see, our session was full of cocktails, including a personal favourite, the Clover Club, all pre made and ready for you to shake, and serve. The most effort you have to make is booting up Zoom, and slicing some lemon peel.
And when I say pre-made, this does not detract from the quality of the cocktail. I know a lot of people worry about things ‘not being as good’. In fact a lot of drinks are more consistent when batched, and whilst some adaptations were made (the Clover Club didn’t have it’s usual egg white for example) it didn’t detract from the experience, or the flavour profile.
The best bit, of course, is the chat. Something The Liquorists are very good at, and something that is sometimes missing from online tastings. Not in this case. Honestly? One of the best tastings I’ve been to, because it felt like mere centimetres from us being there, rather than the seven miles or so we were.
Some people just know how to work with an online audience.
Not only that, they’ve given me a discount code for you to take advantage of. That means that the next online tasting with Manchester Gins would go from £30 to £24. Or their Pink Gins tasting session would go from £25 to a mere £20. I mean, bargain, right?
The only downside, is that code runs out on Friday, so if you’re going to take advantage, I’d get on it while you can! I might even do it myself…
