Raise Your Glass To Festive Entertaining

Toast the season with champagne and cocktails.

The season of celebration is here. Whether you’re hosting a small, intimate lunch or a large gathering with friends and family, take as much care with drinks as you would with dressing the table and curating a delicious menu. Here are some recommendations on how to elevate your get-together from simple catch-up to a standout event.

Special touches

If you normally like to entertain quite casually, take your table setting up a notch by laying out a table cloth and quality napkins. If formality is not your vibe, a heavy linen table cloth, fresh flowers and an eclectic collection of vintage and new tableware will keep the look special without being too formal. Have an array of glassware handy for water and beverages, as well as your cocktail shaker, plus tongs for ice and garnishes. Candles also help to add a wonderful ambience, even during the day. Just before your guests arrive, look over the dressed table with a polishing cloth in hand to ensure everything is sparkling.

Elevate your festive lunch with champagne

Group your chilled special champagnes together for guests to choose from as they enjoy a festive summer lunch. Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV is sure to impress with its floral bouquet, refreshing fruity palate and exquisite tiny bubbles, delicious with fresh oysters on a bed of ice with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice drizzled on top. The pinot noir-dominant Drappier Carte D’Or NV is a champagne with wonderful richness and complexity and a fantastic mouthfeel that lingers onto a long finish with an intriguing spicy note. Enjoy it with green-lipped mussels in white wine and garlic butter.

There is no doubt that vintage champagnes are the most exceptional and rare of all. Made from the grapes from only one year, that year has to be the best possible quality to be declared a vintage. Such a year was 2012, and the Piper-Heidsieck Vintage 2012 is expressive, silky and radiant with aromas and flavours of stone fruit, and tangerines alongside honeysuckle and gingerbread. It’s perfect to sip as you nibble blue cheese, Gouda and prosciutto from your cheeseboard.

If you prefer your champagne blushing, then the Charles Heidsieck Rosé NV is beyond compare. Shimmering pink in the glass with aromas of red berries and rose petals, it leads into a long, beautifully balanced palate with hints of toasted brioche and the most incredible long delicious finish. Savour it with natural hot smoked salmon with dill or enjoy it alongside a sweet after lunch dessert such as fruit-topped pavlova drizzled with berry compote and fresh berries.

Sophisticated drinks trolley

As warm, sun-filled days fade into warm summer evenings, it’s the perfect time to slow down and unwind with friends, with an elegant drinks trolley close to hand. Display your favourite fresh or dried garnishes, perhaps using the Parched artisanal range of premium dehydrated fruit garnishes, alongside beautiful, practical pieces such as a decanter, glass ware, an ice bucket and other stylish barware.

Late afternoons call for a refreshing gin and tonic made with The Botanist Islay Dry Gin. Hailing from the rugged and beautiful Scottish island of Islay, this luxurious gin stimulates the taste buds with a flavour explosion across the palate. The G&T is a classic that can be served in tall glasses over ice cubes. Eschew the conventional lemon slice for a garnish of grapefruit or a freeze-dried orange slice and a sprig of rosemary for an elevated, yet simple, cocktail that will impress.

Since 1692 Taylor’s has made port in Portugal’s Douro Valley. The company is dedicated to only producing port and makes all styles of the fortified wine to the highest standard. A Late Bottle Vintage or LBV is a ruby port made solely from a single year, which is then aged in oak. The Taylor’s LBV Port 2019 is a deep ruby with aromas of intense dark bramble fruit and a powerful, yet fruit-filled palate that is warm and long. Tawny port contrasts with Ruby port’s youthful bright fruit profile with nutty and opulent flavours, aged and rich. Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port is spicy and voluptuous with a rich concentrated flavour and a mellow finish that is undeniably good. This Tawny Port is available in a gift box, if you can bear to part with it.

Rémy Martin Cognac is made from a blend of two of the most sought-after Champagne cru grapes – Petite and Grande Champagne. Founded in 1724 in the South West of France, Rémy Martin continues to stay true to the traditions that have made it the number one Cognac in France. Create the Remy Sour cocktail and transform a casual classic into a finely dressed original with Cognac Fine Champagne.

A staple in the bars of those who enjoy mixology, Cointreau is an iconic premium orange liqueur and triple sec. Created in France in 1875 by Edouard Cointreau from a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels, the flavour is smooth, sweet and unmistakable, which is why it’s a key ingredient in so many cocktails.

One of the most classic cocktails of all is the Margarita, originally created when Dallas socialite Margarita Sames mixed her two favourite spirits, Cointreau and tequila, together with lime juice while on vacation in Acapulco back in 1948. This original Margarita recipe with triple sec has stood the test of time for over 75 years. Using Cointreau orange liqueur for margarita recipes makes your drink as authentic as it was created back in 1948.

Rémy Sour

How to make:

Note: To make your own simple syrup combine equal parts caster sugar and boiling water, stirring until dissolved and cooling before use.

The Original Margarita

How to make:

Look out for these quality wines and spirits at your local retailer.