Good Food
type: channel
link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com
date: 2025-05-28T14:40:58.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: The best Irish whiskey to buy 2025, taste tested
items: The best pink gins taste tested 2025
items: Best sloe gin, taste tested by experts 2025
items: The best Scotch whisky for Burns Night and beyond
items: The best Japanese whisky taste tested
items: The best spiced rum taste tested 2025
items: The best flavoured vodka taste tested 2024
items: The best cocktail shakers
items: Waterford The Cuvée whisky review
items: Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors whiskey review

The best Irish whiskey to buy 2025, taste tested
type: item
date: 2025-05-28T14:40:14.000Z
creator: Jonathan Hatchman
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: Ireland
subject: Irish
subject: Richard Davie
subject: single malt
subject: St Patrick's day
subject: Whiskey
subject: whiskey review
subject: Whisky
description: Read our expert review of the best Irish whiskey to buy. Find grain, single malt and single pot still varieties in our list of top buys.
encoded: There are currently a huge swathe of Irish whiskies out there reinventing, challenging, subverting, defying or simply exceeding the stereotype of the spirit only being suitable as a shot or chaser. Irish whiskey has had a turbulent history of highs and lows, but today the Irish whiskey industry is undoubtedly exciting. From big Irish whiskey brands such as Bushmills to small new distilleries, drinks expert Richard Davies has taste tested and reviewed the best Irish whiskies on the market in-depth in order to find the best whiskies to buy for you. The classic flavours and qualities associated with Irish whiskey are of a light, smooth spirit that still retains complexity and depth. You will often find fruit, especially apple, banana and pear. Vanilla, cinnamon, black pepper and nutmeg all pop up amongst the spicy edges. The sweetness can vary from very light to rich and dark. Quite often the whiskey will have a mouth-coating oiliness far greater than the spirit’s heft might suggest. The one thing you will very rarely find in Irish whiskey is smoke or peat. Connemara is a notable exception, and other distilleries have put out peated whiskies, but it is not a common feature. Our drinks expert Richard Davies is a writer, barman and brewer with roots in home-brewing. With Miriam Nice, he co-wrote The Art of Drinking Sober. When he's not making his own beer and cocktails, he works at award-winning micro pub The Beer Shop. The perfect bottle of Irish whiskey is excellent sipped neat, but we’ve got plenty of whiskey recipes to help you use it up too. Try a classic old fashioned or Irish coffee, stir up decadent homemade Irish cream with plenty of dulce de leche or shake a quirky Brown Derby with grapefruit juice and honey. For more, visit our reviews section to find more than 400 practical buyer's guides, including taste tests of the best gin, vodka, rum and brandy, plus round-ups of the best whiskies from around the world including best English whiskies, best Japanese whisk…

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The best pink gins taste tested 2025
type: item
date: 2025-05-07T09:10:53.000Z
creator: Richard Davie – Drinks writer
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: best gin
subject: flavoured gin
subject: Gin
subject: Gin cocktail
subject: gin recipe
subject: pink gin
subject: rhubarb gin
subject: Richard Davie
description: Flavoured with fruit such as rhubarb and raspberry, pink gin is an on-trend spirit – see the results of our taste test, plus find pink gin cocktail inspiration.
encoded: It used to be that when you ordered a pink gin, you'd get a dry gin with a splash of Angostura bitters. This was traditionally a bracing naval drink. Now, pink gin is a fruity, often sweet, aromatic drink that’s meant to be enjoyed with plenty of tonic – more Aperol spritz in nature than neat spirit. Purists may resent the change of definition, but, when done well, today's pink gin is a great addition to the range of gins available. From pale blush pink gins that use rose petals within their selected aromatics, to deeply rosy gins infused with juicy berries, or pale and tart pink grapefruit or rhubarb creations, pink gins can vary widely. You can even think of pink gins as you would think of rosé: varying in depth of colour and sweetness levels, there’s a different style to suit everyone. Read on to discover which pink gins to buy, plus find pink gin cocktail ideas. For a memorable gin gift or if you want to try something new, check out our picks of the top 5 most unusual gins we've tried, including apple crumble and seaweed gins. For more, visit our reviews section to find more than 200 practical buyers' guides, including taste tests of gin, vodka, rum and brandy, plus round-ups of the best rhubarb gins and citrus gins. Best pink gins at a glance Best raspberry pink gin: Pinkster gin, £37.62 Best old-fashioned pink gin: That Boutique-y Gin Company proper pink gin, £30.95 Best pink gin liqueur: Jawbox rhubarb and ginger gin liqueur, £26 Best Italian pink gin: Malfy gin rosa, £32 Best sweet pink gin: Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger gin, £29.75 Best exotic pink gin: Bloom jasmine and rose gin, £34.50 Best small-batch gin: Henley Gin Rhubarb and Orange, £40 Best floral pink gin: Cotswolds No 1 Wildflower Gin, £38.50 Best pink gin for gifting: Mermaid Pink Gin, £40 Best strawberry pink gin: Warner's strawberry & rose gin, £38.50 Best affordable pink gin: Whitley Neill pink grapefruit gin, £26.49 Jump to: What is pink gin? Best pink gins to buy How we tested pink gins W…

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Best sloe gin, taste tested by experts 2025
type: item
date: 2025-05-01T14:02:11.000Z
creator: Richard Davie – Drinks writer
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: best gin to buy
subject: best sloe gin
subject: best spirits
subject: best supermarket gin
subject: Christmas gift
subject: Christmas present
subject: Gift
subject: Richard Davie
description: We’ve reviewed sloe gin to bring you our best buys, from traditional bottles to modern riffs on this classic flavoured spirit. Discover the results of our taste test.
encoded: Sloe gin, that most traditional of British liqueurs, is going from strength to strength at the moment. There are producers big and small putting out excellent bottles, including some intriguing variations on the drink we think we know. Now is a great time to reacquaint yourself with the fruit of the blackthorn. Sloe gin can vary from bold, spiced, autumnal bottles to lighter, sweeter varieties. Once you've chosen your bottle, check out our selection of easy sloe gin cocktail recipes to make the most of this unique flavour. Try an elegant sloe royale or botanical cocktail with juniper syrup. Not just for cocktails, you can also add a dash of sloe gin to savoury dishes - serve sloe gin cranberry sauce at Christmas or a classic venison with sloe gin sauce. For a comfort food pud, our sloe gin and fruit sponge puddings recipe is ideal served with plenty of custard. Our drinks expert Richard Davie is a writer, barman and brewer with roots in home-brewing. With Miriam Nice, he co-wrote The Art of Drinking Sober. When he's not making his own beer and cocktails, he works at award-winning micro pub The Beer Shop. He's selected the best sloe gins to try, on a range of prices from £20-£40, so that you can find the perfect bottle to suit you, whether you're after a warm spicy variety, sweet liqueur or rich and fruity option. For more, visit our reviews section to find more than 200 practical buyer's guides, including taste tests of vodka, rum and brandy, plus plenty more gin round-ups from rhubarb gin to citrus gin. Best sloe gin to buy at a glance Best budget-friendly sloe gin: Bathtub sloe gin, £30.95 Best small batch sloe gin: The Boatyard Distillery sloe boat gin, £34.50 Best classic sloe gin: Warner's sloe gin, £31.75 Best for drinking on its own: Sipsmith sloe gin, £30 Best organic sloe gin: Hernö sloe gin, £41.95 Best aged sloe gin: Sacred organic sloe gin, £38.85 Best eco-friendly sloe gin: Beckett’s sloe gin, £36.67 Best sloe gin liqueur: Foxdenton sloe gin liqueur, £2…

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The best Scotch whisky for Burns Night and beyond
type: item
date: 2025-04-10T15:18:03.000Z
creator: Jonathan Hatchman
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: best whiskey
subject: Burns night
subject: Richard Davie
subject: Scottish
subject: single malt whisky
subject: Whiskey
subject: Whisky
description: Read our expert guide to the best whisky Scotland has to offer for every occasion, from Burns Night to first footing. Whether it’s supermarket bargains or the best of independent distilleries, our Scotch taste tests include single malts and more
encoded: The world of Scotch whisky is varied and occasionally intimidating, ranging from the light and heathery to the smoky and medicinal, with a huge gamut in-between. While a lot of distilleries were closed down or mothballed in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a recent Scotch whisky revival. Some exciting new entrants are rubbing shoulders with distilleries centuries old to produce this illustrious spirit drink, rivalled only by fine wine for depth. Here is an introductory stroll through our choice of the best Scottish whisky – perfect for drinking with your haggis, neeps and tatties on Burns Night. We’ve included a range of price points from £30-80 a bottle, as well as styles, so whether you’re new to the world of Scotch or know exactly what you like, we’ve got a regional spirit for everybody. All the Scotch whiskies below have been chosen and tested by our drinks expert Richard Davie. Richard is a writer, barman and brewer with roots in home-brewing. He co-wrote The Art of Drinking Sober with Miriam Nice. When he’s not making his own beer and cocktails, Richard works at award-winning micro pub The Beer Shop. He has previously written round-ups of the best Irish whiskey and best Japanese whisky for Good Food. For more drinks product reviews, see our buyer’s guides to craft whisky, classic whisky, bourbon and much more in our dedicated reviews section with over 400 expert reviews. Jump to: What is Scotch whisky? What is the difference between Irish and Scotch whisky? Best Scotch whisky to buy 2025 Best Scotch whisky to buy at a glance Best gentle Scotch: Glenkinchie 12 year old, £45.75 Best sherry cask aged Scotch: The Dalmore 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Select, £79.99 Best young Scotch: Wolfburn Northland, £46.90 Best peat Scotch: Highland Park 12 year old, £45.61 Best classic Scotch: Benromach 10 year old, £41.95 Best smoky whisky: Ardbeg 10 year old, £48 Best long aged whisky: Lagavulin 16 year old, £83.50 Best independent whisky: Gordon & MacPhail Discovery Miltonduf…

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The best Japanese whisky taste tested
type: item
date: 2025-04-10T13:08:48.000Z
creator: Richard Davie – Drinks writer
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: Richard Davie
subject: Whisky
subject: whisky cocktail
subject: whisky cocktails
subject: whisky sour
description: Read our expert review of the best Japanese whisky. We taste-tested bottles of this complex spirit to bring you our recommended buys.
encoded: Even 10 or 20 years ago, Japanese whisky was something of a niche amongst a very small set of aficionados. The mere existence of Japanese whisky might be a surprise to the mainstream drinker, despite the best of it being as complex and refined as anything being put out by the Scots. Today, Japanese whisky-makers find themselves held in the highest regard around the world, laden with awards and struggling to keep up with demand. Japanese whisky is deeply influenced by Scotch whisky in many ways, but has grown and developed into something that is very much its own beast. As with scotch, there are differences between the output of distilleries that reflect the equipment, methods and local climate. Distillers play with process in a way that many Scottish operations may not, experimenting with yeasts and fermentation times to great effect. Here, our drinks experts Richard Davie and Jonathan Hatchman have selected the best Japanese whisky to buy, covering a range of styles and prices from under £40 to an investment £160. Read on for our in-depth reviews. For over 400 buyer’s guides, visit our reviews section and find taste tests of gin, vodka, tequila, rum, whisky and much more. Best Japanese whisky to buy at a glance Best well-known Japanese whisky: Nikka Days whisky, £37.49 Best light Japanese whisky: The Chita Suntory whisky, £72 Best intense Japanese whisky: Taketsuru pure malt, Nikka whisky, £69.31 Best luxury Japanese whisky: Hakushu 12-year-old single malt, Suntory whisky, £160 Best mizunara cask aged Japanese whisky: Ichiro's Malt Mizunara Wood Reserve, £99.95 Best Japanese whisky for Scotch lovers: Mars Maltage 'Cosmo' whisky, £61.50 Best Japanese whisky for whisky beginners: From The Barrel, Nikka whisky, £52 Best blended Japanese whisky: Hibiki Japanese Harmony, Suntory whisky, £74.99 Best classic Japanese-style whisky: Yoichi single malt, Nikka whisky, £77.25 Best for pairing with food: Miyagikyo single malt, Nikka whisky, £77.25 Jump to: What is different abo…

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The best spiced rum taste tested 2025
type: item
date: 2025-01-09T12:00:40.000Z
creator: Ian Burrell
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: best rum
subject: best spiced rum
subject: best spirits
subject: craft rum
subject: Ian Burrell
subject: spiced rum
subject: spiced rum review
description: If you love rum, you're sure to be a fan of spiced rum. Find your next favourite bottle with our top must-try buys.
encoded: They say that rum is the new gin but in reality, it's spiced rums that are the new gins. These rums are made similarly to normal rum in that they are distilled from a byproduct of sugarcane – however, once flavours, spices or extra sugar are added to a rum, it becomes a rum liqueur, flavoured rum or spiced rum. Spiced rums can vary in style: from intensely sweet to varieties where the spice adds a touch of heat. Notes of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg are common from the spices, giving a toffee sweetness to the finished spirit. With ageing, this may mature into deeper treacle or malt flavours. Complex varieties may add elements of smoke, coffee – there is plenty of room for experimenting and innovation. The Caribbean feels like the home of spiced rum, with some of our top picks below using rums or spices from St Lucia, Barbados and more. Spiced rum is a versatile spirit – sip neat, add simple mixers like lemonade or coca-cola, or use in classic rum cocktails to add even more flavour. Our hot cinnamon butter rum recipe is a winter warmer, whilst in summer try this pink gin iced tea for refreshment packed with flavour. With an amazing array of spices available to enhance the many rums on the market today, it's no wonder that this subcategory of the sugar cane spirit is becoming so popular. Our drinks experts Ian Burrell and Richard Davie have selected their top picks of the best spiced rum, covering prices from £21-33, to find a bottle to suit everyone. Whether you're looking for a spiced rum to mix into cocktails, prefer a heavily spiced style or are looking for something unique, our selection covers it all. For more unbiased expert buyers' guides, visit our reviews section to find 400+ round-ups of everything from the best gin and whisky to mezcal and pisco. Best spiced rum to buy at a glance Best spiced rum for cocktails: Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum, £21.99 Best Caribbean spiced rum: Chairman's Reserve spiced rum, £29.49 Best aged rum: Don Q oak barrel spiced rum, …

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The best flavoured vodka taste tested 2024
type: item
date: 2024-03-08T10:45:57.000Z
creator: Lucy Roxburgh
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: best spirits
subject: best vodka
subject: boozy gift
subject: flavoured spirits
subject: Flavoured vodka
subject: Gift
subject: Richard Davie
subject: Spirit
subject: Vodka
description: With variations including salted caramel, fruit and chilli on the shelves, vodka is knocking it out of the park in the innovation stakes. Read on for our expert picks of the best flavoured vodka
encoded: Flavoured vodka isn't necessarily always a term to bring joy to many people's hearts. Memories may exist of luminous jars of sweet-steeped booze lingering behind the bar to entrap unwary students, but this is seldom the case anymore. Possibly not as heralded as the craft gin and independent whisky revivals, but just as heartening, is the sight of vodka distillers experimenting with interesting ingredients and methods. Alongside the familiar big vodka brands such as Smirnoff, Absolut and Ciroc are smaller artisan producers getting creative with new bottles. Flavoured vodka is perfect for cocktails: the comparatively neutral flavour of vodka makes it great for carrying bolder flavours, such as fruits, spices or aromatic infusions. For example, try vanilla vodka in a French martini or use fragrant vanilla vodka in a tropical Waterloo sunset cocktail. Fruit-flavoured vodkas are the most common flavoured vodkas: our list encompasses everything from zesty citrus vodkas to juicy berry or summery peach. The options don’t stop there, however. Flavoured vodka offers a chance for artisans to get creative – we’ve tried everything from spicy chilli vodka to smooth strawberry or subtle elderflower. Drinks expert Richard Davie is a writer, barman and brewer with roots in home-brewing. With Miriam Nice, he co-wrote The Art of Drinking Sober. When he's not making his own beer and cocktails, he works at award-winning micro pub The Beer Shop. Find him on Instagram @richarddaviebrews. Good Food’s E-Commerce and Reviews Editor Lucy Roxburgh is WSET Level 2-qualified and writes a range of drinks reviews for Good Food, including best cocktail subscriptions, best gins to give as gifts and best flavoured vodkas. Read on to discover all their picks for the best flavoured vodkas that take advantage of the drink's versatility and its ability to act as a canvas for flavours both bold and subtle. For more, visit our reviews section to find more than 200 practical buyer's guides, including taste …

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The best cocktail shakers
type: item
date: 2023-11-30T17:19:57.000Z
creator: Lucy Roxburgh
subject: Drinks
subject: Review
subject: boston shaker
subject: cobbler shaker
subject: Cocktail
subject: cocktail mixer
subject: Cocktail recipe
subject: Cocktails
subject: How to make cocktails
subject: manhattan shaker
subject: Richard Davie
description: Partial to a spot of home mixology? Read our expert review of the best cocktail shakers, where we explain the difference between cobbler, Boston and French shakers
encoded: If you like making your own cocktails at home or are bouncing around some home bar ideas, chances are you'll require a shaker. While some cocktails can be stirred (like a manhattan) or muddled (a technique perhaps made most famous by the mighty mojito), lots of them need a more vigorous mix. This is where a cocktail shaker comes in. Here, we explain the difference between three popular cocktail shaker styles – cobbler, Boston and French – and bring you our favourite products for each category. Happy mixing! Check out our reviews section for plenty more reviews including drinks recommendations taste tested by experts: browse our picks of the best flavoured vodka or best flavoured gin to get started on your cocktail journey, choose one of our best ice cube trays to keep your drinks cool or take a look at our best gifts for cocktail lovers for fun additions to your bar cart collection. Jump to: Best cocktail shakers to buy What is a cobbler or Manhattan cocktail shaker? What is a Boston cocktail shaker? What is a French cocktail shaker? Best cocktail shakers to buy at a glance Best basic cobbler cocktail shaker: ProCook cocktail shaker, £12.95 Best cobbler cocktail set: VonShef Manhattan silver cocktail set, £17.99 Best complete cocktail set: John Lewis ANYDAY stainless steel cocktail set, £35 Best cobbler shaker for gifting: Matilda Goad & Co. cocktail shaker, £48 Best basic Boston cocktail shaker: DrinkStuff Boston cocktail shaker set, £6.99 Best cocktail set for displaying: Mixology & Craft cocktail shaker set, £29.99 Best simple French shaker: Beaumont Mezclar copper-plated French shaker, £23.62 Best French cocktail shaker set: VonShef 9-piece Parisian cocktail set, from £22.99 Best modern cocktail shaker: Nordic Nest Rocks shaker, £32.76 Best luxury cobbler cocktail shaker: Rusty Barrel Mayfair cocktail shaker set, £45 Best cocktail shakers to buy 2023 ProCook cocktail shaker Available from ProCook (£12.95) Best basic cocktail shaker This simple cocktail shaker is…

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Waterford The Cuvée whisky review
type: item
date: 2022-04-07T15:53:02.000Z
creator: Richard Davie – Drinks writer
subject: Review
description: A spicy single malt, read more about Waterford The Cuvée whisky
encoded: Waterford Distillery is the brainchild of Mark Reynier, whose previous career encompasses 20 years in the wine trade, before taking on the then-abandoned Bruichladdich distillery in 2000. In 2015 Reynier announced the launch of Waterford Distillery, believing that Waterford has the best barley in the world. Whilst distillation and maturation are commonly judged more than terroir (the idea that the same plant sown in different places will produce different results based on the soil, wider landscape, weather, climate around it) in the world of spirits, Reynier believes these differences can be tasted to create exceptional whiskies. Reynier bought a large, modern Guinness brewery and recruited nearly a hundred barley farmers across southeast Ireland to build up a patchwork of varying terroir, barley varieties and cultivation methods. Each farm’s contribution is tracked and kept separate at all times, from grain to malt, new spirit and whisky. That they stick with 'whisky', not 'whiskey' is a hint that Waterford double distil (rather than triple, as is common in Ireland), presumably to retain more malt character. There are now several Waterford whiskies to choose from. There is the Single Farm Origin line, each release a snapshot of the land it came from. The Arcadian Series highlights organic, biodynamic and heritage barley offerings. Then there are The Cuvées, which are built from the breadth of whiskies now available to Waterford in the manner of winemakers. As Waterford grow and mature their stocks, expect this to be the core of their bottlings. Impossible to tell until it leaves the distinctive blue bottles all Waterford’s releases share, The Cuvée pours a pale gold. On the nose you get lots of spice – ginger, vanilla and pepper, a light barley character, floral notes and a touch of lemon. The palate brings in fresh mint, lots of pepper and then some chocolate notes, biscuity sweetness and ginger on an oily mouthfeel. There’s an intensity to the finish, with pepper…

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Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors whiskey review
type: item
date: 2022-04-07T11:30:46.000Z
creator: Richard Davie – Drinks writer
subject: Review
description: Discover more about Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors whiskey, a peated, triple-distilled single malt aged in bourbon casks
encoded: Buy now from Spirits Kiosk (£44.95), Master of Malt (£44.95) Two Stacks is the brainchild of Ireland Craft Beverages, which started in 2014 as distributors and exporters of the then-nascent Irish craft beer scene. The massive impact of covid-19 encouraged the establishment of Two Stacks. As a new operation, Two Stacks acts as blenders, with a keen eye as to what finishing in an unexpected cask can do to an already aged whiskey. Its range divides neatly between a core collection of The First Cut, The Blender’s Cut and Smoke & Mirrors, plus a rotating array of limited releases to flaunt its more experimental side, such as an apricot brandy cask finish. The Smoke & Mirrors whiskey shines a light on peat, which is under-represented in Irish whiskey. Here, Two Stacks has moved away from blending with pot still and grain, and instead gone entirely with single malts. Three parts is a peated, triple-distilled single malt aged in bourbon casks; one part double-distilled single malt aged in first-fill bourbon casks; and the last six parts are triple-distilled and finished in casks used to age imperial stout. As Two Stacks eschews colouring (and chill-filtering), the whiskey is a lighter gold than a turn in a stout barrel might suggest. On the nose, there’s a good hit of peat and roast coffee, then a softer chocolate note. Adjusting to that, you'll pick up fruits: apple, pear, some tropical elements and a creamy sweetness. To drink, the smoke and roasty side are more delicate than expected and the creaminess allies with the chocolate, as the fruit tends toward baked and luscious. Vanilla, clove and cinnamon add interest. The finish is more smooth chocolate, coffee roastiness and dark, dried fruit – the smoke lingers on a while. Highly enjoyable, this is a delightful Irish whiskey, with enough depth to marry to a peat side and have neither lose out. While this is very much a whiskey that can sipped neat, it would also work well in a black manhattan cocktail. Buy now from Spirit…

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