Do you remember that chap Heston Blumenthal? Bald head, funny glasses, used to make all kinds of odd things to eat on the telly?
Now of course gin is still in, no longer regarded as grandma’s odd choice of drink it is beloved by the kind of people who chase trends and then drop them as quickly when a new one comes along.
Heston however has not gone down the route of seeing what bizarre things he can label’botanicals’ or of creating the gin in the most unlikely part of the country he could come up with.
No, he has come up with a gin that makes a cocktail simply easier to create. Waitrose Citrus Sherbet Lazy Gin is an apple-based gin, a nice touch, that has botanicals such as lemon verbena, lemon thyme, basil, eureka lemons, Persian lime, liquorice root, lemon and pink grapefruit peel and a touch of sherbet, as advertised.
The idea is that with just Fever-tree Mediterranean Tonic water and, if you insist, ice but you don’t need a lemon slice, you get a great G&T with ease.
Well we cracked open a bottle and had a sniff and yes, definitely citrus and sherbet.
Memories flooded back of childhood Sherbet Fountains, the ones with the liquorice straw. that always clogged up encouraging you to tip the open packet straight into your mouth and then do a very realistic impression of a rabies victim in their last moments of life.
Apart from using Fever Tree the big man also recommends adding the tonic as late as possible and using a wide-brimmed glass for the aromas to do their job. We tried it all and yes, it’s a very good G&T made easy.
Heston’s big on childhood memories for effect, he’s the Peter Kay of cooking. It works well for both of them so if you’re thinking of buying someone a Peter Kay box set for Xmas why not change the game and get them a bottle of Waitrose Citrus Sherbet Lazy Gin instead?
The Heston from Waitrose Citrus Sherbet Lazy Gin, (£24.99/70cl)