Friday Favourites - The Rosé Festival

Now, The Amazing Blog has a real treat for all you rosé fans out there. A brand new festival celebrating the beautiful pink drink is coming to London’s stunning Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch this summer. We guarantee that the inaugural launch of The Rosé Festival is not something you’ll want to miss. In fact, this is the UK's first and only festival dedicated to this beloved drink.

The event is expecting to welcome over 3,000 visitors and is taking place from Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd of July. This unique and wonderful festival will offer visitors the chance to not only sample different varieties of rosé from expert producers in all of its forms, both fizzy and still, but also learn from the producers who will share their knowledge and experience with guests. If you have always wanted to know what makes an excellent rosé, and how to distinguish between the variations of the drink then you must attend this event. We cannot stress the abundance of rosé that you’ll be surrounded by, which for many of us will be a dream come true.

However, if rosé is not your drink of choice then never fear as producers will also display a range of their other products including Ciders, Vermouths, Prosecco and other Sparkling Wines. Alongside all of this will be a vast array of carefully selected British food vendors for you to enjoy and discover. What’s more is that between every sip and bite you’ll be entertained. The festival will be hosting a mix of Shakespeare recitals, jazz bands and Opera and DJ sets, as the festival plans to welcome young, up and coming British talent. 

So if enjoying some wine, food and culture sound like your kind of day then you can purchase tickets here for £15.00. £1 of every purchase will be donated to the Geffrye Museum.

Friday Favourites - Hyper Japan

At the top of nearly everyone at The Amazing Blog’s bucket list is to travel to Japan, soak in the culture, food, sights and music. However, Japan isn't just down the road and prices for trips easily enter the thousands, so we have an exciting way for you to get your J-culture fix closer to home; Hyper Japan. Since 2010 this 3-day festival has been giving Londoners a much-needed jolt of Japanese culture. This year it is running from 14th to 16th July.

With over 100 exhibitors at Hyper Japan, expect a sensory overload. You can revel in both Japanese nostalgia and edgy futurism while watching self-produced chiptune TORIENA, who programs her music using two game boys. TOROIENA will even be teaching a class, so you’ll be able to create some unique sounds using your favourite retro devices.  Or if this isn’t your cup of saki why not enjoy KAIEN’s musical performance that incorporates dance, video and 3D holograms for an experience like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Marvel at the Kawaii fashion show, and discover and then shop the cute anime-inspired looks, or explore the Game & Anime Park with an area dedicated to the much loved Nintendo. Japan is famous for its advanced technology, and you can catch a glimpse of it here with the Handroid (hand robot!) demonstration. If you want something a little more traditional, you can try your hand doing some calligraphy, learning origami and making authentic kokeshi dolls. 

If Japanese cuisine gets your taste buds tingling, you'll be thrilled to hear that Hyper Japan has a whole designated EAT-JAPAN section. The food court offers much to choose from, from katsu curry, to maki, to poke bowls, to Sticky Bundits (those rice burgers you may have seen circling Instagram), you really will be spoilt for choice. You can even learn the art of cooking Japanese food here, with a wasabi pizza workshop and a curry workshop, or if you're a dab hand at Japanese cuisine, there is a sushi roll competition.

For your fill of Japanese fun and food click here and purchase your tickets. General entry tickets for Friday and Saturday are £15.00. Tickets for entry after 2.30pm and all Sunday are £17.00. A 3-day pass for the full weekend will cost £43.00. We look forward to seeing you there. 

Friday Favourites Irish Alcohol

We at The Amazing Blog were lucky enough to be guests of Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), at their Spirit of Sharing event at the Irish Consulate earlier this year. Bord Bia brought together 20 Irish drinks companies to introduce them to the UK market, and we have picked an initial few here of our favourites that we discovered (we'll be featuring a few more later in the summer for you to read about). It is no secret that Ireland is renowned for its quality alcoholic drinks - from Cider to Whiskey to Irish Cream, and Bord Bia presented some drinks that are truly authentic in quality, history and flavour. 

For all you who want lower alcohol content without compromising on taste then do we have the perfect drink for you; Finnbarra's Tobairín. This cider is crisp and light, ideal for a mid-day drink with lunch in the hot sunshine. Despite being just 1.5%abv the cider’s complexity and character doesn't suffer in any way. Light in colour, the drink has a distinguished ‘nose’ and a smoothness which is in part due to the naturally cultured champagne yeast included in the recipe. 

The apples in the cider are meticulously selected and are grown elsewhere in Ireland as the distillery is located by the sea which is not good for the growth of apples. This careful selection process helps the cider remain crisp and pristine.  Everything about this drink has been carefully selected, including the name. Tobar means “well” (as in wishing well) and “ín” means small or light, coming together as Tobairín. 

So, if you are looking for a low alcohol, refreshing and almost champagne-like tasting beverage, then this is the one for you. 

As Finnbarra is currently looking for a distributor if you would like more information on pricing or to find your local stockist you can contact them at info@finnbarra.com

Another cider from Finnbarra has made it onto our list, and it’s Stonewell Tawny. If you enjoy a more opulent and rich cider, you should look no further than this delightfully dark drink. This viscous cider possesses a blend of complex bittersweet flavours that is deliciously moreish. The cider is created by chaptalizing the blends of Michelin and Dabinett apple juice while it ferments. Once the fermentation is complete, and the alcohol content reaches 15% Stonewell arrest the fermentation. This leaves residual sugars which encourage the developments of the cider's highly complex flavours to flourish during the minimum 12-month ageing process. 

The Tawny cider is produced in incredibly small quantities, around 3000 litres a year. Each bottle is sealed with food grade beeswax and an individual label identifying the bottle number.  This is a still cider and perfect for a leisurely picnic in the sun, as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to cheese or desserts. This cider reminded us a little of Calvados.

As Finnbarra/Stonewell is currently looking for a distributor, should you want more information on pricing information, or to find your local stockist you can contact them at info@finnbarra.com

Now,  when one thinks about Irish alcohol, Irish Cream is always one of the first to come to mind, and for us, Feeney’s Irish Cream is a really good example. Feeney’s know that to create the freshest and richest tasting Irish Cream you need to look after and nurture the cows being milked. It is this belief that has given their products the high-quality taste and has helped them win award after award; including a 2015 Platinum Sip Award and a 2015 Great Taste Award.

The cream produced by these pampered cows is then combined with a fine three-year-old barrel aged Irish whiskey. All of this careful selection leads to a scrumptious product where every sip tastes sweet, creamy and indulgent. This is delicious on its own, but our favourite way to enjoy Feeney's is to pour some over a bowl of vanilla ice cream!

Trust us, you cannot go wrong with this drink and you can purchase it here from Tesco for £15.50

For those of you looking for a delicious, traditional and aged whiskey then we recommend you try Hyde. Made in County Cork on the wild Atlantic Southwest Coast of Ireland, Hyde is producing some beautiful smooth Irish Whiskeys using traditional old age craft techniques. The family have been involved in the drinks business for over 12 generations since 1640, so you know that when they say they use traditional methods, you know that they truly do. 

Originally distilled in a traditional copper pot still, Hyde Irish Whiskey is double matured. We particularly love the Sherry Finish, which is a single malt aged in flame-charred, first fill, 200l oak bourbon barrel (giving a sweet vanilla flavour), before being transferred to a vintage Oloroso sherry cask for the final ten months. The sherry casks add a nutty, spice and dried fruit flavour to the last dram. The barrels and casks chosen are significant; as they put it, it’s all about the wood! Named after Ireland's first President, Douglas Hyde, the whiskey has an exceptional quality befitting its presidential namesake. Made in small, handcrafted and limited batches each sip of Hyde whiskey is filled with character. 

You can purchase a bottle for yourself here for £50.88
 

And Finally, but by no means least, for all of you honey whiskey fans out there is The Dubliner’s Honeycomb Whiskey. The Dubliner Whiskey and Honeycomb is a delicious blend of welcoming Irish Whiskey and honeycomb and caramel flavours, which have a smooth and easy finish. The Dubliner’s value the importance of the ingredients that are in their whiskeys, as such they use only the best ingredients in their products. As they say, “only the best goes in, no exceptions, no substitutions.” 

This whiskey was created by John Drennan and is one to savour and share. We guarantee you will want more, as the warm whiskey tones blended with the soft sweet honeycomb and caramel are incredibly potent!

You can purchase a bottle to share with friends here for £19.95

All of these brands are wonderfully authentic and have created some truly delicious and refreshing products for you to enjoy. We guarantee that all of them will help bring an added sparkle and Irish flavour to your next summer event! So what are you waiting for, purchase yourself and your friends a bottle or two now. 

Chocolate Sun Giveaway

If you are anything like us at The Amazing Blog, then the recent heat wave has inspired you to get your legs out and develop a desirable tan. However, if you still connect with us, then that sun-kissed glow is hard to come by without a little help! We have been big fans of Chocolate Sun’s Cocoa Glow for years now, having previously reviewed them on The Amazing Blog here. If you were intrigued then, or are now; and want the golden chance to win a bottle of this tanning goodness, read on!

This is a real treat we wish we could enter as Chocolate Sun is the creator of the very first organic sunless tanning solution. A favourite among LA locals, beauty editors, industry experts and celebrities alike; their products nurture your skin while giving a beautiful and natural glow. They have a cult following and have won countless awards receiving Allures “Best of…” for ten years in a row. Unlike other chemical infused tanning products, Chocolate Sun only makes beauty items that are free of minerals, petrochemicals, sulphates and are vegan and cruelty-free which implies that you can feel and look good simultaneously. Before we get into the details of the giveaway, let us give you a little insight into why this is so exciting. Chocolate Sun products are ideal for self-tanning novices and tanning enthusiasts who want to prolong their existing tan. Their products are made with a blend of organically grown wild botanic herbs which exude beneficial, nurturing and hydrating properties. 

Chocolate Sun offers a range of gorgeous self-tanners. Their best seller is the fabulous Cocoa Face and Body Tanning Cream which is a rich and nourishing body cream with a base of Shea Butter and Coconut Oil that gives the products a delicious chocolatey aroma. The Cocoa Face and Body Tanning Cream is available in three tones; ‘Lite’ for fair-medium skin which gives a subtle hint of colour, ‘Glow’ for all skin tones to give a gorgeous natural glow to the skin, and ‘Absolute’ for a deeper, just back from holiday look. Also in the range is Cocoa Illume Face Gel, which uses Aloe as a base to nourish and calm delicate facial skin. It's lightweight formula leaves your face with an instant glow that develops to give you an even sun-kissed look. Finally the Cocoa Illume Sunless Tanning Face Gel. Each product contains Shea Butter and Coconut Oil which gives the products a delicious chocolatey fragrance. The Cocoa Illume Face Gel is available for fair-medium skin tone and medium to dark skin tones. The product uses Aloe as a base to protect delicate facial skin. With its lightly scented light-weight formula, it will leave your face with an instant glow that develops quickly into giving you even sun-kissed skin. Cocoa Fleur has the lightest formula in the collection and is available in three tones. Due to its lightness, this is the perfect product for quick touch-ups or, to gradually build up a tan. What is more, the product helps to enhance and extend existing tans. 

Now to the competition; we are offering you the chance to win your very own Coco Glow, which is a cult best seller. This product will leave your body with a golden brown, natural and enviable tan within 6-8 hours. A Beautiful World, the exclusive distributor of Chocolate Sun in the UK, has been very kind enough to provide this wonder-product to one lucky winner. To win your very own full-size bottle of this tanning miracle, you only have to follow a few simple steps:
1)    Follow or Like both Amazing PR and A Beautiful World on Twitter or Facebook
2)   Email your name and address to info@theamazingblog.co.uk within 24 hours. We will only pick a winner who sends us their information by 13.00 tomorrow.

We will announce the winner at 15.00 Monday (03/07/17) - Good Luck! :)

3/07/17- CONGRATULATIONS TO Natasha Gregory who has won our giveaway. :)

Alfred Hitchcock - Friday Favourites

The Amazing Blog has a major treat for all you film buffs! This June, the South Bank Centre in London is hosting a tribute to the one and only Alfred Hitchcock. We could not be more excited for the events on offer, which include special and once in a lifetime opportunities.

On the 23rd of June as part of their Classical Season, The South Bank Centre will be screening the cinematic masterpiece that has ruined hotel showers for people around the world, Psycho. Alongside the screening, Robert Ziegler will be conducting Bernard Herrmann’s spine-tingling score with the London Philharmonic. We can’t think of a better way to bring Psycho alive than to watch it on screen and have the iconic score played by one of the world's best orchestras. This is a  truly unique evening, and one we think is worth far more than the £20 a ticket costs. 

If this piques your film and music interests and you want to delve deeper and acquaint yourself with the process of the famous aquiline director, then on the 24th of June, for only £25, the South Bank Centre will also be screening a special documentary called What You Need to Know: Alfred Hitchcock. The documentary will look at how Hitchcock’s films use music as an essential tool to create the unbearable tension they are famed for. It will specifically focus on his collaboration with composer Bernard Herrmann, who he worked with to create the scores for the previously mentioned Psycho as well as Vertigo.  

We certainly cannot think of a better way to spend the weekend, perfect to go to either alone, with friends or on a date. These events encapsulate everything that makes London life fabulous; entertainment, culture and fun. You can purchase tickets to the screening of Psycho here for £20 and for What You Need To Know: Alfred Hitchcock here for £25.