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. :)

Evanesce Crème - Evanesce

Coconut Oil has very much become the beauty product du jour. With its versatility, the oil can be used to nourish skin, smooth hair and even whiten and strengthen teeth! Now, The Amazing Blog loves a multi-tasking wonder product as much as the next sane person. There is still a very common problem when a product grows in popularity, which is that it gets watered down and mixed with a million other ingredients to help with mass production and save money. All of this can stop the product from being as effective as it can be. However, we recently came across Evanesce who produce Evanesce Crème which is a cosmetic grade, 100% pure, organic virgin coconut oil. It is exactly what it says it is on the luxurious matte black glass jar!

Evanesce only use the finest ingredients, by picking only mature coconuts from organically certified groves, before carefully sorting them and using an ultra-cold process to extract the oil. This result is a pure form of coconut oil that absorbs quickly into the skin and has a delicate aroma that fades leaving the skin soft and supple. What’s more, the Evanesce Crème has incredibly high levels of Lauric Acid and Anti-Oxidants which helps skin heal faster and reduces signs of ageing. The raw, organic virgin oil is vegan and cruelty-free, meaning it’s as guilt-free as it is effective! Each jar comes with a small 14-page leaflet explaining the various uses of the product, meaning that you can get the absolute most from your miracle in a jar. 

You can purchase the Evanesce Crème here for £29.00 and shipping is free for all orders in the UK!

Paw Paw & Quinoa Colour Radiance Shampoo and Conditioner by Natural World.

At The Amazing Blog, we know what a pain it can be when your hair colour begins to fade, especially if you go into considerable costs to have the colour added in the first place! It can feel pointless to fight this struggle at times as often nothing seems able to prevent the fading, and some hair care products even increase its progression. Therefore, searching for a product that will act as a remedy to this problem is a priority of ours. Thankfully, we came across Natural World in this quest to evade the bland. Their new organic Paw Paw and Quinoa Colour Radiance Shampoo and Conditioner is remarkable, it could not only keep our hair soft and smooth but it also helped to prolong the life of our hair colour all the way up to our next touch-up!

The organic Paw Paw Oil helps to both revive, re-live and maintain the gloss that colouring can strip away; while the protein packed Quinoa Extract is the star ingredient that helps maintain the colour – who knew there was another reason to love quinoa. The four essential oils (Rosemary, Lemongrass, Orange and Ylang Ylang) give the products a beautiful and fruity scent which you won't be able to get enough of. Our hair was visibly softer and shinier as the shampoo and conditioner aided in keeping hair hydrated. 95% of the product is made from naturally derived ingredients, and these gentle, but powerful ingredients allow the products to fight the ill-effects of dying without stripping the dye away! The products are free of parabens, phosphates, phthalates, dyes and gluten – so you know the high magnitude of safe and natural ingredients that your hair is in close contact with.

So if you are worried about the lifespan of your hair colour, you can purchase the shampoo here for £6.00 and the conditioner here for £6.00 which is a wise and worthy investment for treating and maintaining the colour and lustre of your hair. 

Oregano Oil Soft Gels and Oregano Mouthwash - Zane Hellas

It will come as no surprise to anyone that The Amazing Blog love supplements and the added boost they give to our bodies. Therefore, after hearing about the many benefits of Oregano Oil, such as its ability to fight off and prevent infection, we knew it was time to try it for ourselves. A little bit of research revealed that the best oregano oil originates from Greece and in particular a brand called Zane Hellas. We decided to try the Soft Gels and Mouthwash and put the miracle of Oregano oil to the test. 

Oregano oil has been linked to supporting the immune system, protection against harmful organisms and infections, it is a digestive aid, an allergy support and eases the symptoms of a cold. Being anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antifungal, anti-parasitic and an antioxidant there isn’t much that Oregano oil can’t help your body fight. We found that the Zane Hellas Soft Gels were an excellent way to incorporate oregano oil easily into daily life for maximum effect. They were so easy to take, you only need one a day preferably with a meal, so we just incorporated them into our post-breakfast morning routine. A pot contains 60 soft gels so lasts around two months. 

We were intrigued by the idea of oregano oil based mouthwash. A 100% natural and vegan the daily oral rinse is excellent at maintaining good dental hygiene by preventing and reducing plaque build up. The mouthwash left us with fresh breath as it reduced our chances of developing gingivitis, dry mouth and thrush (mouth candida fungus.) This is all possible because the carvacrol in the oregano oil eliminates bacteria that live on the tongue and the back of the throat. It has a wonderfully strong and herby scent and is milky in appearance. In a glass bottle with a dropper, the directions are clear and straightforward to follow, just add 15-20 drops of the mouthwash into a small (20 ml) cup of water and rinse for 30 seconds.

Zane Hellas produces the best organic oregano oil that you can buy. Created in Greece with all natural and organic Greek ingredients we cannot recommend this brand enough. The products arrived quickly and were easy to incorporate into our daily routine, so even though they are currently only available in Euros, delivery is quick and you can purchase the products through PayPal. With the proven benefits of oregano oil, incorporating these products into your life is an easy decision to make. You can buy  Zane Hellas Oregano oil here for roughly £17.00 (including shipping) and the mouthwash here for £10.00 (including shipping)