Shooting Gazette – September 2019

WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019 39

Sporting hospitality

‘‘B

etweenthe

crisisandthe

catastrophe,

thereis always

timefora glass

of champagne.”These,according

to AntoineRoland-Billecartof

theBillecart-SalmonChampagne

house,arethewordsof a long-dead

Frenchpoet.However,theycould

justas easilybeattributedto many

a dispiritedGunas theyapproach

theelevensestableaftera bad

morningonthepeg.

Asweallknow,drinks,in

moderationof course,arean

essentialpartof anydrivenshooting

day.Notbecauseweneedthem

to havea goodtime,notbecause

they’rea highlightof theday,but

becausethey’rethethingswebond

over,teaseeachotherover,cram

in a pheasant-goujon-ladenhand

whilewetryto fendoffa hungry

labrador.Drinksareanornament,

thestained-glasswindowsin the

cathedralof a goodday’sshooting,

andit followsthatif thedrinksare

great,theshootdaywill be that

littlebitbetter,too.

Weallhaveourshootday

favourites,butwithso manynew

drinkscomingontothemarketyour

nextfavouritemightbejustaround

thecorner.Herearea fewideasfor

your consideration this season...

Elevenses

Whenit comesto elevensesthere

isalways,as thatFrenchpoet

suggested,roomforchampagne.

Growers’champagnes,madeby

smallhousesthatgrowtheirown

grapesas wellas makethewine,

offersuperbvalueformoney.If you

likeblancsdesblancs,winesmade

onlywithChardonnaygrapes,then

thedelicate,elegantVeuveFourny

PremierCruNV(£30.95,70cl)is

a greatchoice,madebythefifth

generationof theFournyfamilyin

thehighly-regardedVertusterroir.

Alternatively,theLamiable

Grand Cru NV Extra Brut (£31.95,

70cl)offersa complexmixof apple,

apricotandsavourynotesthat will

standupto mostfood.

Ifyou’reshootingin thesouth

of England,however,you’dbe

madnotto goforsomething

local.Grownnearthetopendof

possiblelatitudesforwine,onthe

kindof chalkchampagnegrowers

wouldkillfor(andarebuying

upwhenevertheycan),English

sparklingwinehasgraduated

froma curiosityto a consistently

awardedandinternationally

recognisedphenomenon.

Mytoppickat present,from

a verystrongfield,wouldbe

HattingleyValleyClassicReserve

(£30,70cl).Foundedin 2008by

HampshirefarmerSimonRobinson,

Hattingley Valley is producing

Ifyou’reusingyourfizz as a base

for‘sloegasm’cocktailsanddon’t

haveanyhomemadesloeginto

hand,whynotusea totof Hepple

SloeandHawthorn?Thehawthorn

addsdryer,lightercounterpoints

to thesloes,makingit perfectfor

warmerweatherandthosewho

don’thavesucha sweettooth.

Onthetopicof sloegins,

Whittaker’sClearlySloe(£34.45,

70cl)makesa greatpresentforshoot

hostsas it is notonlytastybutalso

unusual– Whittaker’saddsloesto

itsginforsixmonthsthenre-distils

it, resultingin a completelyclear

spiritat ginstrength with distinctive

sloeflavours.

If you’renotin themoodto faff

aroundwithcorksandglassesmid-

shoot,however,looknofurther

thanthehumbleready-mixed

drink.Lookpastthedrossonthe

supermarketshelfandthereare

somegreatoptionsto behad.

Sipsmith,famousforbeing

grantedthefirstnewlicencefor

a copper-potstillin Londonfor 189

years,hasrecentlycreatedpremixed

G&Tsin whichtheflavourof its

signatureginshinesthrough.

Meanwhile,world-

renownedcocktailgeniusRyan

Chetiyawardana,akaMrLyan,

hascreateda rangeof bottled

cocktailssuchas thetart,refreshing

DiamondRickeythatliveupto

hisreputation.Andif you’reoff

somewherechillylaterin theyear,

London-basedgamechainMac&

Wilddoes50clbottlesof eminently

quaffable whisky cocktails.

What about beer?

If yourGunsarelookingfor

somethinglighterin alcohol,a low

ABVbeermightbetheperfect

refreshmentforthosehotearly

partridgedays.TheSmallBeer

BrewCo.,basedin Bermondsey,

wasthefirstbrewerydedicatedto

producinglower-strengthbeers–

buckinga trendthat’sseen8%IPAs

become standard fare. Try the

“English sparkling

wine has graduated

from a curiosity to a

consistently awarded

and internationally

recognised

phenomenon.”

glorioussparklingwinesthroughthe

traditionalméthodechampenoise,

andusesbarrelfermentationon

a proportionof itswines,something

uniquein England,to addextra

depthandmellowness.

TheClassicReservedisplays

Hattingley’strademarkapple,

honeyedbriocheandlemonnotes,

andis beautifullybalancedbetween

freshnessandcreaminess.If you

preferyourfizz pink,their 2014

rosé(£37,70cl)is alsoastonishingly

good– richerandmorerobustthan

many,withlayersof brightfresh

fruit,flakyvanillapastryandhints

of dryspice.Infact, 2014 is proving

tobea greatvintageforEnglish

sparklersacrosstheboard – grab

them while you can.