We know you will want to treat your fabulous Mum to her favourite gin at Hogarths this Mothers Day (This Sunday 31st March). Are you wondering what you can present to your Mum as a gift, one she’ll truly love? Well here at Hogarths we have come up with a scrumptious, gin truffles recipe to really make your mums mouth water. 

Our truffle recipe allows you to add your favourite gin to create Mums favourite things in life; chocolate and gin. What more could be perfect? These truffles are easy to make and gorgeous to taste.

What You Will Need

340ml whipping cream, whipped

50 ml of your favourite gin. For extra chocolate flavour use ELY Gin with Dark Chocolate

225g high quality dark chocolate

170g high quality dark chocolate, shaved or very finely chopped

How We Made Them

  1. Melt the dark chocolate 
  2. In the bowl of melted chocolate, slowly pour the whipped cream, and gently fold to incorporate the chocolate until the mixture is all combined.
  3. Add the 50 ml ELY Gin to the mixture
  4. Pour yourself a huge Gin and Tonic (you deserve it)
  5. Put the shaved chocolate in a shallow tray to get ready for dredging. (alternatively use cocoa powder.)
  6. Drop one tablespoon of the whipped cream-chocolate mixture into the shaved chocolate and coat in the chocolate shavings. 
  7. Once it is lightly coated, gently roll between your hands to shape the truffle into a ball. Set aside and repeat until all of the truffles have been rolled.
  8. Refrigerate the chocolate truffles for a minimum of four to six hours before serving. The truffles can also be stored and served direct from the freezer for a surprising and decadent treat.

We advise as the truffles are refrigerating to grab a bottle of your favourite gin, its perfect serve tonic and drink yourself merry whilst waiting for your wonderful truffles to cool. 

So no matter what plans you have this weekend, get yourself into the kitchen and create some of these delicious dark chocolate truffles and gift them to your Mum. Then head to your favourite gin palace and enjoy a well deserved Hogarths perfect serve (or 2)

Days are getting brighter, temperatures are rising and with the help of the zealous minds of Zymurgorium there is now a drink that will definitely liven up those warm spring evenings and put you right in the heart of your favourite beach destination. 

Say ALOHA to their newest and most fabulous creation of 2019…FLAGINGO GIN.

Inspired by the gorgeous rose birds that carry its name, this exotic and funky gin will definitely be strutting its stuff across our gin palaces. Infused with the flavours of the Caribbean such as Mango, Pineapple and Passionfruit, this tutti frutti pink gin packs a pretty impressive punch at 38% ABV and we believe will be a hit for our drinks terraces and the perfect tipple for any afternoon you want to brighten.  

The History of the Brand

Zymurgorium have tantalised our taste buds since their appearance in 2013. Mastered by the genius mind of Aaron Darke. The ‘Big Cheese’ at this artisan distillery in the heart of Manchester began his journey by brewing for his university friends where he studied microbiology. He combined his love of botanics and science and embarked on his adventures with Darke Crafts in 2012 – set up in his mother’s shed. Soon business was booming and the before long the brand ‘Zymurgorium’ as we know it was born. 

But where does the name come from? 

With such vibrant and zany creations, it is no wonder that Darke had to come up with a name that epitomised everything that the brand stood for. Amalgamated from the words “Zymurgy” (the study of brewing) and “Emporium”being a store that sells a mass array of goods and trinkets thus the name was brand was born and has continued to wow ever since. 

Since 2013, Aaron and the brand have released hit after hit, with the likes of their Parma Violet gin creating a new gin loving phenomenon across Britain. And don’t forget, Hogarths created the Parma Violet Perfect Serve. It would be hard to find any gin loving individual or gin virgin that has not heard of any of the Zymurgorium creations. So with the ever rising popularity of fabulous gin based liqueurs, we have no doubt here at Hogarths that FLAGINGO will be flying off the shelves! 

Priced at £16.50 for a 50cl bottle from http://zymurgorium.com/product/flagingo-pink-gin/

At Hogarths our recommend perfect serve for this Caribbean inspired creation is:

Plenty of ice, Schweppes Tonic or Schweppes Lemonade (depending how much of a sweet tooth you have) and garnished with Pineapple and Blueberries. 

So if FLAGINGO gin takes your fancy – or if you’re new to gin and want to try something that has a little more flavour than your average G&T – come along to Hogarths and get FLAGINGOing this spring! 

For many of us, January seemed liked the longest month on record, February went in a flash and now spring is soon on our doorsteps. Supermarket aisles have filled with Easter eggs, bunnies and chicks are taking over shelves and the war over finding the glorified “white crème egg” has begun. But before we divulge into a weekend of scoffing our faces with more chocolate than we can handle, there is an important day in our calendar. 

It’s that time where the nation grabs their flour, eggs and frying pans and heads into the kitchen racking up a delicious heap of our favourite spring staple – The Pancake.

We have hunted down the best gin flavours to add to your pancakes:

Boozy Berries – Soak your favourite berries in your favourite gin for a good 24 hours and spread them across your pancake.


Gin Jam – Always one of our “go to’s” Gin Jam uses the left over raspberries which form Pinkster Gin and make a delicious jam, easy to spread over your pancake.

Marks & Spencer Lemon Gin & Tonic Sauce – New to the shelves this year M&S have brought out a classic partner for any pancake lover. “A tart and tangy sauce full of classic, punchy flavour and made with 4% gin”

We have also found a recipe to make your Pancake Day as perfect as possible, not only will it delight your tastebuds it will even keep your waistline at bay. As you know, we love sharing recipes based on the Slimming World lifestyle plan and our Pancake recipe is no different. Using up your Healthy Extra B, this recipe is fun, filling and absolutely flippin’ tasty. 

What you need:

40g Porridge Oats (blitzed or unblitzed)

50ml Skimmed Milk 

1 medium egg

(Makes approx 8 mini pancakes)

Method:

  1. If you would like a smooth set of pancakes, blitz your oats in a food processor until a powdery mixture is created. 
  2. Measure out 50 ml of milk and combine with your oats and skimmed milk – this should produce a thick mixture
  3. Heat up frylight in a frying pan and gently pour rounds of the mixture into your frying pan. 
  4. When the mixture looks to be moveable (this should be after 1.5 minutes), flip the pancakes and cook the other side. 
  5. Stack up and serve with berries, Greek yogurt or for an indulgent treat – Nutella/peanut butter. 

Have your frying pans at the ready because on the 5thMarch 2019 – we hope you have an absolutely flippin fantastic day.