Do you guys remember that way back in mid June I went to my first ever real blogger event, aka bloggers ball? On our way into the event, some PRs from Luscombe drinks invited us in with a cheeky shot of non-alcoholic fizz to get our taste buds tingling. I was so impressed by the taste and how kind they were, that I reached out to the brand to thank them for the welcome, and they were so lovely that they even sent me some full sized bottle samples to try out!
Although I do love a good glass of white wine or two, there are always times at which you want something a little more flavoursome than water, but you just can't drink alcohol. I'm talking about the ol' Sunday night before work on a Monday, or a picnic in the summer sun that you've had to drive to. Ugh.
I love a good elderflower presse or cordial in the summer. Pair that with some ice and a long straw and you've got yourself a very happy, chilled out Steph. It's one of those drinks that actually makes me feel as though I'm doing this whole adulting thing correctly because y'know, it's a soft drink that isn't squash or lemonade. Luscombe's wild elderflower bubbly* is one that they suggest can be used as an alcohol-free champagne alternative for big events and honestly? As much as I love a good glass of champers (who doesn't?), I think I'd be hard picked to choose between the two.
I was super excited to get to tasting the drinks Luscombe sent over as they're all natural, organic and made in Devon. I've spoken before about how much I love supporting UK brands because it not only helps businesses here grow, but also cuts back on my carbon footprint. This collaboration even had the boyfriend excited. We split each bottle between us and even drunk it out of wine glasses to make it a special treat of an evening when we didn't fancy actual alcohol.
The Sicilian lemonade* was his favourite, with its bitter tang and smooth consistency. This one was bubble-free and made for such a lovely soft drink when we had our little heatwave last week! Drinking real lemonade will always remind me of visiting Camden, as I usually pick up a glass at a stall there, so this had a little added value for me!
My least favourite of the four I got to try had to be strawberry crush*. I'm a big lover of strawberry flavoured anything, but this had a fair amount of lemon in it too, which gave it a tang that I just wasn't a fan of. However, it was still a refreshing drink to come straight out of the fridge, mmmm.
And, finally, I got to give the Damascene rose bubbly* a try. My boyfriend was really apprehensive about this one, and there were a lot of 'ew, why would they put rose in a drink, bleurgh I'm going to hate it'. But, in actual fact the rose flavour was fairly subtle, and I would definitely say this would be an interesting alcohol free drink to serve at a wedding or party. I know I'd be intrigued at trying a flavour that you rarely come across, and again, it was nice and bubbly, and almost had me tricked into believing it could have been alcoholic.
Have you tried any of Luscombe's range?
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I'm currently effectively obsessed with South American food, so Las Iguanas has become a firm favourite in my restaurant repertoire. Nachos are treats from the gods, and in my mind a restaurant is only as good as its nachos (true story). So, when I got some good news recently, me and the boyfriend headed out to Las Iguanas to try a whole range of goodies. Although the restaurant was busy, we had managed to make a booking just a few hours before so didn't have to queue up. Unfortunately we were seated in a really dark corner so the lighting wasn't as great as I would have liked for photos, but we still received great service throughout the meal.
Here's what we picked:
Cocktails:
I decided I was going to try as many cocktails as possible for you guys and I may have failed a tad - not drinking for a while + three cocktails meant I was fairly KO'ed. BUT, I did get to give four a whirl for you, even if I didn't manage to finish them.
Strawberry Red (Malibu, strawberry liqueur, lemon & cranberry juices
& lemonade.)
This is probably my all-time favourite Las Iguanas cocktail. It's not too sweet, and not too bitter. Plus strawberry flavoured anything is pretty much a winner in my books.
Vanilla Mai Tai (Havana Club Especial rum, Absolut Vanilla vodka, lime juice,
almond syrup & bitters.)
This is one of Las Iguanas' new cocktails this season, but was actually my least favourite of the four. I found it a little too strong and bitter for my liking - I like a good amount of mixer!
Pink Passion Fruit (Pink Pigeon vanilla rum, apricot liqueur, Funkin passion
fruit purée, vanilla sugar & pineapple juice.)
This was basically heaven - tropical flavours with vanilla and an extra dose of sweetness, mmmmm. Even my passion fruit hating boyfriend enjoyed this one!
Pisco Power (ABA Pisco, Funkin guava purée, agave, apple & lime juices)
This was recommended to us by a friend and is another of Las Iguanas' new cocktails. Cocktails rarely seem to contain apple juice, but this was so tasty I think they definitely ought to more often!
Food
Now onto my favourite part. A few years ago I would have hated to have a meal at Las Iguanas - spice was my worst nightmare, but now I pretty much fantasise about some of the dishes here on a weekly basis.
Taco Sharing Tray
Me and my boyfriend got this to share as a starter (be warned - it's fairly large!). You get to choose three taco fillings, so we got the braised lamb, chipotle chicken and shredded beef. With this you get a small bowl of salsa and one of salad as well as 6 or 7 wraps. Our one disappointment with this was how little salad you got, but the meat was very well seasoned. My personal favourite was the beef - I would definitely recommend giving it a go!
Nachos
If nachos are on a menu, there's a 99% chance I'll order them, so I couldn't give these a miss. I opted for a standard topping of cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream (NOM). These were fairly standard nachos for a fairly standard price, so I was hardly wowed, but they did the job.
Pato Taquito
This is honestly what dreams are made of. If you only want to try one thing at Las Iguanas you NEED to give this a whirl! It's roasted duck with caramelised onion in a soft tortilla accompanied by cranberry salsa and oh my word it is tasty. I couldn't finish my meal, so took this home with me and it totally passed the test of still being tasty for the next day's lunch!
All in all I had a fab time at Las Iguanas with good service and yummy food. We didn't have to wait too long for anything (bar the bill - it always seems to be the way, right?!) and I would definitely recommend giving it a go if you're a fan of South American food!
*This post was not sponsored, it simply contains my honest review of the food, drinks and service we received on a busy Saturday night*
Have you been? What would you recommend?
Tea is pretty much my life. I've got a whole shelf of it at home (versus only two shelves of actual food), and I love looking out for new varieties. However, I've never been a fan of iced tea - it's such an odd concept, I mean, I like my tea to be toasty so I can use it as a hand and belly warmer. But, these organic Little Miracles drinks* kind of changed my mind about that.
I recently worked in an office and found it excruciatingly difficult to stay awake - staring at a screen all day is hardly exciting. So, I found myself relying on sugary snacks to keep me awake, which only really resulted in a vicious cycle of a sugar buzz, then a crash, then a need for more sugar - aka hello vending machine, sigh.
So, I figured these were worth a shot, and I have to say overall I enjoyed them, even if the flavours were a bit hit and miss for me. In the end, if I don't like rooibos tea I'm probably not going to like cold rooibos tea with added ingredients - so bear this in mind if you decide to pick up one of the range in the future! I was pleased that Little Miracles had such a range of herbal teas as the basis for the drinks however and two key flavours definitely stuck out for me: I could drink the green tea & pomegranate* and the lemongrass tea and ginger* versions every day and not get bored. Green tea is my baby and pomegranate is such a delicious flavour that I've gone out and totally stocked up on a whole bunch of these so that I can perk myself up during a blogging or writing slump!
Have you tried any of the flavours? I'd love to know what you thought
A couple of weeks ago saw me nerve-wrackingly sending my little sister off to uni 5(!) hours away from where I live after she spent the summer staying in my student house with me. So, we decided to do something a little special for her send off and make our own cocktails. Not only was this fun to do, but we got to control exactly what went into them, so there were no nasty surprises. Although alcohol, as with everything, is best in moderation, it is still something which I choose to consume as part of my diet and overall aim to nourish myself inside and out.
So, here's what we made:
Classic woo woo (pictured bottom):
25ml vodka
25 peach schnapps
Cranberry and orange juice in equal measure
Cloudy Apple Tang (pictured top):
25ml gin of choice
25ml elderflower cordial
Cloudy apple juice
The second was a little different and absolutely gorgeous - elderflower is such an amazing flavour and I would definitely recommend giving this a go!
