Drink Like a Brit With Drinks Columnist Olly Smith at Mesh, November 6

Drink Like a Brit with Drinks Columnist Olly Smith at Mesh, Nov 6

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Nov 2, 2015 1:00 pm | Add a comment | 1941 reads

This Friday, November 6, the GREAT UK Drinks Ambassador Olly Smith will be flying in from London to take over Mesh at the Opposite House. One of the UK’s most prolific and recognisable drinks columnists, Olly will be behind the bar all night offering a specially designed list of British drinks for one night only (read more about the drinks Olly will be shaking up in the event listing).

We caught up with him in advance of his Beijing appearance to talk about his aims for this visit to China and whether he likes baijiu!

What are you hoping to get out of this visit to Beijing?
To share the splendid craft, provenance and purity of our vast range of British drinks, from whisky to gin, beer to wine, cordials to cocktails. And hopefully share a drink or two with as many Beijingers as I can possibly meet!

What are the main trends in the British drinks market at the moment?
Gin is off the scale, so many new distilleries popping up, each with their own unique twist on the craft of gin making. It’s invigorating, exciting and altogether very British! The success of our sparkling wine in international competitions has also been grabbing headlines but beer is still a big buzz too. Brewing is one of our richest traditions and it’s fantastic to see so many new breweries springing up and making great beer. In fact, I part-own one of them called The Rocky Head!

How can British craft/artisanal producers do more to appeal to Chinese consumers?
With their heritage and provenance. Our climate produces a range of ingredients creating a flavour for every palate. No matter what your idea of heaven is, you can find it in one of our Great British drinks.

Baijiu, China's most favoured spirit, has been attracting attention in New York's cocktail bars recently. Have you tried baijiu? What is your opinion on the growth of this strong Chinese spirit? Have you used it in drinks before?
I have! I love it and have used it in drinks such as the traditional Bloody Mary. I’m super-excited to taste baijiu in Beijing and get to know the nuances and subtleties of its different incarnations. And I’d love to be inspired by its use in local cocktails too.

Are there any dishes or drinks that you're excited to try while you're in Beijing?
I'm on the hunt for groovy local beers and also tea – I’m a total tea nut so that’s very cool for me to get up close to. And as for the food – all of it! I’m hugely curious about flavour and one of my favourites is spice so I’m keen to bring a few recipes home from my visit to share back home in Britain too.

Could you give us a few suggestions for matching wine with Chinese cuisine? Take, for example, Beijing's most famous dish, Peking duck – what wines would you match with a meal of Peking duck?
Pinot noir can be fantastic with Peking duck, but I’ve also had success with soft fruity malbec too. The key is to always pair your wine to the biggest ingredient on the plate, so steamed fish will be a very different pairing to fish served in a rich spicy sauce. As far as spice is concerned it makes wine taste sharper so always opt for a wine with stacks of fruity flavour and experiment with sweet wines too, the contrast can be enthralling. Intensity is a big factor, too – if the volume is cranked up to 11 on your stereo, you need to sing loud to balance it, it’s the same with wine, big flavoured food equals big flavoured wine, subtle flavours equals subtle wine. Let’s go for dinner at once and experiment!

We also asked Olly to come up with a few winter warmer cocktails that Beijingers can easily make at home.

Mulled Wine
1 bottle red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
half an orange studded with 3 cloves
1 vanilla pod halved lengthways
50ml Port
100ml fresh orange juice (no bits)
100g dark brown muscovado sugar

Method:
1. Put the orange juice and sugar into a pan and stir. Warm until they are fully blended.
2. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, half orange studded with cloves, vanilla pod and leave to infuse for a minute.
3. Add the bottle of red wine and port and warm gently for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the orange and spices and serve warm but never boil or you’ll lose the booze!

Warming White
1 bottle fruity white wine (try a cheaper sauvignon blanc)
1 thick slice of fresh pineapple
1 lemon wedge
100g white sugar
1 tbsp runny honey
1 cinnamon stick
100ml fresh pineapple juice

Method:
1. Put the pineapple juice and sugar into a pan and stir. Warm until they are fully blended.
2. Add the cinnamon stick, lemon wedge, runny honey and half slice pineapple and leave to infuse for a minute.
3. Add the bottle of white wine and warm gently for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the orange and spices and serve warm but never boil or you’ll lose the booze!

Mulled Cider
500ml cider
200ml fresh apple juice
1 lemon and ginger herbal tea bag
50ml Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 cinnamon stick
1 heaped tbsp muscovado dark brown sugar
half an orange studded with 3-4 cloves

Method:
1. Put the apple juice and sugar into a pan and stir. Warm together until they are fully blended.
2. Add the cinnamon stick and the half orange studded with cloves
3. Then add the cider and Cointreau and warm gently
4. Put in the lemon & ginger teabag and leave to infuse for 2 minutes and then remove.
5. Warm, do not boil, for 10 min so that all flavours infuse
6. Serve warm

Note: Do not boil the drinks, this will make the spices bitter and you lose the booze! If pre-preparing, remove spices and fruit and keep warm.