Culloden, RubyBlue Vodka and Schweppes mix Unique Cocktail!
RubyBlue vodka, the Northern Irish potato vodka, features in a unique cocktail created by mixologists and Chef at the five-star Culloden Hotel in Holywood, Co Down – a Home-made Lemon Balm Syrup and Schweppes Soda Water Serve.
Another unique feature of the cocktail, created by Michael Campbell, bars manager at the Culloden, is the use of lemon balm grown in the hotel’s own herb garden. The cocktail is served at the high-end hotel’s Crozier Lounge.
Stuart Hughes, who runs Hughes Craft Distillery in Lisburn with wife Barbara, says: “I was delighted to be working with the Culloden on the cocktail particularly because I began my career with the Hastings Hotels, the owners of the Culloden. I was 16 when I joined the staff at the group’s Stormont Hotel and eventually became Head Wine Waiter in the popular McMaster’s Restaurant there. It was there that I developed my interest in fine wines and spirits and this led me subsequently to start Hughes Craft Distillery with my wife to produce handcrafted liqueurs in 2010.
“We are confident that guests to Hastings Group hotels will be delighted with the Culloden’s ‘RubyBlue Premium Vodka Serve with Home-made Lemon Balm Syrup & Schweppes Soda Water, also involving a collaboration with Coca-Cola, which is also based in Lisburn.
Adrian McNally, Culloden general manager, at Culloden, says: “It is a great pleasure to work with and support our local producers. We are behind the RubyBlue Brand and delighted to support Barbara and Stuart in rolling out the range to rest of the Hastings Group of Hotels. This refreshing RubyBlue Serve is sure to be a great success with our guests.”
Brian Donaldson, executive sous chef Culloden Estate and Spa, adds: “At the Culloden Estate, we have the luxury of our very own herb garden, and over the past year we have developed it to supply herbs and edible flowers for our culinary team to use in all areas of food service and cooking. It was on this journey that we discovered the diversity in our herbs to be used as syrups to blend with cocktails, the lemon balms caramel like citrus flavours struck me as an ideal match for a vodka based twist on a lemonade. Lucky for us just as we had perfected our syrup along came RubyBlue with Northern Ireland’s very own vodka and so our journey begins…”
The herb garden at the Culloden was developed with support from another local company, Jilly Dougan’s Edible Gardens in Craigavon.
Peter Hughes, customer marketing executive, Licensed Trade Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, say:
“Schweppes is a brand with heritage and has a lot to be proud of. Its First Royal warrant awarded in 1843 still remains today. It compliments perfectly the smooth RubyBlue Vodka and the Lemon Balm Syrup cocktail.”
For more Information contact:
Barbara Hughes Barbara@HughesCraftDistillery.com
Or Telephone 07780117743
