What the experts say - Source Direct - Marketing and Distribution Specialists

Enjoy mixing with the best

In his article, "Enjoy mixing with the best", Ian Black warns that the Ginger Grouse is "a simple yet stylish cocktail you could find instantly addictive", adding that "you may well wish to drink more than one, and I advise that Fentimans be your ginger beer of choice, because it is quite simply the best ginger beer ever."

He also suggests that readers should try "A Fearless Lady ... which comes highly recommended" - a delicious combination of Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade, elderflower cordial, Grand Marnier, gin and one pear.

I've noticed recently that bartenders are starting, like me, to get very enthusiastic about a really good soft drink. Where once they would have paid careful attention to the spirits they use while buying any old mixer (or, worse still, spraying it from a gun), now they've become aware that you can't make a good cocktail unless every single ingredient is high quality. Jussi Kalmi, of London's Ruby Bars, is one such bartender. He talks as passionately about Fentimans Ginger Beer as he does about Gosling's Black Label rum, both of which ingredients go into one of his best cocktails.

How to avoid artificial ingredients in your mixers

The Times' wine writer, Jane MacQuitty, endorsed Fentimans' claim to be 'the world's best ginger beer' in The Times on 5th August, 2006: "The best commercial ginger beer is Fentimans, which delivers almost the same peppery, fresh ginger blast as home-made."

Furthermore, she suggests that "Fentimans Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger is a complex ginger and seville orange zest-spiked mix worth tracking down."

In The Independent on July 16th, 2006, Richard Ehrlich sings the praises of Fentimans soft drinks:

"In the liquid areas of endeavour, there are several names I would consider nominating for official heroism...Fentimans, makers of glorious lemonade, ginger beer and the world's best cola drink."

To vote for Fentimans in the UKTV campaign to find the 'local hero 2006' (the public's favourite small business in the food industry), log on to www.uktvfood.co.uk!

Fentimans recent foray into the advertising world, with a series of glimpses at the irreverent side of Victorian life has won 'pick of the month' in the highly acclaimed 'Campaign' magazine, a bible for all those in advertising and the media.

The adverts were produced using original Victorian printing plates, by typographer David Wakefield.

A softie, softie approach

Andrew Jefford's high praise in The Financial Times, 18th February, 2006: "A softie, softie approach".

Fentimans' Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger was the highest scoring soft drink in the Financial Times recent poll, scoring an impressive 9/10 and described as "Lots of sediment with a wonderfully close, ripe scent,like a roly-poly steamed pudding made with marmalade. Full-bodied, refreshingly sharp and cleanly bitter with a little added herbal complexity from speedwell and juniper extracts. Utterly splendid". Our Victorian Lemonade scored a close second 8/10: "Aromatically complex (far more than simple lemon), with a vivd, incisive, ginger-quickened flavour. Very delicately sweetened for maximum mouth-watering refreshment" and the Ginger Beer also scored 8/10: "Slightly cloudy, with a fine cross-fire of pungent,juicy ginger. Peppery-sweet in flavour, leaving near-chilli levels of prickel on your tongue and up your nose. A soft, delicately herbal finish (it also contains lemon, speedwell, juniper and yarrow natural flavourings).

"Others, too, have spotted the open goal left by th chemically-hypnotised big brands. Fentimans was a soft-drinks company founded in 1905 to slake the thirsts of parched Edwardian cricketers and perspiring lady cyclists. It closed, drowned by a tide of fizz and synthetic flavour, in 1970. The founder's great-grandson,though, saw that its ideals were becoming more necessary than ever as the century wore on and consumers tired of short cuts [...] From the initial Ginger Beer and Victorian Lemonade, the range now runs to six. "

By Richard Ehrlich

Published: 03 July 2005

In Japan, people are drinking vinegar. Not the stuff you have on chips, but specially formulated fruit vinegars in a wide range of flavours. According to a recent report in the Japan Times, the market for potable vinegar has increased almost threefold between 2000 and 2004. At the Oaks Heart vinegar shop in Tokyo, sales have increased 10-fold over two years. The shop sells over 40 varieties, including mango, pear, raspberry and strawberry.

As you might expect, there's a health angle to this craze. Vinegar is said to aid the circulation and digestion, combat fatigue and stimulate the appetite. I've never had any of the Japanese drinks, so I don't know about either the health or the enjoyment angles here. But I'm making enquiries even as we speak, and will report on both in the near future.

In the meantime, we Westerners have plenty of activity in our own huge and growing soft-drinks market. Hardly a day passes when I don't hear of a new launch, especially of "functional" drinks imported from the USA � where supermarket shelves must need special reinforcement to accommodate the weight of all these drinks. We're catching up over here. Sales of chilled juice have gone up 60 per cent in the last two years, according to Mintel, now amounting to some �768m.

But you don't need to go to the US for superior soft drinks. Two excellent UK companies are making a major splash with their entirely home-grown products. These too are highlighted below, but I have to make special mention of other bottles. One is Fentimans, a frequent visitor to these pages, which is celebrating its centenary by giving away 50 gold sovereigns in a competition over the summer. Details are published on each bottle, from a range that includes terrific lemonade and "Curiosity Cola", my personal favourite, in addition to the bottle pictured here. The products are widely available, and worth seeking out even without the incentive of the gold coin.

Top Corks: Three fine softies

Fentimans Ginger Beer (around �1/275ml, from most supermarkets and Oddbins) Echt ginger beer, just as it's supposed to taste. Rich and warming, but refreshing over ice

Jason Atherton, head chef at the acclaimed new restaurant, Maze, tested the best ingredients for a picnic. In the traditional lemonade section, Fentimans came top!

Ginger beer review - Alan Holmes Chewton Glen Hotel

(Fentimans) A realistic ginger beer - as close to home-brew as it gets!

This stuff split the What's New tasting panel along age lines. Under 16s said, 'Disgusting, Gross. Like Cola Sweets but not as good.' Their elders, aged 19 to none-of-your-business fell in love. 'It's a real drink,' said my nephew, Sam, who drank it both neat and with superior rum. And the subject of this controversy? Curiosity Cola, which uses botanicals instead of chemicals (not to mention 0.5% alcohol) to achieve a sprightly, complex flavour.

For adults only, Fentimans Curiosity Cola, around �1.20 from selected Safeways, Booths and independents or by mail order from 0118 950 4630. And watch out for Fentimans' other products, which are uniformly delicious.

Juicy Fruit

Fentiman's botanically brewed adult soft drinks (with 0.5 per cent alcohol) are fresh-tasting and not too sweet. In Orange Jigger (95p for 275ml) contains Seville and manderin juices and a kick of ginger with speedwell and juniper. From Sainsbury's and Waitrose.

"A cold drink that's deliciously hot, Fentiman's bottled ginger beer is the latest must-have mixer. It compliments beautifully traditional post-festive repasts such as cold ham, jacket potatoes and pickle, and is essential drinking (unadulterated) at Boxing Day lunch."

Lashings of ginger beer please

"In a properly ordered world, there would be nothing remarkable about making ginger beer without artificial ingredients. This is, after all, how Eldon Robson of the fine old firm of Fentimans does it."

"...Fentimans Traditional - not note, 'Traditional Style' - Ginger Beer ... is made to a recipe used by his great grandfather, Thomas Fentiman, in Yorkshire in the 1900's. It contains fermented ginger root extract, carbonated water, sugar, ginger, capsicum, lemon, speedwell, juniper, yarrow and cream of tartar. The only 'modern' ingredients are the preservative citric acid and the sweetener glucose syrup, both of which are distinctly preferable to the sodium benzoate and sodium saccharine used in Sainsbury's example."

"The unashamedly 'adult' flavour of the Fentimans ginger beer is just as evident in two other products from that firm: a tangy lemon Victorian Lemonade... and Seville Orange Jigger ... a terrific homemade-marmalady orange fizzy drink, which is perfect with campari."

Grog on the Tyne

"Northumbria was once awash with the smell of brewing ginger beer. Bill Knot meets the man who revived Fentimans Fearless Fermentations 50 years on."

"Lemonade? Lemonade? Interview a man in Newcastle who makes soft drinks? I thought I was losing my touch: this must be the journalistic equivalent of being stuck in a dry dock....."

"...But then I met Eldon Robson, sole proprietor of Fentimans, which produces a range of what the firm describes as 'adult soft drinks'. The phrase conjures up images of those lager cans featuring scantily-clad women; in fact, the three drinks (Ginger Beer, Victorian Lemonade and Seville Orange Jigger) come in old fashioned brown beer bottles with crown tops and look remarkably as though they contain alcohol...."

"...Armed with a few samples, I returned south and tried them out. The Ginger Beer is the best I've tasted; not over sweet, and with a really good pungent hit of ginger, combined with a trace of chilli for an extra bite. The Victorian Lemonade is certainly a lot better than the stuff from the pub car park, but, for me, the real star is the Seville Orange Jigger. It's slightly bitter tang comes from Seville orange oil, and its luminously bright colour from mandarin juice, but what I liked about it most was pouring it three parts to one with Campari, over lots of crushed ice. The flavours in the two drinks merged brilliantly, as, slowly, do the colours. I was right: it is a mixer. A Northumbrian Sunrise? I don't see why not."