About The Drinks Bakery
Founded in 2017 by Andy Murray (not that one ) who travelled Europe in a campervan with his foodie-obsessed family every summer as a child. Eating in bars and brasseries and visiting vineyards and amazing food markets became his inspiration.
Aperitif with a little snack to match was like a Murray family religion! Andy started baking at 10, was a decent cook by 14 and wine qualified by 19. He’s since owned restaurants, gastro pubs and a wine business and wondered why snacks weren’t keeping pace with the multitude of great craft drinks, so he set about creating a range of premium snacks as a more thoughtful alternative to the same old crisps and nuts.
The range is now available in many of the best independent farm shops, delis and distilleries across the UK, plus some of the super-premium department stores such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Fenwicks and Liberty of London. You’ll also find them in a select few of the best 5 star hotels including The Standard London and The Fife Arms Scotland.
Meanwhile, Andy continues to eat and drink his way around the world, fuelling his desire to create a more thoughtful link between the worlds of craft, premium drinks and the common snack.
Join him on his mission to end the tyranny of thoughtless snacks!
GREAT DRINKS DESERVE GREAT SNACKS
The Drinks Bakery creates a range of award winning savoury ‘Drinks Biscuits’ that are expertly flavour profiled to match great drinks such as craft beer, fine wines, whisky and of course gin.
Drinks Biscuits are a premium, more thoughtful alternative to the usual crisps and nuts because we passionately believe that GREAT DRINKS DESERVE GREAT SNACKS.
Baked in the Highlands of Scotland by a traditional family bakery, we use only the highest quality ingredients: award-winning cheeses, hand harvested seaweed and fresh herbs.
This commitment to excellence has led to a host of awards including 5 Great Taste awards (2018/19), Scotland Food & Drinks Excellence Award Winners 2019, Scotland’s Best New Product 2019 and a successful appearance on BBC Dragons’ Den (Series 13).
THE TECHNICAL CHAT
Basic taste detected by the tongue is a combination of sweet, salt, sour or bitter. Our Drinks Biscuits appeal not only to these four tastes but also to what has been described as the 5th taste: Umami.
Umami is strongly associated with food and drink that undergo a fermentation or maturation process that creates a natural source of glutamates that when consumed trigger receptors on the tongue (sending happy signals to the brain). The strong savoury umami notes in our Drinks Biscuits are therefore a perfect match for wines, spirits and beers.
For example, the yeasty notes found in champagnes that have undergone a bottle fermentation (where the yeast cells have broken down) react with the savoury, salty, umami notes of our parmesan, pine nut & basil Drinks Biscuits to give the fizz a delicious, almost savoury character on the palate.
Drinks Biscuits - Pecorino, Rosemary & Scottish Seaweed
Snapshot: The aromatic, sharp quality of genuine Pecorino Romano cheese shines through with a balance of sweetness, herbs and spice with a briny edge from Scottish seaweed. The perfect company for a premium gin.
Scottish Seaweed
This ingredient will allow you to appreciate your favourite gins in entirely new ways!
Seaweed has that lovely briny salinity from the sea and rather than overpowering gin, it magnifies the flavours and nuances of the botanicals.
Seaweed is full of umami, sometimes called the fifth taste element. It provides a satisfying savoury note to these Drinks Biscuits adding a rich fullness and extra dimension to the gin it accompanies.
The seaweed you’ll find in our Drinks Biscuits for gin is Mara Seaweed hand-harvested from the wild shores of Scotland.
Pecorino
The aromatic, sharp qualities of the very best Romano Pecorino balances so nicely with gin that even if you don’t normally do the cheeseboard thing, you’ll be hooked.
High quality, firm cheeses like pecorino are able to ‘stand up’ to the strong flavour of the spirit on the palate.
We keep the gin-friendly flavours intact by sourcing our cheeses from a world-class cheesemonger. We think it’s important to bake with the best quality cheese or the fat just evaporates, and you lose all the flavour,” he explains.
Rosemary
Rosemary has a lemon-pine flavour which works splendidly with juniper-led G&Ts and especially with citrus garnishes.
Cumin and the Old Empire
Finally, you’ll get a little spice kick and a back note of cumin that gives a gentle nod to the old Empire and the British Officers in India back in the early 19th Century that first developed our old favourite; gin & tonic.
Drinks Biscuits – Lancashire Cheese and Spring Onion
Snapshot: We use the best Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese and combine it with English mustard and spring onion to create a full-on fruity profile with a spicy finish. A Ploughman’s with a kick. A versatile premium snackthat stands up to some serious drinks.
Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese
This is one of the best cheeses on the planet. It’s a multi award winner (3 Great Taste stars 2019), buttery, crumbly cheese with a BIG fruity tang and looong finish. It’s an amazing cheese to bake with because the high fat content means that the flavour doesn’t bake out and instead is locked into the biscuit. The rich, mineral fruity profile balances wonderfully well with hoppy, fermented beer. It’s a classic Ploughman’s lunch cheese and made to match beer.
Spring Onion
Using spring onion creates a more pronounced, sharper onion flavour that balances with the fruitiness of the Lancashire cheese in a powerful partnership. It leaves the palate ready for a hoppy IPA or some acidity from a glass of white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Picpoul de Pinet) or a glass of red Grenache.
Colemans English Mustard
If we’re talking about a Ploughman’s Lunch then it would be impossible to not add some English Mustard to the plate. Just as the fruitiness from the cheese and sharpness from the onion hits your palate, you then get a kick on the finish from the mustard – and that needs a great drink. We think it’s fun and adds an extra dimension to this flavour combination.
Our favourite drinks matches:
Punk IPA, Stout, Macallan Sherry Cask Whisky, Grenache
Drinks Biscuits – Mature Cheddar, Chilli & Almond
Snapshot: We use award winning Scottish Mature Cheddar which is powerful, tangy and fruity with a long finish. There’s a really satisfying smoky, warm spice richness that doesn’t overpower and balances with many great drinks.
St Andrew’s Mature Cheddar Cheese
This is the best Mature Cheddar cheese in Scotland (3 Great Taste stars 2019). It’s made in a family run dairy on the East coast of Scotland and is a joy to the tastebuds. A classic fruity and sharp, traditionally made Cheddar cheese with an earthy whiff of farmyard. Even on its own this is a delicious profile for a lager beer, amber ale or a chunky Malbec.
Sweet Smoked Paprika
By adding some sweet smoked paprika we accentuate the fruitiness of the Cheddar and bring some smoke to the party. This opens out the flavour profile to balance really well with barrel aged beers and drinks with residual sweetness like an Alsace Riesling or fruity Cider and because of the massive tangy finish can even stand up to peated whisky.
Chilli
Not too much so it fights with your palate, but just enough to create a lovely warmth that adds to the smoky, tangy, fruity profile, creating a finish that will linger and mingle with some of the most outstanding drinks.
Our favourite drinks matches:
Innis & Gunn Original (barrel aged beer), Ardbeg whisky, Oloroso sherry, Scottish Cider
Drinks Biscuits – Parmesan Toasted Pinenut & Basil
Snapshot: A classic Italian flavour combination. We use the best Parmesan cheese with long lasting tangy, nutty and caramel notes. The basil and toasted pine nuts give a light herbal sweetness and honey profile that pairs beautifully with many drinks.
Reggiano Parmesan cheese
We use the best Parmesan cheese which is rich in umami with a nutty, salty, savoury, almost meaty flavour. There’s a reason why Italians and chefs worship this cheese – completely delicious and a dream to cook with. Eat a chunk of it with some Pilsner or a fresh Hells Lager and you will be in a very happy place.
Pinenuts
We toast these little gems to bring out the best flavour, creating a ‘honey on toast’ note that resembles the nose from vintage Champagne or fine, French oak barrels from burgundy. So, no surprise that we love to pair this Drinks Biscuit with Champagne, Prosecco and fruity wines such as Chardonnay or Gavi.
Basil
Adding in some fresh basil gives this biscuit a sweet herbaceous lift, almost floral. The subtle freshness is perfect to match with Highland whisky that is slightly sweeter on the palate with hints of heather, or a fruity, bready blond beer.
Our favourite drinks matches:
Clynelish 14year Whisky, Duvel Blonde, Hells Lager, Champagne.
