Lyme Bay, founded in 1993 by Nigel Howard, aimed to create high-quality west country cider using the finest cider apples. Over 30 years, we’ve gained praise for our innovative and consistently high-quality drinks from customers and professionals alike. During those 30 years, our range and focus has shifted more and more to wine and mead, passions held by Nigel from the start and our Managing Director, James Lambert since before joining the business in 2006. Treading the normal path is not for us! We prefer to trust our inventive instincts and sense of creativity to push the boundaries whilst aiming for the best possible quality in all that we do. What's more, our philosophy of making the very best products has also been recognised this year in our achieving the highest possible industry accreditation; the ‘British Retail Consortium Global Standard’, which was awarded to us with an A-grade and makes us the only English wine producer to hold this prestigious accolade. Over the years this bold approach to producing category-defining drinks has paid off. Since we opened our doors 30 years ago we have seen the success and reputation of our products soar, winning awards from prestigious competitions including the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the International Wine Challenge, the Decanter World Wine Awards and many more.

Lambert believed the biggest challenge for the mead sector was people gatekeeping the product. While consumers were attracted to the drink, getting them in front of suppliers was a challenge. This was largely due to the fact mead is hard to place, he added, as it doesn’t neatly fit into a ‘premium cider’ or ‘wine’ category, for instance. A bright future Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented sugarcane molasses or juice. It originated in the West Indies around 1650 and is believed to have been discovered by plantation slaves who fermented and distilled by-products of sugar production, such as molasses, sugarcane juice, and sugarcane honey, to produce alcohol. The origin of the word “rum” is unclear, but many believe it is related to “rumbullion,” a beverage made from boiling sugar cane stalks. Our Cellar Door shop is open every day and showcases our wide range of award-winning English still and sparkling wines, spirits, fruit wines, ciders, meads, and liqueurs. There is always a selection of English wines and other award-winning products available to taste – just ask our helpful staff. There was still a lot of work to be done here said Lambert. Lobbying, and engaging with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs could benefit the industry. A UK association for mead makers could also help protect and market the category, he added.However, there were plenty of reasons why the future looked bright for mead, according to Gosnell. It slotted with a consumer demand for sustainability, as bees could be sourced sustainability for premium honey. To produce rum, sugarcane is harvested, cleaned, sliced, and pressed to extract the sugar juice. Fermentation is started by adding water and yeast to the sugar juice, which turns the sugars into alcohol. Distillation follows, where the fermented molasses or sugarcane juice is boiled and the vapours are collected and condensed into liquids, with the alcoholic liquids collected first. As we noted in our 5 Ways to Enjoy Gin article, there are no set rules on how you can enjoy our products, as it comes down to personal preference and taste. However, we are happy to offer a few suggestions which may result in you enjoying the spirit in a way that you hadn’t experienced before. Neat Our careful ageing and spicing processes have resulted in a truly beautiful product, and that is not just us with a humble brag! Lugger is an award-winning Devon rum and has won such honours as Gold in the International Spirits Challenge 2019 and Gold in the Food and Drink Devon Awards 2019 Ways to Enjoy Lugger Rum We are passionate about keeping the skill of Westcountry cider making alive. Twenty years ago we started making real, simple, old fashioned quality ciders, and now we have an unrivalled reputation for producing ciders of the highest standard.

Another issue for mead makers is that it is still a fairly new commercialised drink, and for duty’s sake, mead is still not recognised as a stand-alone category. You’ve heard of an Irish coffee, but how about a Caribbean coffee? Adding a splash of Lugger to your post-dinner coffee makes for a twist on the traditional digestif. If you are looking for a slightly more indulgent end to the meal, why not try adding a splash of cream to your coffee for a more decadent drink? Cooking

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Dark rums from ex-British colonies like Jamaica, Bermuda, and Barbados are typically made from fermented molasses, while lighter-bodied rums from former French colonies like Martinique and Haiti, known as Rhum Agricole (agricultural rum), are made from sugarcane juice. A third family of rum, called Añejo rum, comes from ex-Spanish colonies like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Each one of our Fruit, Country and Sparkling Wines is made with immense care and attention. Our winemaker and dedicated team continually strive to improve and enhance the flavour and depth of each particular wine.

For over thirty years Lyme Bay Winery has worked to combine our knowledge and love of flavours and ingredients with our wine-making skills to craft award-winning traditional drinks, tailored to the 21st-century palate. Each of these amazing products is fermented, blended and aged, as appropriate, right here at the Winery under the supervision of our experienced team. Under the watchful eye of our brilliant winemaking team and using secret blends of local ingredients, we take great care crafting traditional recipes into award-winning drinks, tailored to the 21st-century palette. Each of these are fermented, blended and aged, as appropriate, right here at the Winery. As for Lugger Rum itself, we wanted to create a spiced rum that was not defined by an overbearing flavour of vanilla which can be quite common amongst commercial spiced rums. Instead, we wanted to bring a full spice profile to the palate, which is why we age Caribbean rum in bourbon-charred oak barrels right here in our Devon Winery. Once it has been aged to perfection, we spice it with a blend of nutmeg, cloves, orange peel and a hint of vanilla. While Lyme Bay’s meads could be compared to sweet wines, Gosnells focuses on session-style meads that are suited to the on trade. Regarding our English wine production, At Lyme Bay Winery we like to do things a little differently. Since 2015 we’ve been working with some of the best English wine growers to bring you a selection of delicious and award-winning still and sparkling wines. We are one of a very few wineries that works with growers all over the country to get the best fruit rather than relying on what is grown in our own vineyards.That way, we have access to different grape varieties that grow better on different soils and in different microclimates across the country and use them to make exceptional, full of character still and sparkling wines that suit every palate and occasion.Some experts even tipped 2020 as being the Year of Spiced Rum due to the surge in interest, although as with most things that were due to happen this year, it might have to be rolled over until 2021! In Your Coffee It launched a new taproom in Bermondsey, south London earlier this month, and is on its was to securing B Corp status. Sustainability is a key focus for Gosnells: it has partnered with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The Cellar Door is open every day for sampling and shopping. Here we offer Guided Tastings across our different drinks ranges, from English still and sparkling wine to Mead and Spirits – you choose to suit your tastes. Spirits have come a long way over the years, with many high-quality products now able to be enjoyed neat or served over ice, with spiced rum now being one of these spirits. In fact, spiced rum has developed so much that many are predicting it to “do a gin” and come through a meteoric resurgence.