Just when I think I’m getting my ‘shit’ together , I find myself in tears watching today’s Christmas movie offering.

I kinda figure this is my normal and I’ll be up and down for most of the festive season… [ and like Buzz Light year …to infinity and beyond.]

I’m embracing the good moments and letting myself have my ‘down’ moments in the safety of my own home.

Despite what I may come across like through my little musings on here I am a positive person, or rather I try to be.

So , this weeks good moments have come mainly in the form of drinking establishments and trying out new concoctions; Something I never shy away from.

I may have given up cake, chocolate and mince pies [ who am I?] for the whole of December [ to raise money for the fabulous Eve Appeal and in memory of Mum ] but I’d not be so bold , or daft, as to give up alcohol too !

It’s bad enough I’ve given up mince pies. [Baileys would be a step too far] . I woke up today and I swear everybody was talking about the little blighters .Instagram was brimming over in ‘mince-pie-ness‘, every other advert on TV was mince pie related , they were even giving away the ‘tiny pastries of joy’ at the local Shops!

It’s only day 1 … jeez!

So on Tuesday evening myself and Sue attended an event at The Botanist , Leopold Square, Sheffield. Seriously , MY DAD DOES NOT OWN THIS PLACE. I just seemingly spend a lot of time there.

We were there to divulge in all things Budvar and make Hoptails. Yes that really is a thing – a bloody beer cocktail ! Being the cheap date I am [half a lager lady] this got me a little excited.

The first thing you need to know is that Budweiser and Budvar are not related. Budvar is not Budweisers posher, younger brother , like I had presumed .

Budvar is Czech , Budweiser is American . Budvar takes 102 days to condition and brew; 7 times longer than most other beers.

Who knew?

So with a Budvar in hand, Christmas tree lights twinkling, various nibbles to nibble on … introductions where made.

We were then given a brief history of Budvar , the brewing process and the idea behind the Hoptail.

All very interesting stuff.

The Botanist is one of a handful of establishments in the UK to have Tank Budvar ; this means it tastes delicious because the beer comes fresh and unpasteurised straight from the cellars in Budvar to The Botanist.

BUDWEIS MULE [Bud-vice Mule]

The real deal and the main reason we were there.

Budweis Mule is an award winning Hoptail made with Budvar, Gin and Cointreau. It was devised by Jonah who normally works at The Botanist, Deansgate, Manchester.

We had the pleasure to meet him. He explained the reasoning behind his concoction before we gathered around and watched on as he worked his magic and made a ‘Budweis Mule’

So how did you come up with ‘The Budweis Mule’?

I wanted to do a twist on a classic Moscow Mule, using ginger and beer, rather than the classic ginger beer. I also wanted to play around with what spirits worked best with Budvar’s unique taste

What was it about the Budvar that gave you the inspiration ?

I wanted to work with the fresh, sweet-bitter bite of the beer and play off it’s hoppy tones. I felt that floral notes in gin would complement those well. Painting these with fresh citrus flavours brought in the Cointreau – the Orange liqueur – which is also a perfect partner to the gin. There is a definite herbal note in the whole-cone sass hops used in the Budvar, and I wanted to include our trademark fresh herbs at The Botanist to reflect that. Lemon thyme seemed like a perfect choice with its subtle flavour and citrus tang.

It was then our chance to get behind the bar and under Jonahs watchful eye make one of our own. Ekkkkk!

Our very own Blue Peter “Here’s one I made earlier” moment.

Let’s just say I’ll never work as a mixologist.

I was a chuffing disaster … with a capital chuff!

BUT somehow I managed to salvage together my hoptail which you can see below.

It’s lovely, very moreish and an extremely refreshing drink. I find some cocktails can be sickly , not this one.

Budweis Mule [£7.95] is available at The Botanist for a limited time only. So if you want one you need to go and grab one fast .

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with some genuinely lovely people.

One of life’s good moments I’d say; after all it’s not every day you get to make your own hoptail , learn something new in a fun environment.

The beer knowledge is strong in this one …[ say it in Yoda voice it kinda works better ! ]

We tootled out into the cold winter evening , giggling – merry as a couple of mules…

… it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Until next time, Tracey x

• I was invited along to The Botanist by Amy from the Untold Agency to try the new beer cocktails . As always all opinions are strictly my own . Any interview snippets with Jonah are taken from CzechStories.com
• Thankyou for the invite and fabulous evening.