[AD – Gifted] Some products below have been kindly gifted to me, but I am under no obligation to post about it – I just figured it would be useful in one big guide! Enjoy!
Hands up if you feel your alcohol consumption has gone up since lockdown?
Obviously, I don’t want to condone binge drinking and I always want to encourage you to drink responsibly, but with all our favourite pubs, bars and clubs shut in Northamptonshire, it’s clear we are missing our usual social tipple we would normally get from our favourite places.
I’m also missing going to my favourite local food festivals and enjoying that summer beverage right about now, alongside some street food! I’m also missing visiting food fairs and chatting to the owners and employees of certain independent alcohol businesses.
And over the recent weeks, I have definitely purchased my fair share (as well as been kindly gifted) of alcohol to get me through lockdown and I have to say, I don’t feel guilty whatsoever!
Plus, with the weather being so nice, it’s the perfect excuse to still support local whilst drinking a tipple in your garden (something I know, we have been blessed with`on
As always, I am basing my list on services we have personally used – as due to my location being in Towcester, not every alcohol delivery service travels this far out, BUT there are some of which are able to thanks to some other reliable resources.
Here are the best independent alcohol delivery services in Northamptonshire I have used:
- Black Duck Bars
- Wharf Distillery
- R&M Wines
- The Occasion Bar Co
- Jelley’s Vodka
- Warner’s
- ProCocktails
- Saxby’s Cider
- The Beer Garage
Black Duck Bars
Black Duck Bars are usually out and about navigating the county and beyond with their horsebox and modular bars which are fit for any event. But during the coronavirus pandemic, they are offering home deliveries to your door!
The company is run by Clare and her partner, Jimmy who together launched their business earlier this year and obviously didn’t have the greatest start! But like every business, they have managed to find a way to keep going by offering a service that people will appreciate.
They do everything from boxes of different types of alcohol, to giving gift packages for say anyone who wants to give someone something to celebrate with.
Their top sellers include their spirit gift boxes, which include 1x 70cl spirit, 2x mixers (choices vary between tonics/coke/lemonade/ginger ale etc) fruit garnish, ice tray, 2x cocktail recipes for chosen spirit and handmade card with personalised message.
They also have a Whiskey Box set, wine in bottle bags, Prosecco (includes 2x flutes) and crates of lager (24x bottles).
All pricing includes delivery which they do personally themselves.
They love to personalise and support other local businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, including adding copies of The Happy Hood to their gift packs which gives it such a nice touch!
Check them out on Instagram or their website.
Wharf Distillery
For all your small-batch gin and whisky tipples, Wharf Distillery can come to the rescue!
Wharf Distillery are an independent small-batch copper-pot distillery producing a range of exciting grain-to-glass spirits and liqueurs.
Products include their Cattle Creep English Whisky, Safine Drenc Gin, New Town Gin and even Vodka Liqueur and more.
As of now, they are currently offering free delivery on orders over £25 within 15 miles and offer the following collections on Saturday in Towcester, Brackley, Weedon Bec and Potterspury.
For an extra bit of personalisation, Wharf Distillery are now offering special edition bottles for their Northamptonshire Gin; one for Towcester and one for Silverstone – which I am especially excited about as I want to get my hands on a Towcester bottle!
And don’t forget – whilst you grab your gin fix, you can also support local by donating to their fundraising appeal when you purchase some of their homemade hand sanitiser, every litre of sanitiser purchased, will be matched with another litre to help those in PPE and critical services such as hospitals and care homes.
Please note; sanitiser is only available to purchase for local delivery or collection.
Check out their website here for more delivery information.
Read more: The Best Northamptonshire Gin Guide
R&M Wines
Have you ever tried Portugese wine? Well, you’re in for a treat if you haven’t and it’ll change your wine game forever.
R&M wines is a family-run business based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire who import and distribute quality wines around the UK, from carefully selected regions of Portugal. We were kindly gifted a bottle of Monte Barbo Red and White Monte Barbo
It’s advised to keep the white wine in the fridge and the red wine goes very well with red meat. The white wine is especially crisp on a hot summers day.
R&M Wines are currently delivering all across Northamptonshire. Check out their website here.
The Occasion Bar Co
Hands up if you’re missing a cocktail from your favourite local bar? I am! But don’t worry, there’s a solution to keep you occupied at home as well as have a taste of your favourite cocktails.
The Occasion Bar Co are offering isolation cocktail boxes which contain everything you need, including shakers, cocktail glasses, garnishes, straws and even the instructions for how to make them.
They are delivering across Northamptonshire and beyond and you can read all about our experience in the blog post below.
Read More: Isolation Cocktails at Home by Occasion Bar Co
Jelley’s Vodka
Fun fact; I’m not a huge fan of Vodka… that was until I tried Jelley’s Vodka which was on another level to anything I’ve ever tasted and didn’t remind me of drunken uni nights – ha!
Jelley’s Vodka are an award-winning Vodka distillery based in Brixworth who produce organic british vodka from their organic straight vodka, pomegranate and rosemary and their refreshing elderflower vodka.
Or if you’re not into drinking or currently can’t, Jelley’s even have their own Elderflower Cordial!
One of their big offers during lockdown has been their Lockdown Local Bundle, which includes 1 Jelley’s Pomegranate and Rosemary 20cl vodka, San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water 500ml, Fever Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water Refreshingly Light 150ml, Cointreau Triple Sec (Orange) Liqueur Miniature 5cl, Firefly Pomegranate and Elderflower Juice Drink 330 ml plus all the garnishes you need.
Check out Chanelle’s Instagram post where she shared more about her Jelley’s Vodka experience.
Visit their website here to order.
Warner’s
The one who started my love for drinking gin… Warner’s!
If you don’t know who Warner’s are, they are a Northamptonshire based gin distillery who create farm-grown gin in small batches on Falls Farm. Their gin’s include a subtle Lemon Balm, a fresh Spring Blossom Gin and one of my favourites, a lovely Rhubarb gin!
Before lockdown, Warner’s operated a delivery service but they have added free delivery on all orders over £30 and throughout the month of May, they are donating £1 of every order made towards Healthy Hospo, an initiative to help support the mental health and well-being of the hospitality industry in the UK.
And with every bundle of their gin and tonic bundle collection or with every order of 2 or more 70cl gin bottles, you will receive your own Get Growing Kit!
Don’t forget, you can get 15% off your Warner’s order using my discount code: NICOLENAVIGATES15 until 31st May.
ProCocktails
If you want an easy way to make your cocktails, without too much fuss, ProCocktails are now delivering bottled cocktail mixes straight to your door to enjoy!
ProCocktails have created pre-batched solutions with a difference and have been made for those who want to serve exotic, professionally mixed cocktails at speed with no fuss or expense of hiring a professional bar-team.
They are a Milton Keynes based company, however, they are doing delivery across Northamptonshire and beyond and you can choose between a 50cl or 100ml bottle of cocktail mix, plus you can select whether you just want the mix, or if you want the glasses and shaker too – so it’s versatile for all home cocktail makers!
We chose the Pornstar martini mix and it was so easy to pour in the shaker with ice, shake and serve in our mini cocktail glasses we had included and they tasted just like something from a professional bar abroad – giving me those holiday vibes whilst stuck in doors!
If you want to ‘shake up’ your home routine over the weekend, I’d highly suggest ordering from ProCocktails.
Saxby’s Cider
A cold, crisp cider on a hot sunny day is the ticket and I am so pleased Saxby’s Cider is available!
Saxby’s Cider produce real craft cider fresh from their family farm in Farndish by Phil and Amanda Saxby. All their apples are grown on their farm, which they slowly mature and blend to produce delicious cider with real fruit-juices, no flavourings, syrups or nasties.
They are offering free delivery to the following postcodes which you can see here, but if you’re nearer to Northampton, you can order through the Phipps NBC website who they have teamed up with to ensure all areas are covered.
However, since they don’t deliver to NN12, I have luckily found some places that I can still get my Saxby’s fix including Bell Plantation now it’s open and The Plough, Shutlanger – so I haven’t missed out!
I would recommend a nice, cold Strabwerry cider for hotter days!
Check out their website here.
Read more: Cidery tour and tasting with Saxby’s Cider
The Beer Garage
The Beer Garage are here to the rescue for all your craft beer from IPA’s, international, specialist beers and you can even buy by brewery and buy local beers too.
If you really want to grab all your local favourites, I thoroughly recommend getting your hands on the Local Lads Mix which consists of Nobby’s Brewery, Blackpit Brewery, Boot Town and Blackened Sun – it’s given me such a great opportunity to try more local beers and I’ve discovered one’s I didn’t know if before.
Currently, The Beer Garage offer free delivery on most local orders and will deliver across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes. You can also join their Beer Club for exclusive deals and more.
It’s a BIG list and now I’m wondering whether we drink too much alcohol (joking, joking!) but it’s been really nice that Josh and I have been drinking more local drinks as opposed to popping to the shops to buy any bulk standard alcohol.
As always, drink responsibly!
Where are you getting your local tipples from? Share what you’re drinking on Instagram using #NavigatingNorthants
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