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Are Cider Cocktails The Next Big Thing? We Try Them out With Rekorderlig Ambassador Joel Persson

6/2/2015

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Joel Persson is the Global Brand Ambassador for Rekorderlig Cider and the only cider ambassador in the world. He knows about cider. He has the hard task of developing the brand with the addition of cider cocktails to their portfolio - being made only more difficult by the fact he is the only person in that type of position.

Cider cocktails had never even crossed our minds before. Having expected to just have a cider tasting session when we headed out to meet Joel, this caught us out and really had us interested. 


Having started out as a concept in Australia, it was brought over to the UK, especially London last year, and needless to say, it really took off.


The concept is taking cocktails that already exist and turning them on their head; making traditional cocktails even more appealing with the addition of their ever popular range of flavoured ciders.
There is so much scope for the cocktails which could be created with the different ciders they produce
First up was a twist on the mojito, taking your mojito ingredients - rum, lime, mint, sugar, soda water, ice - then topping it up with their Winter cider! It makes for a pleasant experience which completely changes the way that cider is drank. You get the hit of the mojito but it is finished off with the cider. Very drinkable! 

It can also be used to make sharing pitchers of light, fruity cider paired with tequila and lime for summer or even a mulled cider hot toddy in winter. There is so much scope for the cocktails which could be created with all the different ciders which they produce. We even got a sneak peak of their pomegranate cider, something not so sweet and easy to drink, one to watch out for!

With this being the new big thing in some of the biggest bars in London, it won't be long until it's in bars around the country. The company's pitcher concept is currently outselling Pimms by 4:1 in certain bars. 

This concept really has the potential to be explode into something huge and has so much scope for developing flavours and trends. We're definitely excited - and you should be too.

                                                                                                                                John Allan
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Bar Review: Beer And Skittles, Edinburgh

30/1/2015

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Finding the entrance to Beer and Skittles isn’t the simplest of tasks, but once you’ve passed through the entrance of ‘Steak’ and worked your way down to the basement, you’ll be rewarded with a seat in one of the most stylish bars in Edinburgh.

From the offset, the tasteful decor comes across as modern and welcoming, simple but slick, with low hanging lights and couches that it’s more than easy to settle into in an instant.

The main attraction of the bar isn’t the fine furnishing though, nor even the free pool, as crazy as that may seem. Rather, it’s the 70 hand-selected beers on offer from a total of 39 different countries. Put simply, the selection is outrageously good.

In our introductory session there, we managed to make our way through beers from Kenya, Namibia, Brazil and Canada, as well as sampling the excellent home brew ‘Beer and Skittles’. All reasonably priced as well.

On request, you can pick up a World Beer Tour card – which in our excitement we forgot to do – which lets you chalk off the beers you’ve tried and after making your way through them all (not in one day of course), get the right to have your name and photo on the ‘Hall of Foam’. We have literally no idea what that is, but it sounds excellent.

Decent beers without the condescension of craft beer that the likes of Brew Dog seem to enforce...
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The thing is, that with a bar specialising in world beers in a stylish setting, which occasionally puts games – think beer and Jenga, a great, great, dangerous mix – you would normally expect the vibe to be a little bit, well, hipster. And by hipster of course, we really mean dick-ish, but that’s not actually a word.

To our delight though, this was not the case. Not even remotely. The bar certainly has a Shoreditch, London vibe about it – the quirky nature of the games, the free darts and pool worked into a chic layout – but the wonderful news is that it has none of the snobbery about it. It all feels pretty casual.

Bar staff are friendly, welcoming and ready to recommend a beer to your taste. We even ended up having a rather interesting conversation with them about the awesome Australian hip-hop soundtrack that was sounding nicely round the venue.

You might not be able to order certain traditional (where it says traditional, read ‘shit’) lagers ala Carlsberg and Carling and other unfortunate specimens that start with ‘Car’, but this is just the glory of it. You get decent beers without the condescension of craft beer that the likes of Brew Dog seem to enforce.

You can even order draft beers in steins. Steins we tell you!! You know it’s good when we have to use a double exclamation mark.

The vibe of the place, then, is fine but friendly, pairing live sport on multiple screens with cosy booths and a sterling range.

The perfect choice for a comfortable beer or three, and even better for heading to for a date or before a night-out on the town. I think the JFC crew may have found a new regular...


Stuart Kenny
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Review: Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party, 31 Dec, 2014

4/1/2015

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The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party. It’s become the stuff of legend, planted deep in the genes of guidebook folklore and featured on more global bucket lists than sweating a 26-miler.

The best thing about it? As long as you tackle it in just the right way, it’ll never fail to live up to the hype – a large part of which is down to the shared mentality of the 80-odd-thousand revellers who end up attending.

‘Come in and do the right thing. Get up and have a party’. A couple of sentences which will guide you towards a memorable night on Princes Street on 31 December, and also, the opening lines to ‘Get Up’ by Young Fathers, the Mercury Award-winning Edinburgh hip-hop act who opened the Waverley Stage on Hogmanay.

Of course, anyone who knows Young Fathers will know that their lyrics go a lot deeper than your usual low-depth, party-endorsing chart act.

Hot Dub Time Machine is the most welcoming, triumphant, irresistible sing-along the world has ever seen... And we can't recommend it highly enough
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The trio are bold, confident, original, and most importantly, they know what they’re doing. And they know that they know what they’re doing as well.

The group swaggered around the stage on NYE with the same daring yet expressionless authority that comes across when they talk to the press. Their faces may not give much away, but all the depth you need is planted finely in their lyrics.

Hogmanay partying may not have been the best setting for new listeners to appreciate their craft, but Young Fathers are unquestionably an exceptional act, and they provided an entertaining opening to the night.

The Twilight Sad were up next, but while we are indeed fans of the awesome punk-indie-rock band, we left the Waverley Stage at this point to take on the Hot Dub Time Machine New Year Special a little further up the street. Any event with that many capitalised letters in the name is bound to be exceptional.

The idea is simple: DJ Tom Loud bangs out “instantly recognisable tunes from the 60s to the present day” in chronological order, and the end result is so addictive and accessible that it’s impossible not to get drawn in.


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From the Beatles to Queen to Britney Spears and endless others, this is the most fun the JFC team have had in front of a single DJ. We’re largely into different kinds of music and different genres, but Hot Dub isn’t about music appreciation in the typical sense. Put simply, it’s the most welcoming, triumphant, irresistible sing-along the world has ever seen – and we can’t recommend it highly enough.

Back to the Waverley Stage, though, and Twin Atlantic bringing us into 2015. Sam McTrusty and co. did exactly what you’d expect them to do. They absolutely killed it.

Their newer material may be a bit cheesy, but Twin’s stuff has always translated beautifully to the stage. It’s accessible, the riffs are catchy as hell, the hooks are wonderful and McTrusty’s signature twang is the cherry on top of the rocking cake. They’re just a great live band.

Heart and Soul rang from the speakers at midnight and the traditional Auld Lang Syne madness ensued – complete with a JFC colleague yelling at all the rest of us for crossing our hands too early.

A wonderful night and another welcome edition of this categorically must-not-miss event. Truth be told, the street party is almost always more about the people you meet and the random folk you end up hugging than the live acts on stage... But it certainly didn’t hurt this year that the entertainment was out of this world.

So, thank you again for another great game of the Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party. It’s always a guaranteed winner.

                                                                                                                      Stuart Kenny

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Preview: Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party - City Centre, 31 December, 2014

29/12/2014

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The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party has become a legendary event now across the world.

There’s the packed out high street, the backdrop of the castle, the midnight fireworks and the tens of thousands of strangers, many of whom you’re bound to be best mates with by the end of the night.

The thing is, that the night has such a reputation that the organizers could chuck any old bands or capable DJs up on their various stages and it’d be a success, but to the credit of them, they keep going bigger and better. And this year looks like it could be one of the best.

The Waverley Stage line up is what has really been catching eyes since the posters went up around the city. Young Fathers, the brilliant Mercury Award winning hip-hop trio, will be playing their hometown from 9pm, The Twilight Sad are set to follow at 10pm, and Scottish rock superstars Twin Atlantic will take over the show at 11.30pm – playing both before and after the fireworks.

We can’t wait to ring in the New Year to such an unbelievable line up...

Of course, if you’re travelling from abroad or simply after a more traditional element – the famous ceilidh will be in full flow on the street and the Scottish Stage boasts an admirable line up on Frederik Street as well.
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We can’t deny that we’ll be spending most our time divided between the Waverley Stage and the Rewinder Stage at the top of the mound though, where Hot Dub Time Machine are set to bring their ‘biggest party ever’ to the capital showdown.

Anyone who has been to the Edinburgh Fringe favourite will know what this means – unfortunately not jacuzzis that take you back in time – but a “funk filled” adventure that takes you chronologically from the 60s right back to 2014, before the bells for 2015 ring in. Quite fitting we must admit.

As we’ve said above though, the line ups and the music are the cherry on top of the event at these parties. What really makes it is the people. It’s a mix of thousands of locals and thousands of travellers – each getting in each other’s ways and pissing each other off, but occasionally stopping and becoming friends for the night.

It’s bring your own booze and it’s consistently memorable (unless you capitalise too much on the aforementioned BYOB rules of course and forget the whole night).

So stay tuned to the site for pictures and reviews from the event, but until then, Merry Christmas, and we’ll say Happy New Year in person if we catch you by the Time Machine on December 31st...

For more information and to buy tickets for the event, click here for the official website.
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Review: Aberdeen's Craft Beer Corner... 

28/11/2014

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Oil, strip-clubs, cold weather and granite. Those are the headlines that the city of Aberdeen offers. This list is missing at least one item though...

Next to the gorgeous Marischal College (seriously Google it) you'll find three bars, under a minute apart, all dedicated to the art of brewing: Brew Dog, Six°North, and the Bottle Cap Bar and Brewery. All three bars are worth a visit, with the area boasting hundreds of different beers to try on ever changing menus. Here is the breakdown:

Brew Dog:

Brew Dog is pretty much a household name now, but lots of people don't realise that it originally comes from Fraserburgh - a small town north of Aberdeen.

It was started in 2007 by two guys who were just fed up with corporate lager and wanted to see what they could do. What resulted is a huge range of beers, including the now famous 'Tactical Nuclear Penguin', which became the world's strongest beer in '09.

Now the company is the largest independent brewer of beer in Scotland, employing over 200 people and owning 12 bars nationwide (as well as bars in Stockholm, São Paulo and Florence).

They are known for their variety and alternative names, but at the heart of the company is a real love for what they do, and a love for beer. The bar itself is pretty much always packed, and has a great atmosphere to it.

If you do find yourself there on a quiet Tuesday night in November, then it's still a great place to drink. The service is excellent, and we really cannot fault the Brew Dog team.

Six°North is the JFC pick from Aberdeen’s craft beer corner – and possibly the best bar in the city – for a solid date-night...
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Bottle Cap Bar and Brewery

Bottle Cap Bar and Brewery is the newest addition to the area, seemingly following in a similar mould to Brew Dog, and occupying the site of Aberdeen Uni's former unofficial union.

The place has – thankfully – been hosed down in the interim, but admittedly the new bar hasn't done too much with the space. The JFC team really wanted to like this bar, but something about it is just lacking. Now, we are not ones to judge a place by its wallpaper or soft furnishings, but here it really was a bit grim.

Once we had got our inner Kevin McCloud out, it was time to try some of their beers. Fortunately, we can announce that they really come though on that count, and properly make up for their decorating. Because of this, and the fact that it is generally quieter than its competitors, Bottle Cap is great for a quiet drink with a mate, a pint and some good old-fashioned board-games.

Six°North

Six°North opened its doors in 2013 and heralded themselves as the 'Belgian Brewers of Scotland'.

Indeed, their name refers to Aberdeen's location in relation to Brussels, and the bar itself reflects this love of all things Belgian, with a huge range of Belgian beer, and of beer in general.

They have over 200 different bottles on their newspaper style menu, as well as a weekly draft menu. Everything about this bar just seems to work. The place is set out as a traditional beer hall, with lots of open wood, barrels and long benches, but it manages to be cosy and pretty modern at the same time.

The beers are also amazing, with an even larger variety than Brew Dog. Even if you are not a big fan of beer, we would highly recommend Six°, as they always manage to find something you like. Because of this, and its cosy feel, the Belgian beer hall is the JFC pick from Aberdeen’s craft beer corner – and possibly the best bar in the city – for a solid date-night.

Bars' Best Beers:

Brew Dog - Hardcore IPA (It really will kick your ass!)

Six°North - Wanderlust (Crisp, homebrewed wheat beer)

Bottle Cap - Hitachino Nest White Ale (Very easy to drink, properly refreshing)

                                                                                                                Fraser Bonar

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Bar Review: Candy Bar, Edinburgh

27/10/2014

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Sunday afternoon and the JFC team saunter down George Street, bleary eyed and reminiscing about the events of the previous night on the same road. We make our way to the west end and swing a right down the stairs to Candy Bar.

Whether you’re after a cheese fondue or one of their black and blue burgers the menu has a good variety of quality food. The prices are also astounding. You can get a serious amount of food for your buck! During the Edinburgh Festival they even do all the food for under a fiver. Grab an Oreo Candy Shake and you’re on to a winner.

Candy bar has sported a number of decorative themes (our favourite of which was Après Ski) and they always give the place a nice atmosphere and gives you a lot to look at while you wait for your food, which could be some time. So let’s get this out there, the one and only drawback of Candy is the wait. It really is quite incomprehensible. Whether the place is full or empty you’ll be left to wonder at the decor as your stomach rumbles.

But when your food does arrive you will be blown away considering the price. I would go as far as to say this is the best value food in Edinburgh. There’s a reason the team loves Candy. It’s just a straight up great place. A combination of good food, chilled out ambiance and abundance of cheese all comes together in perfect harmony. We will continue to head along at every opportunity and tuck in to delicious cheese and bacon wedges despite a bit of a wait. See you there next Sunday.

                                                                                                                      Robbie Ambrose


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Club Review: Fly Club - With Ben Pearce @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, 20 June

22/6/2014

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Life is so predictable. It’s Ben Pearce that preaches this of course, or blasts it out during his sets at the very least.

When the British producer announced he would be hitting up Cabaret Voltaire this summer then, we predicted a night to remember filled with ear-blistering bass. Predictably, we were spot on.

Pearce’s hit with Black Orange Juice was just one of the pulsating parts of the night. Through an iPod, the summer-loving hook may be the most appealing segment of that particular record, but blast the Ben Pearce re-work through gigantic speakers and the funky bassline blaring throughout comes into its own. It’s pretty hard not to lose your shit when that beat kicks in. We didn’t resist the temptation.

From early in the set the Purp & Soul man had made his mark, signalling his arrival with an early play of the irresistible soul work on his remix of Le Youth’s ‘C O O L’. Here is where you want to be, go the lyrics. Seems appropriate enough.

Regarded by many as the current king of deep house, the music was dropping heavily all night, and the crowd soaking up every bit of it. From 90s vintage house to early post-millennium stuff and the more recent work from Pearce himself, the theme was hard-hitting, honest basslines that cued sweat and the usual shape-throwing dance moves seen all too often in the main room.

Guest DJ or no guest DJ, the sound system at Cab Vol is set up sweetly to pump out the bass, but when you’ve got a guy on decks renowned for making music that shakes dancefloors, the nights takes a bit of a step up.

Pearce’s ‘Lego’ EP seems tailor-made for the Cab Vols and Sub Clubs of the world. A packed in venue attempted to withstand the monumental G-force pounding from the speakers as the eponymous track of the EP delivered its funky twang. A relatively low roof, narrow room and a figurative shitload of people – the most exact of measurements – ensured it went down exactly how you’d imagine. There was a lot of passion packed into that room.

Before he got on to finishing off with ‘Predictable’ though, there was always a tune that Ben was going to have to unleash at some point to keep his crowd happy.

The signature, now fêted bassline thumps that signal the start of ‘What I Might Do’ arrived to literal squeals of excitement (check out the video below). It’s now a deep house classic for a reason. That initial drop is insane through my relatively well put together headphones, but when you crank it through the right sound system, the resulting sound is mouth-watering.

So shaken by the bass that night were we that we had to return to Cab Vol the following night to aid the recovery. We can’t be going cold turkey on deep house after such a hard hitting session of bass and electronic driven beats with Ben Pearce. I think it’s called ‘progressive recovery’.

Verdict: A sick night all in, packed with the positive vibes generated from a like-minded audience hungry for deep house, fat basslines and prepared at any minute to bust some unacceptable dance moves. We look forward to next time.

Shoutout to the top staff running the night and at ‘Cafe Voltaire’ above the club as well. They hooked us up with the amazing Pacman booth for pre-drinks upstairs. It’s pretty much a booth where you can play all sorts of arcade games for free – we stuck to Donkey Kong and Pacman – and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

                                                                                                                                        Stuart Kenny

Post by Cabaret Voltaire.
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Club Review: Sounds Of Soul (UK) Presents - Lovebirds @ Cabaret Voltaire, 25 May

31/5/2014

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Sounds of Soul (UK) were nice enough to bring German producer Lovebirds to Cabaret Voltaire last week, and it proved to be just the night filled with old school house that the JFC team was hoping it would be.

Indeed, the night was stacked with a chilled blend of music which ranged through a couple of different genres and styles but stuck loosely to a policy of funky and soulful deep house which filled the downstairs cave setting of Cabaret Voltaire perfectly.

On entry to the venue though, we descended down to find a distinct lack of people, as we had arrived pretty early on (too keen for the gig). Needless to say, we did what any reasonable person would in the situation and headed straight for the bar.

Drinks prices were pretty reasonable at £2.50 for a vodka/rum and mixer or £2.80 for a can of Red Stripe – that classic Cab Vol beverage. As we sat and drank the tunes continued to drop and we heard one of the best sets in the venue that we’ve heard in some time when Lovebirds took to the decks. A high compliment to say the least given the high profile clientele being attracted to Cab Vol right now.

There was a variety of style and genres on offer from Lovebirds, but a distinctly old school theme could be found throughout the work on the night.

The summer vibes were apparent from the start as well, with Lindstrom’s remix of Grizzly Bear track ‘Gun Shy’ packing up the nightclub with a funky sounding made up of rhythmic synths and bouncing electronic beats.

Lovebirds 808ies Matrix mix of his own ‘Holdin’ On’, which features soft vocals from Lisa Shaw, impressed shortly after. The track features an irresistible 80s-style bassline twang which when banged out through the impressive speakers at Cabaret Voltaire, meant it was near enough impossible not to turn on the dance moves.

The likes of Gypsy Men’s ‘Hear The Music’ and Kink’s ‘Hand Made’ furthered the back to the future vibe of the night with that signature funky sound that has re-risen from the ashes recently to massive public love.

The disco vibes were cemented by the German producer as he continued to churn out beauties – Tony Lionni’s ‘Higher Ground’ landing to great reaction as the synthetic twang and circling funk beat reverberated off the walls of the caved venue, and MK’s now renowned ‘Burning’ setting off some more drunken dance moves in a room where the audience and the DJ were clearly on the same page.

All in all, this was a very strong set from Lovebirds, a producer who has continues to go from strength to strength. The theme of the set was clear was early on, and the old school, funky house bangers didn’t stop landing until the night was over.

This kind of night highlights the way that Cabaret Voltaire has turned in recent years; it’s the place to be for house/electronic music and once again it did not disappoint.

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Sound of Soul (UK) Presents... Lovebirds @ Cab Vol. Coming To Edinburgh On 25 May

19/5/2014

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Edinburgh venue Cabaret Voltaire is set to welcome Lovebirds on 25 May 2014 for a Bank Holiday bash that will no doubt be massive.

That's right - Lovebirds is Edinburgh bound, as Cab Vol team up once again with their west coast family friends DC Sessions. This promises to be a loose and sweaty night of deep and soulful house music in the main room,
solidly supported by the Cab Vol Sundays residents in room two.

Sebastian Doering (Lovebirds/Knee Deep) has been at the forefront of the deep house scene for the past five years. His hypnotic blend of nudisco/boogie and mid tempo production work has pretty much worked it's way in to DJ's record bags worldwide

I'm pretty sure by now, everyone on the planet has heard/been touched by Lovebirds track, Want You In My Soul, released in 2011. It still gets absolutely hammered today and it's provided the soundtrack to many a loose night for the Just For Culture crew.

This is a big night for Cab Vol and for the electronic scene in Edinburgh which is often accused of being all too subdued.

We'll be there to review, and we reccomend that you come along too - buy us a couple of drinks while you're there if you want.

DJ's : 

LOVEBIRDS 
JANE JAYA AYRES &
FRAZER DEVINE 
CUNNIE 
DJ BEEF

Doors opens at 10 and its only 8 quid before midnight!

Tickets Online : http://soundsofsouluk.com/events/

Date : 25th May 2014 
Time : 10pm - 3am 
Door : £8/10 

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RESTAURANTS, bars, nightlife.... reviewed here. coming soon.

18/5/2014

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