#Chocollaboration Ep12: more Hummingbird Drinks Company
Back by popular demand, we invited the Hummingbird Drinks Company to return to our Chocolate Studio for the first #chocollaboration of 2025. Chris and Becca always have something new up their sleeve, and we were treated to a couple of their latest creations. We then heard all about the new bar which they have very recently opened up in Amble. When we set this date in the diary months ago, we had no idea it would be so close to launch night at their new cocktail bar, and I can't wait to go and visit.
But we started the evening with a taste of their most recent creation: a coffee liqueur called Grounded. Chris recounted how he has always felt unable to use other coffee liqueurs because of the high levels of sweetness they bring. With locally roasted beans from Northumberland Coffee, his quest has led him to produce a cold brew coffee liqueur which is 75% less sweet than other high street blends. One of the most amazing things when we tried it, was that it isn't at all bitter - but has a real warmth and darkness.
Then we tried one of their latest cocktails: East 8, a blend of orange, pineapple and passionfruit. And heard the infamous story of the time Kevin Armstrong chased a mugger in the E8 district in London, who decided to name one of his cocktails after the incident. Story aside, it is a beautifully refreshing cocktail, zesty and crisp.
And we couldn't fail to feature their Signature Cocktail: the Hummingbird Smash, with big flavours; Peach and Raspberry, with just a hint of basil.
Chocolate and cocktails. People get hands-on with no need to be shy of these ingredients!
Creative Collaborations
The chocolate creation then began with the challenge to create a chocolate mousse dessert cup, and batches of chocolate truffles: each with the 3 drinks we had been tasting. I gave a brief demonstration of how to coat the inside of a small cup with chocolate, to then fill with the mousse dessert. By folding egg white and chocolate together, we created a mousse base which could be infused with the cocktails or coffee liqueur.
Similarly, after a short demonstration about how to create a chocolate ganache, the guests were then able to create their own balance of infusions in milk or dark chocolate and decorate their truffles as they wished.
Happy guests with their own bespoke truffle creations.
As always in these evenings, I aim to give my guests the ingredients and the methods they need - and then allow them the freedom to be creative. They choose what ingredients to combine, how concentrated to make the infusions, and to keep tasting and testing as they go along. Also, there are always, of course, plenty of chocolates to eat along the way!
Thank you to my good friend and sidekick, Joanna, for co-hosting with me, and to Chris and Becca for sparing their time and expertise during their busy launch of the new bar. And above all, thank you to our lovely 16 guests, who entered fully into the spirit of the evening (quite literally!) and created some wonderful cocktail inspired creations! Til next time...
Future events and ticket availability can be seen here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/
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