A new way to quench your thirst in Aberdeenshire
Today we meet with Claire Rennie, founder of and Head of Fizz at Summerhouse drinks. Claire started her soft drinks company back in 2014 which was followed shortly by Walter Gregor Tonics. One of the first Scottish made, all natural ingredient tonics.
Claire and her team work hard to produce high quality and interesting flavour combinations in the soft drinks and tonics lines. They also work with several Gin producers to pair their tonics too to enhance the Terroir of their products. Using only natural ingredients and preservative free, Claire has built a fantastic reputation within the drinks industry in Scotland and won several awards.
In this episode of our Podcast; Visit the North East of Scotland, Claire shares with us an exclusive preview of exciting new flavours and products coming out soon and how the team create the wonderful flavours. You’ll be the first to know about what is coming up in their limited-edition line of tonics!
It’s not all whisky!
In a previous blog post Food & Drink Tourism, we talk about several opportunities to go on whisky or gin tours in Aberdeenshire. But the region is hugely innovative and we have a growing interesting range of thirst quenching options. Firstly, some say the best Scottish Water is that from Deeside. Deeside Mineral Water comes from a source located in the Cairngorms and is filtered through layers of underground rocks. Deeside water is special due to its molecular structure, but you’ll have to visit their website to read more about that. Readily available throughout Aberdeenshire, be sure to try this basic but necessary drink.
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Nothing beats a nice cuppa Tea
We admit, this next one isn’t technically in Aberdeenshire but Scotland isn’t that large and Perthshire is a near neighbour so we’ll allow this one. Did you know that Scotland has its very own tea plantation? The team at The Scottish Tea Factory know everything there is to know about brewing a perfect cup of tea. From fermenting and drying leaves to steeping them in hot water to extract the perfect flavours. You can visit the factory and have a tea tasting experience or make your own special blend! Scotland has a long heritage with tea. Our own local resident, James Taylor born just outside the village of Auchenblae was instrumental in developing tea plantations in what was then Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. James Taylor worked with Scottish merchant Thomas Lipton to develop the tea production into a thriving industry.
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Coffee more your drink of choice?
As in many larger cities, Aberdeen and the surround area have a vast choice in delicious and unique cafes and coffee bars. There are a few sources which give great recommendations of independent little places you can try. Like the blog from Colin Fraser at VisitAberdeenshire. Or if you would rather gather your information from what the locals say, then be sure to look over the Facebook page from Best of our Shire. They regularly feature tearooms and cafes where you can feast on home baked treats and steaming cappuccinos.
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For some added inspiration, watch this video from Laura Langheinrich about her five favourite places to go. You’ve probably heard of the mini burgers called Sliders, but Laura let’s slip a best kept secret! There is such a thing as a cake sliders, a sample plate full of different delights. But don’t tell everyone….
