The ’Turberfield Royale’, a new 100% English cocktail, has been created by Ledbury‟s Town Crier, William Turberfield.
The Turberfield Royale is a colourful British riposte to the Kir and Kir Royale. Those cocktails were invented in 1946 by the Mayor of Dijon, Felix Kir, to overcome post World War Two red wine shortages and to provide him with faux „red‟ wines for use at official functions.
Ledbury‟s Town Crier William Turberfield comments:
"I have believed for some time that foreign wines should be considered superfluous when it comes to entertaining at official events. Why do people buy drinks from thousands of miles away, when delicious and natural ingredients are often within three miles of their door.
"So my friend Andy Ward of the Talbot Inn, who organises our Local to Ledbury Festival in April, assembled a group of local food lovers to choose the new cocktail. The panel included Charles Martell, who produces the Stinking Bishop cheese of Wallace and Gromit fame; Edward Thompson, who grows blackcurrants and hops at Pixley; his nephew Angus Davison who is one of the UK‟s leading strawberry growers; John Wilesmith, one of the organisers of the Three Counties Show; Heather Mead from Weston‟s cider; and most importantly Councillor Chris Holbourne, our Ledbury Mayor."
Six cocktails were tasted using combinations of local sparkling wine, apple ciders, perrys (pear cider), blackcurrant cordial and strawberry bitters.
The result was the birth of the Turberfield Royale, a 100% locally produced recipe made from:
- Pixley Berries Blackcurrant Cordial; (just a smidgeon) available from Waitrose, Ocado, Tanners and fine food shops.
- Weston‟s Original Perry 4.5% ( www.westons-cider.co.uk or Mid Counties Co-op) made with local perry pears, grown especially for pear cider.
- Local strawberry „bitters‟ – just 2 drips, or the widely available Angostura Aromatic Bitters, based on gentian (a bitter herb and digestive stimulant.)
Edward Thompson from Pixley Berries cordials adds:
"Making your own version of The Turberfield Royale is easy. Served well chilled in wine glasses, the new Royale is deliciously fragrant and moreish. The perry pears combine with our Pixley blackcurrant to create a luscious drink with suggestions of rose petals, whilst my nephew‟s strawberry bitters (or Angostura bitters) add complexity and spice. But it is also much lower in alcohol than the 12% abv wines or the 15% abv+ blackcurrant Cassis often used in France to turn white wines pink."
Ledbury Mayor, Chris Holbourne adds:
"We all hope that Mr Turberfield will inspire other Town Criers around the country to follow in his steps to support local producers or to create their own local cocktails."
