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How East London has become London’s most vibrant destination - Cook & Nelson

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How to cut a world-class garnish with Seedlip Non-Alcoholic Spirits - Cook & Nelson

How to cut a world-class garnish with Seedlip Non-Alcoholic Spirits

A garnish on a drink is a final flourish. It adds an element of theatre and fun, and will enhance the drinking experience by awakening other senses such as sight and smell before taste comes into play.Herbs, edible flowers, citrus peels and spices all make for eye-catching, aromatic garnishes for non-alcoholic cocktails, but don’t plonk a garnish on a drink as an afterthought. If you’re adding Mint, bash the leaves a little in the palm of your hand to release the plants’ fragrant smell. Before adding citrus peel, give it a small squeeze over the glass to release the oil, as this holds much of the scent.The garnish should be as well thought out as the drink itself and these small actions help to take your cocktail to the next level in smell, taste and appearance.This mini guide to cutting garnishes will help ensure you’re getting the most out of the plants that we use most in our drinks, in five simple steps. GRAPEFRUIT ZEST FOR SEEDLIP SPICE 94 & TONICSweat the small stuff. Sharp angles and smart edges make all the difference. Peel a long strip of Grapefruit zest. About 1.5cm think. Cut off the untidy ends so you’re left with straight edges. Cut the short ends diagonally to create a long edge and a short edge. IV. Give your peel a little twist. Add to your Seedlip Spice 94 & Tonic at the end, making sure the garnish is at the front of the glass. CUCUMBER RIBBON FOR SEEDLIP GARDEN 108 & ELDERFLOWER TONICAn easy trick to introduce a dash of theatre and sophistication. Cut your Cucumber lengthways so that the soft, light-green flesh appears. Then take your peeler & peel, a long, thin strip. You want the middle part to have border of Cucumber skin all the way around it. Wind the garnish around your finger. Pick up the highball glass & drop the garnish into it while still holding the top part of the Cucumber against the glass w/ your finger. The Cucumber ribbon should unravel around the inside. Add ice & 50ml of Seedlip Garden 108. Then top w/ Elderflower Tonic. ORANGE SLICE FOR GROVE 42 & SODASimplicity at its finest. Find a lovely Orange & cut it in half. Then, cut off a slice, approx. 0.5cm thick Cut this slice in half, straight down the centre. Find a highball glass, fill it w/ ice & pour in 50ml Seedlip Grove 42. Top w/ soda & finally add your Orange slice. Make sure the slice sits at the front of the glass at a slight angle.

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Seedlip Non-Alcoholic Spirits: Six of your most commonly asked questions, answered - Cook & Nelson

Seedlip Non-Alcoholic Spirits: Six of your most commonly asked questions, answered

1. What is a non-alcoholic spirit? Is it the same as a flavoured water? Seedlip is the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, solving the ever-growing dilemma of ‘what to drink when you’re not drinking ®’. It is based on the distilled non-alcoholic remedies from The Art of Distillation written in 1651, and now repurposed to pioneer a new category of drinks.The bespoke distillation process used to make Seedlip meets the requirements of calling the liquid a spirit. A very small amount of Neutral Grain Spirit – or Alcohol – is used at the very early stages of the process to extract the most flavour we can out each of the premium ingredients we use. This alcohol is then removed using a secret method before the ingredients are expertly blended together to make Seedlip.Craftmanship, ingenuity and bespoke methods are all involved in the creation of our spirits –– just as they do in the creation of our alcoholic counterparts.Unlike a flavoured water, Seedlip is sophisticated and complex. It works with the palate and can complement a delicious meal. It offers those not wanting to drink alcohol, the ritual, flavour and sense of occasion; and bartenders working in world-class bars and restaurants around the world love to use Seedlip to make non-alcoholic cocktails. 2. How is Seedlip made? We carefully source and select herbs, spices, peels and barks, working closely with growers and fellow farmers including our own farm to find the very best ingredients that our master distiller can work with.Seedlip takes six weeks to make and involves bespoke maceration, copper pot distillation, blending and filtration process for each individual ingredient. It is then blended and bottled in England.We are transparent about our ingredients, but as we are the first people to make distilled non-alcoholic spirits, we can’t share all the details of our methods! 3. Why is Seedlip expensive? Seedlip sources the highest quality ingredients from our farmers around the world. The production process takes over six weeks, from individually distilling each ingredient to the final bottling. This is longer than a traditional spirit might take to produce, but we take time to get the best flavours from all of our natural ingredients to ensure we deliver a quality drink experience for our consumers.Seedlip is priced based on three things: I. The cost of sourcing the highest quality ingredients from our farmers around the world. II. The time, effort, equipment & expertise it takes to make a bottle of Seedlip [over six weeks individually distilling each ingredient]. III. The use, licences and associated tax and legal requirements of using alcohol in the process. 4. What ingredients are in each Seedlip spirit? There are six botanicals in each Seedlip Spirit and all Seedlip products are sugar-free and sweetener-free. Seedlip Garden 108: Water, Natural Botanical Distillates and Extracts, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate, Acid: Citric acid. A complex, herbal blend of individually copper pot distilled Peas, Hay and traditional English herbs. Seedlip Spice 94: Water, Natural Botanical Distillates and Extracts, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate, Acid: Citric acid. A blend of aromatic Jamaican Allspice berry and Cardamom distillates with two barks, and a bright citrus finish. Seedlip Grove 42: Water, Natural Botanical Distillates and Extracts, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate, Acid: Citric acid. A sophisticated, warm, citrus blend using three varieties of Mediterranean Orange, Lemon peel, Ginger and Lemongrass distillates with the cool prickle of Japanese Sansho Peppercorn. 5. What animals are in Seedlip label illustrations & what do the numbers mean?  All the animals on our bottles: the Fox, the Hare & the Squirrel, can all be found on, our founder, Ben Branson’s family farm.The label illustrations, designed by Raku Inoue, are made up of each of the six plant distillates used to make each Seedlip Spirit. Look closely and you’ll discover the ears of the Hare are Sugar Snap Peas, the head of the Squirrel is Ginger root, and the body of the Fox is made up of the quality Cascarilla & Oak bark found in Spice 94.The numbers relate to an interesting fact about the hero ingredient within each Seedlip Spirit: Seedlip Spice 94 1494 was the year European explorers came across Allspice berries growing in Jamaica. Seedlip Garden 108 On average, from the day they're sown, Peas take 108 days to grow and mature enough to be harvested. Seedlip Grove 42 Although Oranges have been grown in the Far East for thousands of years, it wasn’t till 1542 that the fruit made its way into Europe, and the colour orange first got its name. 6. How do I drink Seedlip? All Seedlip spirits are best served with tonic/soda or as the base for non-alcoholic cocktails.Alcohol carries flavour very well, as does sugar – Seedlip contains neither – but when mixed with tonic or within cocktails our spirits really shine and open up the complexity & strength of our plant distillates.We always recommended Seedlip is served as a 50ml measure over lots of ice, partnered with a mixer, and never drank neat.To garnish, we suggest using a Sugar Snap Pea for Garden 108 (we like to gently snap it, so it releases all those lovely green notes); an Orange twist for Grove 42; and a Grapefruit peel for Spice 94 – it makes all the difference!Our recommended serves are: Seedlip Garden 108: 50ml With Fever-Tree Indian tonic / Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic: 125ml Garnish: A snapped Pea pod Seedlip Grove 42: 50ml With Indian tonic / Fever-Tree Soda: 125ml Garnish: Orange twist Seedlip Spice 94: 50ml Fever-Tree Indian tonic / Fever-Tree Ginger Ale: 125ml Garnish: Grapefruit peel

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Grow Your Own Cocktail Garden with Seedlip - Cook & Nelson

Grow Your Own Cocktail Garden with Seedlip

As the art of gardening continues its pandemic-induced renaissance, Seedlip has partnered with local guided gardening brand Green Shoots to offer green-fingered Kiwis a new growing project for spring. The very special limited edition Seedlip Cocktail Garden Kit enables Seedlip fans to grow, cultivate, and harvest their own herbs and edible flowers to use in their cocktail creations. Perfect for smaller gardens or apartment living, the guided gardening kit contains nine different herb and edible flower seedlings. The kits include two each of the following in mini peat pots: Borage (also known as starflower), coriander, cosmos (colourful daisy-like flowers), fennel, lovage, rocket, sage, Thai basil, and viola (sweet violet). Each kit also contains plant markers, fertiliser, how-to gardening instructions, and one 700ml bottle of Seedlip. Once planted, the seedlings should be ready for harvest from around three weeks. Each kit comes with a Seedlip e-book which contains nine spring cocktail recipes and suggestions for using each edible herb and flower garnish once they’ve blossomed. Gardeners will be guided as to which plant complements their favourite Seedlip tipple – or they can simply enjoy their Seedlip and tonic over ice with a garnish they know has been lovingly grown at home. Green Shoots is the brainchild of Katie Jacobs, who inherited her passion for gardening from her mother and grandmother. Jacobs launched her Guided Gardening business in 2020, with Garden Seedling Kits and other select gardening products as a way to offer people  hassle-free gardening solutions, regardless of the space and skills they have. She describes the kits as “almost a complete garden in a box”, with other options available, including the Fragrant Herbs & Salad Seedlings Kit, a Pick & Mix Seedlings Kit, the Leafy Green Lovers Seedlings Kit, and the Vegetable Medley Seedlings Kit. Our very own Rebecca Caughey, immediately fell in love with the Green Shoots Guided Gardening Kits when she found them online. “Seedlip views itself first and foremost as a nature company, so we’re really excited to partner with Green Shoots. We love Katie’s vision and that she can help so many novice, time-poor gardeners and mums teaching young kids by making this as easy as possible,” she says.“And there’s just something about growing and harvesting your own food and produce, it just tastes that little bit better so we hope this limited edition kit inspires novice gardeners to get outside and give it a go”. The simple four-step process - prep the soil, plant the seedlings, fertilise, then water – means people can start gently harvest their herbs and flowers three weeks later.  Customers can then create their own cocktails from seed to lip, and while Seedlip is a distilled non-alcoholic spirit, the kits also include a couple of low alcohol recipe ideas.The kits are available for Auckland delivery only and can be ordered via Greenshoots here. They retail at $99.99 plus $10 delivery for 1 x bottle of Seedlip, 18 seedlings, 18 plant markers, fertiliser and the guided gardening instructions and recipes.

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Cook & Nelson in NZ Herald Viva - Cook & Nelson

Cook & Nelson in NZ Herald Viva

Favourite Things: Cook & Nelson Founders Nick Brown and Rebecca Caughey The founders of Cook & Nelson, a high-end wholesale food importer, share their most adored objects By Sarah Downs You could take a guess as to what Nick Brown and Rebecca Caughey do for a living by having a snoop in their kitchen. Jars of pickles, ketchup, and fiery barbecue sauce invade every inch of the fridge. Maple-syrup bottles, jewel-bright jams, and olive oil containers fill the pantry. The founders of Cook & Nelson, a high-end wholesale food importer, say the hoard serves as quick and sometimes necessary inspiration. “Our fridge and pantry have been described as condimental,” says Becs, laughing. “A lot of the time cooking is about emptying out the condiments. There’s absolutely no room for anything else.” The couple are behind New Zealand’s introduction to, and quick obsession with, arguably the world’s best pickles, Detroit-based McClure’s pickles, and non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip, which are included in their succinct international range of food and drinks. The trick to local success, they say, is in the research, which sees them regularly attending trade shows, spend hours trawling overseas blogs, and nabbing recommendations from top chefs. Nick has just returned from another dining spree around Chicago, where he and Becs first tried the world-famous brisket at Lillie’s Q restaurant. They’ve since brought its creator, Charlie McKenna, to Auckland to host barbecue masterclasses for the public using his sauce range, also stocked on Cook & Nelson. “It’s about finding people who are committed to making the best products in the world,” says Nick. “We love great food and interesting stories so we look for people who have that.” The couple are clearly passionate about food. Nick has mostly worked in the food space and was previously a director of a food manufacturing company. Becs, on the other hand, formerly thrived in the music industry and managed Kiwi artists Shapeshifter and Ladi6 for more than a decade. Her schedule of international travel was then slowed by the arrival of their two children, and Becs joined forces with Nick to build on what was the first fruits of Cook & Nelson around 2014. It was Becs’ dad who came up with the name for the business and was inspired by their first office location in City Works Depot. “We were based on the corner of Cook and Nelson streets — Dad just looked up at the street signs and came up with it,” says Becs. “It then really started to suit the nod to English explorers and how we navigate the globe to find our products.” As they continue to slowly grow and evolve, Nick says they aren’t looking to compete with premium local product, but are instead looking to fill any gaps in the market. “We don’t want to go head to head with any domestic producers,” he says. “We think local is best. We’re responding to average or non-existent products so there is demand and interest.” Part of that is also about keeping an eye on consumer trends, says Becs. For example, providing a solution for the global shift towards drinking less alcohol. “It’s really rewarding being able to be part of a solution for a shift in habits,” she says. “That has wed to certain products and helped shape some of the ways we look at things now.” Nick adds that as a market space, New Zealand is “well ahead” in several ways compared to those overseas, and cites the amount of innovation coming from local and small businesses. “You can go into our supermarkets and see hemp products and cricket flours on the shelves now,” he says. “We’re able to be at the front of this movement to ‘eat better, drink less, buy fewer clothes’ which is exciting. “People are engaged, and confident in experimenting. We love being able to bring over other amazing products and show those to New Zealanders.” OUR FAVOURITE THINGS   Cub Scout uniform. Photo / Babiche Martens   1 Nick’s Cub Scout UniformNick: I grew up in England, have travelled a lot, and haven’t kept much from my childhood so I treasure my Cub Scout uniform — complete with many badges. It connects me with my younger self, a useful reminder now I’m a dad.   Sam Mitchell painting. Photo / Babiche Martens   2 Sam Mitchell Painting — LibertyBecs: This was a gift for our wedding by my late grandfather and reminds us of him daily. It was the first piece of art we ever chose together; we love the iconic images in it and the way it strikes everyone who comes into our house. It’s painted on Perspex, meaning it needed to be painted backwards and in reverse.   Zoe & Morgan necklace. Photo / Babiche Martens   3 Becs’ Zap NecklaceBecs: Our kids are 5 and 3 and are currently obsessed by the notions of superheroes. They believe that my Zap necklace by Zoe and Morgan is a sign that I am a super hero and whisper “Super Mama” when they see it. This is something I hope they never grow out of!   Pounamu nose flute. Photo / Babiche Martens   4 Pounamu Nose FluteBecs: After more than a decade of managing Kiwi band Shapeshifter, I gave up my music management career before the birth of our second child. As a farewell gift, the band commissioned and gifted me this incredible instrument of a hand carved pounamu nose flute from the West Coast. Although I haven’t mastered the instrument, looking at this reminds me of the journey we went through and experienced together.   Skultuna bottle opener. Photo / Babiche Martens   5 Skultuna Bottle OpenerNick: We love beautifully crafted products that are steeped in tradition and history. Skultuna was founded in 1607 and is one of the oldest companies in the world. I was given a Skultuna bottle opener last year and it makes the very simple act of opening a bottle a joy.

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Sip on a Seedlip this July - Cook & Nelson

Sip on a Seedlip this July

Here are some of the places you can try Seedlip around New Zealand! Auckland Han, Azabu, Culprit, Depot, Fed Deli, Fukuko, MASU by Nic Watt, Ostro, The Sugar Club, Burger Burger, Sid at the French Cafe, Vondel Waiheke Mudbrick, Tantalus Hamilton Hayes Common Wellington Flamingo Joe's, Gasworks, POP, The Borough Blenheim Vines Village Christchurch OGB, Sawyer, City Social, Southside Social Queenstown Rata, The Nest at Kamana, Red's Bar, Eichardt's, La Rumbla (Arrowtown) Dunedin Moeity

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