“All Crime, Including Murder, Will Be Legal for 12 Hours”

We’re back from the dead, crafting a whole new exciting range of Halloween Cocktails, we’ve chosen some of the best Halloween films or video games and created a perfect Cocktail to accompany them, working alongside different wineries and distilleries, I’ll give you a little history into each film and the know-how to create a delicious themed Cocktail.

13 Frightful Nights – Night 10 – The Purge

The Purge

What if, for one night a year, all crime, including murder, was legal, would this reduce crime throughout the rest of the year or cause such mayhem that America would fall into a criminal wonderland?

The Purge franchise was created, written and in most cases directed by James DeMonaco, he cited his inspiration to a Star Trek: The Original Series episode, ‘The Return of the Archons’.

Liz: It’s so quiet here.
Sergeant: The business district’s always quiet on Purge night. The banks move their money, so no one’s ever down here.

With a budget of only $3 million, it grossed $89.3 million at the box office, despite mixed reviews. The film was also incorporated into its own scare zone in 2014 for Universal Parks & Resorts annual Halloween Horror Nights.

The films have only really managed a rating of around 50% from critics, with The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year being the most well received by fans, and arguably the best films in the series, with Frank Grillo playing the leading role. Over the course of their films so far, they’ve grossed a combined $450 million, with a  combined production budget of $53m.

• The Purge – 2013
• The Purge: Anarchy – 2014
• The Purge: Election Year – 2016
• The First Purge – 2018
• The Forever Purge – 2021
• The Purge 6 – TBC

The Purge also had a TV series, which was canceled after 2 seasons.

Newscaster: Incoming reports show this year’s Purge has been the most successful to date, with the most murders committed.

The English Sparkling Wine – Bradstock Estate

Located on a single hill in the beautiful village of Burton Bradstock, planed on perfect chalk and sand soils, south-facing slopes, fed by their very own freshwater stream, which feeds into the River Bride, this divine combination of terroir creates what are some excellent conditions for growing vines.

Their winery is based in the center of their vineyard, alongside the home of Bradstock Estates owners Paula and Michael Lewis. Originally a paddock where horses could roam before returning to their stables for the night, it was converted into a vineyard in 2020.

Bradstock Estates wines are created using both the Traditional Method for their more complex wines and also using the Charmat Method for more lively and fresh sparkling wines.

Surrounded by vines and history, the coastline of South West England has roots in piracy, with ships and boats being easily hidden in the many covers and inlets, which lent themselves to what were great hiding places for pirated and smuggled goods. The cliffs were also used for training before the Normandy landings in 1943.

Paula and Michael Lewis first had the idea for a truly fine English Sparkling Wine after their exciting travels through France and the Tuscany region of Italy in 2010. When they returned home, after raising a family, they set their hearts on finding the very best land the UK had to offer to plant vines, upon their search they discovered and purchased The Paddocks, with 90 acres of land.

Paula Lewis is the Head Winemaker at Bradstock, she assesses every handpicked parcel of grapes for quality, ripeness and character, and she can distinguish the subtle yet distinctive differences between each area of their vineyard.

Spending every day among the vines with their children, the love and commitment shines through in every bottle, with the dream of producing fine wines that rival the best in the world.

How Do You See The Future Of English Sparkling Wine?

“I honestly believe that English Sparkling Wine will be regarded as the best in the world within 10 years. It is an incredible opportunity for the UK to export a premium product into a global market, creating jobs, encouraging tourism and any number of other positive things, not least of all being able to have an amazing glass of bubbly.” – Michael Lewis

Bradstock Estate – English Sparkling Rosé – Tasting Notes – ”Strawberries, raspberries, apple blossom, pink/red blossom and floral notes.

Silver Medal in the Light & Fruity Category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2023

The Gin – Pinkster

The story of Pinkster begins with its founder, Stephen Marsh, he unfortunately came to the realisation that wine and beer no longer agreed with him, and when looking for a good drink he only had the option of Vodka or Gin, with Gin being his preferred choice, he started his search high and low for the blend he hoped to fall in love with, but found the juniper expression to be too strong for his liking, so, when you can’t find something, we make it, and that’s what he did.

A keen forager and maker of sloe liqueurs and other concoctions, he turned his attention to gin and started experimenting at home, mashing assorted fruits with different spirit strengths.

He wasn’t intentionally creating a pink drink, it’s just that after working his way through an entire fruit bowl, raspberry delivered the best flavour. With the recipe developed, pals started encouraging him to go commercial.

G&J, one of the country’s oldest distillers, was recruited to the cause. They produce the core spirit with five botanicals to Pinkster’s original recipe which they painstakingly developed over several years.

They then macerate with a further three botanicals, including fresh, plump raspberries grown nearby their rural base outside Cambridge, to produce the finished gin that is Pinkster.

Despite the growth of Pinkster Gin, Stephen still personally oversees the production, ensuring consistency from batch to batch.

The Purge Cocktail

Ingredients

• English Sparkling Wine
• Raspberry Gin
• Mixed Herbs
• Raspberries
• Blackberry
• Thyme

How To Make The Purge Cocktail

1. Start with 20mls of Raspberry Gin
2. 100mls of English Sparkling Wine
3. Sprinkle In Some Mixed Herbs
4. Garnish With A Creative Raspberry, Blackberry & Thyme Display

Tasting Notes

Aroma – “Rosemary, fresh raspberries, blackcurrant syrup, removing the garnish gives way to a whole host of mixed herbs, ripe Pink Pearl apples, pink floral, further raspberries and strawberry laces.

Flavours – “An explosion of pink floral, dark red cherries, cranberries, and of course and whole host of raspberries with mixed herbs, fizzy pinkness and warming raspberries to close.”

Happy Halloween from Glass of Bubbly