News

Festive Opening Hours & Tier 4

Please see below our updated festive opening hours between Christmas and New Year. We will reopen on the 6th of January.

Any questions please get in touch.

We’ve recently introduced Gusbourne English Sparkling Wines to our collection, and thought you’d like to know a little more about them…

Live with Juan Gil from Spain - A virtual wine tasting with The Strong Water Co.

13th of November @ 20:00 - Live from Zoom

Link to follow.

The price includes 3 bottles of wine and a virtual tasting from Spain.

£55.00 for local delivery and click & collect as per our usual terms

£61.95 for national delivery.

Why not add one of our antipasto boxes? 

The Wines

Delight your senses with Bennachie Coffee at the Strong Water Co. 

Freshly brewed coffee, is an essential accompaniment to finish off a good meal. There is something relaxing and satisfying in having a great quality coffee adding a pleasant aroma to the room. The smell of freshly ground coffee is loved by most people. The pause in the meal while the coffee sits and brews for a few minutes, is at times, mesmerising.

"At Home Dining" with The Strong Water Co.

We will be working in collaboration with Chef Lisa Howard-Sorrell. 

Lisa Howard-Sorrell took the scenic route on her journey to cooking. Beginning with a detour through an economics degree and a few years working in the drinks industry in New York. Looking for a change she began working as a cook in a local restaurant while studying for a biology degree. It quickly became clear that she had found her passion in the kitchen. From there she attended Edinburgh New Town Cookery School and landed a job at noted Edinburgh restaurant- Castle Terrace. With that experience she joined Appetite Events a decorated catering company with an award winning kitchen lead by Iain Thomson.

When the Pandemic struck Appetite was forced to furlough it’s staff. Not wanting to lose momentum Lisa joined Edinburgh Food Social’s Food for Good coalition as a volunteer. During lockdown their small kitchen team sent out over 50,000 meals to vulnerable people in the community. Finally, Lisa has arrived in Banchory, delighted to team up with Strong Water Co. in creating a unique dining experience inspired by the wealth of fresh seasonal ingredients the area has to offer.

Live with Terroir Sonoro from Chile - A virtual wine tasting with The Strong Water Co.

9th of October @ 20:00 - Live from Zoom

Link to follow.

The price includes 3 bottles of wine and the virtual tasting from Chile.

£55.00 for local delivery and click & collect as per our usual terms

£61.95 for national delivery.

Why not add one of our antipasto boxes? 

COVID-19 Update.

Following on from the latest news, we’ve decided to close the shop for walk-ins until the exact situation is clarified. Due to the increasing number of cases locally we want to keep public safety our number one in order to minimise risk for our customers and team members.

We will still be operating delivery and click and collect service, where your orders will be packaged safely and ready for collection at your selected time from the shop. As usual, all our deliveries will be conducted using the appropriate PPE.

A blurb from TicketCo's Blog.

When TicketCo TV client Henley Festival said it was looking to offer drinks packages to viewers of its live streams, UK Key Account manager Paul Carey knew just who to suggest.

Putting the popular Oxfordshire arts festival in touch with fellow TicketCo TV partner The Strong Water Co, the result was an arrangement benefitting both parties and offering value to viewers.

Introducing The Strong Water Co @ Home – Fine Dining Delivered Directly to your door by Michelin-trained Chef Craig McKenzie.

The last few months have been a challenging time for a new high street shop that just launched late November 2019, we had grand plans to help bring the high street back to life and then a world pandemic COVID- 19 hit us. 

 Bone in Pork – At Home with The Strong Water Co.

 Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Get the wine in the fridge!

We've been working hard with local Michelin trained & award-winning chef Craig McKenzie who's worked alongside one of the UK top chefs in Edinburgh for the last 10 years. We are going to start bringing you some new and interesting weekend boxes including recipes to make the best of our weekend offerings. Including how to make the ultimate crackling! 

We look forward to seeing your pictures of this weekend’s box! Can you master that ultimate crackling?!

Cooking the Pork

Place the Pork in a deep oven tray with an oven rack in the bottom of the tray. Season the pork well with salt and pepper all over.

Once seasoned pour 1 litre of boiling water over the skin side of the pork until the scored skin starts to turn out. During this the skin should have whitened in colour slightly. Once this is complete you want to have about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the tray but making sure the pork is not touching the water.

 Place into your pre heated oven for 25 minutes, then turn the oven down to 170 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After 1 hour place the pre-cooked fennel on the rack with the pork and cook for the remaining 15 minutes.

Core temperature of the pork should have reached 70 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer use a knife to spike the meat and juices should have a slight pink colour to them (NOT RED!!!) If not ready cook for a further 15/20 minutes.

The pork when carved should have a slight pink colour to it and be very moist.

 The veg & sauce

 While this is cooking boil the new potatoes in salted water until cooked. (A knife passes easily through them)

 Put another pan on the stove with salted water again until at a rolling boil then place the asparagus into the water for approx. 2 – 3 minutes.

 If you like your apple sauce hot heat it in the microwave or in a pan, stirring to make sure this does not stick. It will stick if not attended. You want this to be piping hot before serving.

 Once the pork has completed its time in the oven remove and place on the side to rest for 15 minutes. By this point the pork crackling should have a quavered like effect, if not you can place this under the grill for a short period. Although be careful while doing this as it can burn very quickly if left unattended.

 Plating up

 While the potatoes and asparagus are cooking and the pork is resting, place your plates into the oven to warm.

 Now your pork is ready to carve. Use a sharp serrated knife cutting into 4.  Do so down the side of each bone.

Serving suggestion would be simply to have the pork on the plate or carved at the table. With the veg and apple sauce in sharing dishes.

Get the wine out of the fridge, serve onto hot plates and enjoy!

We’d love to see your pictures so remember to tag us on Facebook & Instagram!

Keep an eye out for our upcoming weekend boxes. 

Guest Blog with Jamie from Douglas Laing & Co

Established in 1948, Douglas Laing & Co has over 70 years’ experience in creating and purveying the finest Scotch Whiskies. So, where better to turn for advice on Scotch Whisky gifts for Father’s Day? We asked Jamie Williamson, Business Development Manager at the family-run firm and recent first-time dad, for his recommendations…

Jamie said:

Our pals at The Strong Water Co have selected some fine drams from our current selection and they have plenty to offer for fantastic Father’s Day gifts. For the Whisky-loving Dad, a bottle from Douglas Laing’s remarkable selection is sure to earn you some Brownie points! Here’s my hand-picked guide to help you pick the right one:

Timorous Beastie 18 Years Old for Cheesy Dads

A marriage of Single Cask Single Malts only from the Highlands, it’s packed with big flavours – sweet honey, fragrant vanilla and juicy barley. Bottled at high alcohol strength, the oily texture and powerful, sweet and spicy flavour profile of this 18 Years Old Highland Malt is the perfect partner to cheese. Why not make Dad a hamper? You’ll “brie” very popular indeed! 

Old Particular Fettercairn 15 Years Old for Sophisticated Dads

Old Particular carries only Single Cask Scotch Whisky, meaning each one is a genuine limited edition – a one-off, never to be repeated dram. Ideal for the sophisticated Dad with an appreciation for the finer things in life, this is one of just 355 bottles produced and offers complex tasting notes including cedarwood, fiery ginger and waxy citrus notes.

I joined Douglas Laing in September 2019, and by way of induction, Fred Laing – second generation and Chairman in the family business – took me through a memorable tasting of some of the company’s current range, some historic bottlings, and some cask samples he was tasting himself for upcoming new releases. This Fettercairn sample was one of them, and Fred and I were blown away by it. The blackcurranty juiciness upfront followed by an avalanche of really interesting spices has stayed with me ever since. We bottled this one a couple of months later and I had to buy a bottle (perhaps two bottles) for my personal collection. It’s a real cracker.

Provenance Blair Athol 5 Years Old for Dads with a Sweet Tooth

Starter or dessert? If Dad would choose dessert every time, then this is the Single Malt for him. Matured in a single Sherry cask, this rich, fruity and chocolatey Provenance bottling is the ultimate dram for after-dinner sipping. Distilled at Perthshire’s Blair Athol Distillery, this bottling is an absolute steal at £41.50!

These are just 3 from the vast and varied selection of Douglas Laing drams on offer at the Strong Water Co. Have a browse and pick a dram to share with Dad for the most memorable Father’s Day yet!

 If any of the above don't take your fancy why not browse our full collection online.