In true Christmas spirit, the bottles of port are disappearing from supermarket shelves faster than you can say sweet fortified wine, mince pies are being baked in countless kitchens across the country and the bitter weather has got us craving some hearty comfort food to warm our bellies. Cockburn’s Port Pie Festive Tasting Experience has combined the three yuletide habits to deliver a delicious three-course event. Escape the chill this December and pull up a seat in Iron Bloom Shoreditch to sample an array of port and pies.
The experience comes courtesy of Cockburn’s, a port producer from Portugal (trying saying that fast after a few glasses of their Special Reserve), and each of their courses has a meat or vegan option so everyone will be hap-pie.
To kick it all off, you’ll be treated to an open pie with Taleggio, confit leek and thyme – or for the vegans, a confit leek, yeasted cauliflower & thyme open pie with fig jam. You’ll also get Cockburn’s fine white orange and cinnamon-spiced tonic to wash it all down. Then, things will be stepped up another notch with a puff-topped pie with braised shin of beef or porcini and king brown mushroom (among other flavour-packed ingredients) and throat-warming glass of Cockburn’s Special Reserve. The final pie is, of course, a mince pie packed with cinnamon butter, port and orange syrup and accompanied by Cockburn’s Tails of the Unexpected ‘Tawny Eyes’ – a chilled nutmeg and ginger mull cocktail. The experience will last 60 minutes in total – plenty of time to dig in.
While you munch away, there’ll also be mulled wine and port-infused cocktails to sample and keep you in merry spirits. Foodies with a special love of all things festive will truly be in their element. The wintery flavours and mouth-watering food will transport you into nostalgic memories of opening presents next to a crackling fire and breathing in the aromas of Christmas dinner wafting from the kitchen. You could even see it as a warm-up for the big festive day.
There will be multiple events taking place between December 16 and 19 with a range of time slots spanning from 12pm-6.30pm. So whether you prefer filling up at lunch or topping off a busy day with some hearty food and drink, you will no doubt find a time to suit you. When you stroll out of the experience onto Shoreditch High Street, completely stuffed and cheeks glowing from sipping port, that warm satisfied feeling will be enough to tide you over until Christmas. Make sure you don’t miss out on tickets.