Anyone who knows me would say I’m not the first to break the tinsel out when it gets to December, but this December 1st I spent it at the launch of the Raeburn’s winter garden in connection with Rekorderlig spiced plum cider. 

The Raeburn is a 19th century hotel, beautifully situated in Stockbridge near to Innverleith park. I had always known it was there but had never visited myself. Instantly I was blown away by how festive and inviting the Christmas trees and lights made it look, it felt like a big cosy house where I’d want to spend sometime in, this winter. However it wasn’t just the inside that loooked alluring, the outside courtyard had been kitted out with a cute little grotto style bar selling festive alcohol treats including the new spiced plum Rekorderlig.

We got introduced to Nicola from the Raeburn, Jenny from Molson Coors (whom created the bar area) and Fiona from Rekorderlig gave us an introduction into how Rekorderlig come up with their flavours and the excitement around the launch of the new spiced plum addition. We had been handed the hot mulled cider version with a slice of orange on arrival but Fiona encouraged us to try it cold too.

              There truly is nothing better than a mulled cider under the Christmas tree

The spiced plum cider was so warming and tasty with a hint of sweetness and spice, it was the perfect way to warm up on a cold winters night in the festive surroundings of the Raeburn’s winter garden. The atmosphere was so chilled and inviting, if you don’t want the hustle and bustle of the Christmas market when your sole focus is food and drink, I won’t not hesitate to visit the Raeburn. The winter garden is open Thursday through to Sunday throughout December, with plenty of tables with candles and blankets to cosy up with, outdoor heaters, not to mention hot food from their outdoor winter BBQ! What better way to keep warm and content this December?

Cosying up on a chilly December evening

I had gone with Fionn and we bumped into Talor when we were there, whom are both bloggers that I met at the Ninja Kitchen Launch (check out my post about that here). Even though all meat eaters, we ended up going for what we thought was the veggie option – a Brie and cranberry burger. You get to help yourself to your choice of sauces and can have it with or without onions. We all debated on whether it was meat or not as some of us thought it would be a beef burger topped with Brie and cranberry, however we agreed it actually tasted nothing like Brie and cranberry or meat but was actually really tasty whatever it was! There’s also the option of venison burgers and bratwurst.

I was really thirsty after my burger so I opted to try the spiced plum Rekorderlig cold and the change in temperature did make it a little less sweet I thought, but equally as tasty to sip on. The Raeburn has its own set of red mugs which look so Christmassy and the atmosphere was relaxed and calm, with people bringing their dogs into the winter garden and just chilling and chatting whilst keeping cosy with the choice of hot food, drink and blankets and some Christmas music to add to the festive atmosphere.

There are also an array of hot chocolate treats with rum and baileys and even a chocolate orange one! We all decided to finish the evening off with some salted caramel rum hot chocolates topped with whipped cream and a dust of cocoa.

I left The Raeburn humming Christmas songs and feeling relaxed, well fed and watered, I’ll definitely be back before this festive season is through.

http://www.theraeburn.com/

http://www.rekorderlig.com/gb/