Enjoy the great outdoors, whatever the weather

We were all set for what was meant to be the best summer in decades, but unfortunately those plans for spending balmy hours socialising in the garden were dampened by grey skies and drizzle.

Grant’s Whisky however believes in doing this differently so, when the weather prevents us from making the most of the outdoors, then it’s time to bring the outdoors indoors…

Award winning gardener and TV presenter Chris Beardshaw agrees. “It can be hard to make the most of your outdoor space, especially with the summer we’ve had. As the days get shorter and the rain more frequent keep the spirit of the garden alive in your home. Display tree prunings and collections of cones, nuts, seeds and herbs, around your house. Not only can they be inspiration for cooking and decoration over the winter months but also give a great, outdoor feel to any social occasion.”

Here Chris shares some of his top tips on bringing the best of the outdoors indoors (for full details visit grantswhisky.com/gardenafterhours):

1. Cut long branches and stems from your trees and shrubs and put into vases. The warmth from the house and provision of water encourages the stems to grow and produce leaves or flowers. At this time of year choose specimens such as Viburnum Bodnatense Dawn and varieties of Hamamelis as these are intensely fragrant when they come into flower.

2. Buy flowering outdoor bulbs such as the autumn flowering Crocus and Cyclamen, which are available now in garden centres.

3. Try indoor flowering bulbs such as paper white Narcissus and Hippeastrum

4. Run strings of fairy lights through the cut tree stems from your garden or through existing houseplants for a magical and soft lighting effect.

5. Display conkers, hazelnuts, acorns, cones from your garden in bowls or on tables.

6. Keep the garden alive in your kitchen by bringing herbs inside – a pretty trough of thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley and chives can look and smell beautiful.

And of course no social occasion would be complete without refreshments so grab some Grant’s Family Reserve Whisky and set the mood with the following russet coloured cocktails to try a different angle on entertaining this autumn:

Short Grant’s Manhattans:
50ml Grant’s Family Reserve
12.5ml red vermouth
12.5ml extra dry vermouth
10ml maraschino cherry syrup
2 dashes of orange bitters
1 dash of angostura bitters
Optional: dash of sugar syrup

Grant’s Old Fashioned:
50ml Grant’s Family Reserve
Dash of orange bitters
Dash of angostura bitters
Sugar (or sugar syrup)
Garnish with a twist of orange zest

Grant’s Godfather:
50ml Grant’s Family Reserve
20ml Disaronno Amaretto
Splash of orange bitters (or juice)
Garnish with orange zest