A Touch O' Ginger

When I was a kid, my mother seemed to always have a bottle of Crabbie's Ginger Wine in the household bar, and from time to time we would be allowed to have a glass of said libation, liberally topped up with lemonade and served with ice. Alcohol in our family has never been something taboo, as such myself and my three brothers all grew up with a healthy respect for drink. Sure, such a way of raising kids might not go down well with the po-faced do gooders who think childhood should last into your twenties, but it doesn't seem to have done us any harm.

Anyway, back to Crabbie's, Saturday was a friend's birthday and Mrs V and I joined our friend, her husband and a few other souls at Beer Run to celebrate. When the time came to leave and drive home to watch Doctor Who, I picked up a 6 pack of Pilsner Urquell, and out of pure whimsy a couple of bottles of Crabbie's Ginger Beer. Yesterday afternoon Mrs V and I sat on our porch and surveyed the freshly mown lawn, kindly mown by a neighbour as we don't have a mower yet, the only thing missing to complete the scene was a glass of something cold, not fancying beer I popped open a Crabbie's, spritzed with a dash of lemon juice.

Having taken my seat, I drank long from the glass and memories of childhood flooded back. Sure it wasn't the Crabbie's Ginger Wine and lemonade that I remembered, but it was pretty damned close and so refreshing. Simply put, it was delightful, and I think I'll be back at Beer Run in the near future for more, especially at only $2.75 a bottle.

To just top off the nostalgia, here are The Corries singing The Portree Kid, which mentions Crabbie's Ginger Wine...