Chocolate or Roses (or Love Potions) this Valentine's Day?
It turns out that Colin is more romantic than I give him credit for and has created two perfectly symbolic drinks for Valentine’s Day!! Your choice all comes down to whether you are looking for the Art of Romance or the Science of Lust this 14th February… both if you really want to push the boat out!!
Cherry Chocolate and Hogweed Seed Dark Rum
Who knew that this delicious and complex drink had yet another rather saucy layer of depth to it. It turns out that Colin has only gone and created a love potion.
Most know that Chocolate has long been considered an aphrodisiac, since the time of the Aztecs. For hundreds of years wealthy aristocrats have presented their lovers with gifts of beautiful chocolates to lure them into bed so there must be something in it. Scientists have traced the claim back to two chemicals released when eating chocolate; tryptophan (naturally released during sexual arousal) and phenylethylamine (released when people fall in love). However, despite a lot of research they are unable to prove any reliable connection between chocolate and desire, but we will brush over that bit. At least we all know that a drink or two has a positive effect on sexual desire and they haven’t been able to disprove that!!
So we could be onto something romantic with our Cherry, Chocolate & Hogweed Seed Dark Rum!!!... but lets dig a little deeper. It turns out that there is a lot more to the slightly unromantic phrase about the popping the cherry! Cherries have been scientifically proven to boost libido! Vitamin A boosts Oestrogen and Testosterone and vitamin C has been proven to boost sexual appetite and performance! Who knew? … well, I didn’t!
Which brings us neatly on to Colin’s favourite foraged ingredient of all time, Hogweed. As well as being a rather special spice in a culinary nature, the common hogweed has long been used in herbal medicine as a strong aphrodisiac.
So, there we have it, he has made a love potion! The chocolate, the rum, the cherries and the hogweed. Your valentine will not be able to resist your advances after a couple of drinks of this!
Crab Apple & Rose Petal Pink Gin
… or would you prefer to seduce your valentine through the romance of the Arts.
We all associate the red rose with love and romance, but why? As legend has it Aphrodite, the goddess of love, named the Rose after her son Eros, so that is a good start. The red rose was further associated with romance in Roman times, when newly married couples would wear a crown of red roses to symbolise sexual desire and so red roses continued throughout literature and the arts to be a sign of undying love.
…. And the apple? We are all aware of the forbidden fruit. The apple also holds literary association with love, sexuality and romance. Throughout literature there have been erotic associations with a woman’s breast and the core sliced in half is said to represent the vulva. In Greek mythology Hera received an Apple as a symbol of fertility. Venus, the Goddess of love and desire was often painted holding an apple…but it gets better for our lovely little gin!
The Crab Apple Tree is THE symbol of love and marriage in Celtic folklore. Legend has it when you flick the pips into a fire whilst saying the name of your partner, if the pips explode in the flames the love is true and everlasting!
Which are you going to offer your loved one? The raw passion of our Cherry, Chocolate & Hogweed Seed Rum or the gentle romance of our Crab Apple & Rose Petal Pink Gin!! Either way we hope you have a lovely day whether you are enjoying your own company, that of a lover or sharing with a friend!
Our Heath & Hedge range are now stocked at the following shops so if you would prefer not to order online go and have a look at:
