Last week, the 5pm Dining blog spent an evening being educated in the finer points of soft drinks and mixers, thanks to the good people at Fentimans.

Based in Hexham, the family-owned company has an interesting back story. It all started in 1905 when Thomas Fentiman, an iron puddler (!), loaned another trader some money.

As security for the loan, he was given a recipe for a unique botanically brewed ginger beer. The loan was never repaid so Thomas used the recipe to start making and selling the ginger beer.

It proved wildly popular and, before long, the enterprising Thomas was selling it all over the North East of England from the back of a horse and cart.

Fast forward a hundred or so years and the Fentimans range of softies and mixers is being sold in over 50 countries all over the world.

Naturally, it is not just the size of the Fentimans market which has changed since 1905 – although the botanical brewing process currently used is not significantly different from the original method.

Exotic ingredients

However, using a horse and cart for production has rather fallen from flavour and Fentimans has expanded its range considerably beyond the initial ginger beer.

As well as launching their new, 19:05 Herbal Tonic water, Fentimans have also started selling 125ml bottles to the on-trade so expect to see their distinctively shaped bottles cropping up in a bar near you soon.

Their mixers are classy products and flavoured with natural, often exotic, ingredients such as Bulgarian rose oil, orris root, juniper berries and hyssop.

Cocktail recipes

To celebrate the launch, renowned Belgian mixologist Manuel Wouters swung by Edinburgh last week and demonstrated a few of his creations using Fentimans.

Taking its name from Fearless, Thomas Fentimans’ Crufts-winning dog (I’m not making this up), the Fearless Attack was the first drink he demonstrated.

Featuring four different ginger preparations, it’s a feisty number:

Fearless Attack

Put a small piece of ginger root in a mixer glass and muddle with half a teaspoon of sugar.

Add 50ml of gin and 25ml of lime juice.

Add 25ml of ginger syrup, such as Monin, and shake.

Strain into a double Collins glass over ice and add Fentimans Ginger Beer.

Garnish with ginger shavings. The addition of a lemongrass as a swizzle stick will get your guests talking.

Incidentally, those of you who like a gin and tonic may benefit from Manuel’s advice that one should always use light tonic as a mixer.

By light, he doesn’t mean one that replaces sugar with artificial sweeteners; just one that has less sugar then full fat versions.

Apparently, the reduced sugar levels allow the flavour of the gin to come through more clearly.

You live and learn eh?