Welcome to the Hunter & Barrel hub for all things drinks! Here, we look at barrel-aged cocktails, liquors and wine, and how each one can be paired perfectly alongside flame-grilled meat. This is the go-to beverage guide for those who appreciate good food and want their drink to match.
We’ll walk you through the best pairings and explain why certain beverages complement different steak cuts more than others, bringing the whole dining experience into balance. And with barrel-aged cocktails at the core of our drinks identity, we’ll also explore how each spirit earns its complexity through time, patience, and the unmistakable depth only a barrel can give.
This section will introduce you to the art of barrel-aged drinks. You’ll learn how time transforms a spirit’s structure, how different types of oak influence aroma and flavour, and why these shifts matter. It’s a practical space to understand barrel-ageing, recognise flavour profiles, and explore drink pairing fundamentals, all distilled into a simple beverage guide.
The link between steak and wine is sacred. The rich, smoky notes of flame-grilled meat pair flawlessly with bold wines and spirits. Our guides break down the thinking behind each pairing, showing how fire, flavour and the right drink can come together on the plate.
The link between steak and wine is sacred. The rich, smoky notes of flame-grilled meat pair flawlessly with bold wines and spirits. Our guides break down the thinking behind each pairing, showing how fire, flavour and the right drink can come together on the plate.
We pride ourselves on our barrel-aged cocktails. The power of this ancient technique is hard to underestimate. The properties of oak wood slowly soften the sharp tones of spirits like whisky, bourbon, or rum. It adds complexity to the flavour, incorporating floral, spicy, or smoky notes, depending on the type of barrel and liquor.
This allows spirits to be altered for a more synergistic pairing with meats, complementing and balancing the deeply umami, charred flavours of food cooked over coals. It’s an art we feel we’ve perfected, and something that we’ve honed for our beverage guide.
This section gives you a no-nonsense guide to wine: the wide, unique varieties, and how each one works alongside grilled meats and other dishes. We’ll cover the properties of wine, including colour, acidity, and tannins, and how to match each style with different foods. Wine pairing doesn’t need to be intimidating; think of this as your fireside beverage guide to matching good wine with great meat.
Choosing the right drink for your meal is simple when you know what to look for. Deeply savoury or rich dishes, like red meats, tomato-based pastas or mushroom sauces, pair naturally with fuller-bodied wines, hoppy beers, or smoky spirits like whisky and bourbon. Lighter dishes like delicate fish, chicken, leafy salads and fresh sides work best with brighter beverages: white wines, hazy ales, or even a refreshing soft drink. If you’d like to dive deeper into selecting the right beverage for your meal, explore our guides below.
Explore our collection of beverage guides for practical tips, pairing advice and deeper insights into food and beverage at Hunter & Barrel.
When paired with the right wine, a steak experience goes from great to magical. Wine brings balance and structure to the table by using a wine’s natural acidity or boldness
Great wine is more than just the grapes. Time and environment play their role, but few factors influence flavour quite like traditional wood. Barrel aging wine is one of the
Matching wine with food comes down to balance—great wine pairings enhance flavour, rather than overpower it. Choosing red or white wine comes down to the meat, the sauce and the
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