Last night we headed to Milton Park once again to work with Jo and Ed from The Wandering Feast, for the ‘Meet and Mingle’ networking event. It was a huge success, with around 90 guests from around the business park coming in to meet one another. We served two cocktails on arrival – Espresso Martinis and our original cocktail, Sweet Walkin’. Both went down very well, along with beer from Ramsbury Brewery in Gloucestershire, cider from the Cotswold Cider Co. and wine from Oxford Wine Company.

The food from The Wandering Feast was to die for, with mini halloumi and mini venison burgers, chicken satay sticks and fish and chip cones. I got to try some, and it did not disappoint! The amazing Mel was there to photograph the evening, and she got some absolutely stunning snaps of our drinks and the bar!

We also provided the entertainment for the evening, bringing along our baby grand piano. Our talented pianist, John Joliffe, was there to get everyone singing along to some hits. He even sang a very funny song about the delicious halloumi burgers that Jo and Ed made, that were oh-so-tasty!

This is the second event we have done at Milton Park with The Wandering Feast, and we cannot wait for the next one! A big thank you to them, Mel and to Nancy from Milton Park for organising the evening and getting us involved.

With the gorgeous sunshine of the weekend just gone, we lucked out for our event at Wormsley Estate on Saturday. At the cricket ground was the T20 Finals day, with Oxford playing Thame first, and then Oxford Downs playing Banbury. Our very own Sandy was playing for Oxford Downs! We set up our bar next to the clubhouse, with the most beautiful view of the pitch straight in front of us, right behind the awesome pyrotechnics!

It was a fantastic day, with around 600 people there watching the games. We partnered up with Chadlington Brewery, one of the sponsors of Oxfordshire Cricket to serve some delicious beers. These were their Boat Race Lager, that has ‘all the refreshment of a great pilsner with a well-balanced hop aroma and a crisp, bitter finish’, as well as their 1787 Blonde Beer, which is brewed especially for Oxfordshire Cricket and is extremely easy-drinking and perfect for spectators!

We also served lots of Cotswold Cider Co. ciders, with their amazingly-refreshing Sweet Cheeks Elderberry and Blackberry cider flying out of the fridge. Oxford Wine Company wines were ever-popular as usual, as were the tasty soft drinks from Double Dutch.

A big thank you to everyone at Oxfordshire cricket for having us there, and we can’t wait for the next Cricket season so we can do even more events like this!

Over the past few years it’s safe to say there has been a sharp rise in those choosing to ditch the booze and opt for something a little healthier. According to the Guardian, nearly 30% of young people do not even drink at all! That’s an increase of over 10% since 2005. Our first thought on that as bartenders is ‘oh no!’, as surely that means less people are going to be coming into our bars and spending their money? Not quite. The number of people going out to bars and clubs is still huge, and the money is still being spent, but on soft drinks and such like. Non-alcoholic mocktail parties are also on the up, in June we did one ourselves for an engagement party!

If you’re joining in with the fundraising for Go Sober for October, or perhaps just laying off the booze for a bit, you might be wondering what you could drink on your night out. So, at Sandy’s, we have decided that instead of pushing the same old boring non-alcoholic options, such as Coca-Cola, Lemonade or juices, we would put together some really delicious mocktails, so that everyone feels included in the fun of watching the bartender make their drink in a flashy Boston tin, complete with it being thrown around for show. Bartender Costa and I even went on the radio recently to talk about what we do!

A lot of classic cocktails can so easily be made without the alcohol. For example, take the rum out of a Mojito and replace it with apple juice, and you’ve got something just as refreshing and delicious! You could even mix it up by replacing the soda water with ginger beer and adding in a few pieces of chopped red chilli for those of you that are more adventurous! Another one of my favourite cocktails to make without alcohol is our Sandy’s house cocktail, Sweet Walkin’. In the original specification it is made with sloe gin and elderflower liqueur but replace these with a fruity tea-infused syrup and a dash of citrus (lime juice works best), top up with Double Dutch Pomegranate and Basil as we do for the original cocktail and voila! Super refreshing and it won’t give you a headache!

There’s a lot of non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ popping up everywhere, but in my opinion, these are somewhat overpriced and not actually that tasty. Why spend the same amount of money on a drink that doesn’t contain any alcohol as one that does, when you can get something delicious for half the price?

If you fancy listening in to our appearance on Radio Oxford then you can hear the full interview here. Our part is from 1:08.

For more information on non-alcoholic options at your event then feel free to drop me an email to katie@sandyspianobar.co.uk

After Birmingham Foodies Festival back in June, we couldn’t wait to get involved with the last one of the Summer, the Oxford Foodies Festival! Part of South Park was cornered off and filled with food vans, bars and stalls along with a huge stage for the Bank Holiday weekend just gone.

We took our medium bar and set up in the ideal pitch just next to the VIP area of the festival. We served a mix of yummy cocktails – Espresso Martinis, On My Ways, Sweet Walkin’s and Limoncello Spritzs. As well as the cocktails, we served draught Tap Social beers, Cotswold Cider Co ciders, Oxford Wine Co wines and a range of refreshing soft drinks.

With our speakers in tow, we got the party going at the Sandy’s On The Move bar in the sunshine. We blasted out a collection of old school party anthems and electro-swing that everyone really enjoyed. Thankfully we had our big gazebo to shade us all in the 30 degrees, which must be some kind of record for an August Bank Holiday because I only ever seem to remember them being rainy?!

A huge thank you to Foodies Festival for getting us involved, and to all of our suppliers and fantastic bartenders that helped us out. If you’re interested in hearing about how we might be able to help with a festival  or any event you’re organising then don’t hesitate to get in contact!

A couple of weeks ago, Sandy himself and the lovely Becca headed down to Sutton Courtney, Oxfordshire, for a private birthday for the lovely Ashley. They even had their own amazing bar in the garden! Requested was 100 of the best Porn Star Martinis in town, and one of our talented pianists, Peter. He played all the jazz hits to get everyone up and grooving the night away!

According to The Drinks Business, the Porn Star Martini has become the nation’s favourite cocktail, it is now the most ordered cocktail in the UK on-trade. Created in 2002 by Douglas Ankrah at the Townhouse bar in Knightsbridge, it consists of Vodka (traditionally vanilla-flavoured, but we prefer to use unflavoured), passion fruit liqueur, passion fruit syrup and passion fruit purée. To top it off, half a passion fruit is floated on the top, and a shot of Prosecco served by its side. There is huge debate surrounding the name of the cocktail, and speculation about whether it’s to do with something the half passion fruit looks like…

…but I promise you it’s not. It’s simply because its creator thought ‘it was something a porn star would drink’. A little less taboo than some think, but still, it is a truly delicious cocktail.

We have so many options when it comes to private birthday parties, they are not just limited to cocktails. We can serve a whole range of drinks, from hoppy IPAs to fruity Sauvignons, and sparkling soft drinks to full-bodied Bordeaux wine. Whatever you fancy on your special day, we’ve got you covered.

Drop me an email for more information! katie@sandyspianobar.co.uk

One of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever seen, Caswell House is a gorgeous location for a wedding just near to Brize Norton and Witney in Oxfordshire. With space for hundreds of guests, amazing food and a wonderful garden for the summer evenings, it was an absolute pleasure to be involved with Marianne and Alex’s wedding last week. We set up our medium-sized portable bar on the terrace, serving cocktails for the guests.

We served Mojitos, Margaritas, Espresso Martinis (which sold out in about an hour they were so popular!), Sours (Whisky, Amaretto and Pisco), Dark n’ Stormys and our very own Sweet Walkin’. All of the cocktails were extremely popular, and I was so happy to hear so many guests commenting on the quality of our drinks! I always love doing cocktail events, they’re my personal favourite; everyone is always so surprised about the quality of our bar and equipment that we have to produce the high standard of proper shaken cocktails like you get back at Sandy’s in the city centre. The Portabar that we use is really fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone looking for their own portable bar!

A big congratulations to Marianne and Alex and thank you for having us on your special day. A big thank you also goes to everyone at Caswell House, particularly Kirsten for organising the whole day. We can’t wait to work with Caswell again in the near future.

Ah the great British summer…rain, rain and more rain. But despite the rain, that did not stop us partying at OxFest last weekend! Raising funds for the amazing work that they do in the Renal Unit at the Churchill Hospital, the day was a success despite the unfortunate weather conditions. The event was hosted at the Red Lion, Old Marston, which had a lovely spacious garden perfect for the festivities. Great live music was performed all day from a huge rands of artists and bands, and everyone was dancing and singing along.

We set-up our brand-new home-built (by Sandy himself!) wooden bar, making its debut for us. It looked really great in the pub’s garden and even matched all of their wooden furniture! It’s almost like we planned it…

We served four cocktails and one mocktail. The cocktails were Peach Mojito – a sweet twist on a delicious classic, Bramble – a traditional and well-loved gin-based old school cocktails, our Sandy’s original Sweet Walkin’ – a delightful combination of Sloe Gin and pomegranate, and finally a Lemon Fizz – with vodka, limoncello and fresh lemon, super tart but in the best way! Our mocktail was an Apple Mojito – a great choice for those who were driving but still wanted to get in on the cocktail action.

We are donating 10% of our take from the day to the cause, and hopefully this is just the start of the fundraising we can do in the future at Sandy’s. Thank you to everyone at the Red Lion for organising the event!

On July 19^th, 20^th and 21^st we went over to Waterperry Gardens, a gorgeous landscaped garden, manor house and plant centre near Wheatley, Oxfordshire. We were there for Celebrating Ceramics, a specialist arts-led festival presented by Craft in Focus. Showcasing the very best in the world of contemporary ceramics, it was a lovely weekend filled with good drinks, music, art and other entertainment.

We provided a bespoke menu for the festival, with some of our staple cocktails – The Princess Charlotte, Limoncello Fizz, On My Way and Sweet Walkin’. Alongside these, there were plenty of G&Ts, Cotswold Cider Company Ciders and Tap Social Draught Beer. We also had a wine list chosen by the organisers of the festival, including the crisp and refreshing Native FrenchSauvignon Blanc (bottled and labelled especially for our good friends over at Oxford Wine Company), the citrus-sy Esk Valley Verdehlo from New Zealand, the light and full of berry flavours Romanian Calusari Pinot Noir and the more heavy, full bodied Navajas Rioja Tinto.

All of the drinks went down a treat, but the music was even more popular. We provided three days of live music, with some of our pianists and the talented Jazz Apples. Rich provided fun-loving covers of hits from the Lion King, Elton John and Billy Joel, John played some smooth jazz from the likes of The Carpenters and Peter provided us with some classical-style chilled out music.

On the Friday and Saturday evenings, a dinner and party was put on for the exhibitors of the festival, which we provided the bar and the entertainment for too. Everyone was up and dancing and enjoying their time, with the Jazz Apples performing the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sergio Mendes. There was absolutely delicious vegan food from the Vegivores, which, even though I am not vegan myself, has got to be some of the best food I’ve ever tasted!

Overall the weekend was fantastic. A great big thanks to everyone that was involved with the organisation of the festival, we can’t wait to get involved again next year!

One of the cocktails that has been on the menu at Sandy’s for a long time is the Princess Charlotte, and it becomes even more popular in the summer months as it is so refreshing. Extremely popular at the Foodies Festival we did in June, it is the perfect combination of sparkling wine and spirit.

The base of the cocktail is our homemade super fruits vodka. Made in house, we infuse Dutch Ketel One Vodka with a secret mix of berries and other fruits to give it its unique taste. Added to this is Peychauds Bitters, a gentian-based bitters with a strong aroma of anise and slight of mint. Its origin is from the classic cocktail, the Sazerac, of which it is the definitive ingredient.

Once these two ingredients have been shaken and double strained, they are topped up with Boschendal Sparkling Rosé Wine from South Africa. A combination of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, it makes for a lovely tipple. All of Boschendal’s wines are made by the Méthode Cap Classique, the same method used for making Champagnes. Founded in 1685, Boschendal most definitely know how to make a good wine and was the perfect choice for our cocktail.

As well as serving the drink in our bar, the Princess Charlotte is a great choice for a slightly different reception drink for your event, instead of your standard fizz option!

On Sunday 30^th June, we went to the Oxford Festival of the Arts at Magdalen College School for a night of swing, jazz and all things ‘Manouche’, a style of gypsy jazz. Originating in the 1930s in Paris, it is upbeat, lively music, featuring instruments such as banjos, accordions and double basses. The wonderful Manouche Etcetera took centre stage, using our baby grand piano and we provided the liquid refreshment!

In a huge marquee, around 200 people came down to enjoy the evening. We served our classic Oxford Wine Company wines, with the Native Sauvignon Blanc proving to be a big hit, a beautiful crisp white that is bottled and labelled especially for our friends over at OWC. We also provided plenty of fizz, refreshing gin and tonics and, of course, Sandy’s cocktails! The On My Way, a mouth-watering mix of Bleu D’Argent Gin, Peychauds Bitters and Double Dutch Cucumber and Watermelon went down an absolute treat in the hot weather.

Manouche Etcetera put on an absolutely amazing show, with some well-known crowd-pleaser songs that got everyone up and dancing. A big thank you to the Oxford Arts Festival for having us, and we can’t wait for the next one!

On the last Saturday of June (the hottest day of the year so far!) we travelled across to North Crawley, not far from Milton Keynes, to Wellies Nursery for their 30^th anniversary party. When we arrived, there were hundreds of children enjoying all the fun activities laid on for the day, from face painting to paddling pools and an ice cream van. After the afternoon event the adults had their chance to party, and, of course, we provided the booze!

With a range of four cocktails, beers, wines and fizz, the selection was perfect for the hot summers day that it was. We provided Sandy’s classics – the Princess Charlotte, Pinaquiri, On My Way, and a bright blue Electric Margarita to match the blue Wellies logo. All of the cocktails were re-named to fit in with the theme of the nursery, my personal favourite was the ‘Wellie Wanger’!

We served the Touraine Domaine des Mazelles Sauvignon, a superb and crisp white with fruit aromas, and the Navajas Rioja Tinto, which has delicious notes of intense raspberry and black cherry fruit. Our Sandy’s favourite, the Boschendal Sparkling Rosé went down well with everyone, too.

There was plenty of entertainment going on, with a fantastic band and DJ. There was also a delicious hog roast for the guests to enjoy – I even got to indulge in a pork bap myself and it was unreal, complete with crackling, stuffing and apple sauce.

We hope everyone that attended the event had a fabulous time, and that the kids at the afternoon event had lots of fun too!

On Sunday last week, I took our portable bar to a lovely garden in Oxford for a traditional Egyptian engagement party for the lovely Hana and Mahmoud. Working with the lovely Amy Meadows, an extremely talented event planner, it was a gorgeous afternoon. Although there was a slight shower of rain it didn’t stop the party from being a huge success.

In Egypt, it is tradition for the couple to become officially engaged in front of their friends and family through a ceremony. It was extremely heart-warming, with beautiful speeches from the mother and father of the bride and groom, before the couple exchanged rings. There is also the tradition of handing out home-made chocolates with the couple’s names on them, as a good luck charm.

As the ceremony was religious and the family do not drink alcohol, we provided a fantastic range of mocktails for the party to enjoy. We had a Lemongrass Fizz, made from home cold brew lemongrass and ginger tea, lychee syrup and soda water. Zesty and refreshing for the summer! We also did an Elderflower Sparkle, and an Apple and Ginger Mojito, which was definitely a firm favourite!

The food was cooked by Bogdan Neacsu, an at-home chef, who delivered a gorgeous range of barbecued meats and beautiful multi-coloured salads, perfect for the occasion! The wonderful Jayne also did the photography for the event. A big congratulations to Hana and Mahmoud on their engagement and we wish them both and their family all the best.

Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we travelled up to Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham for the wonderful Foodies Festival. We lucked out with the weather on the Saturday; the sun was shining; the drinks were flowing, and the music was blasting. There were some amazing food and drink stands around us, from halloumi fries to waffle cones to Greek souvlaki, there was genuinely something for everyone. A big shout out to Manchester Gin and My Coffee who were next to us for the caffeine and gin and tonic supplies…!

We served a fantastic range of wines and wine cocktails, ranging from classic French Sauvignon Blanc to the more obscure Romanian Pinot Noir. Everything went down a treat! The spritzes we served were Limoncello and Cucumber, and our Sandy’s classics – the Hugo and the Princess Charlotte. We took our medium bar, which was the perfect size under our huge marquee next to the piano. As the sun came out and the day got busier, the crowds were drawn in by our fantastic pianist, Sam.

Taking requests left right and centre, Sam got absolutely everyone up, dancing and singing along. My personal favourites were the interesting covers of ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and ‘Get Jiggy With It’ – not the usual tunes one would expect to be played on a piano. For a more unique approach, we turned our piano into a blackboard and have everyone write their requests in chalk on the actual piano, it looked fab!

The weekend was a huge success, so I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone at Foodies, and our fabulous team for making it so much fun! We can’t wait for the next one.

Whenever people think sparkling wine they instantly think the classics – Champagne, Prosecco or perhaps Cava. But there are some really delicious up-and-coming sparkling wines coming out of a country you wouldn’t think about for traditional wine production – England. Yes, our home ground. But how do we grow grapes for wine production in a country with such utterly miserable weather? Surely that doesn’t bode well? Well it turns out, that isn’t the case.

There are plenty of counties across the south of the country that have been producing sparkling wine for longer than you might think. Most of the wine produced in England is now sparkling – accounting for 68%, and over 100 wineries in England now make sparkling wine. Most of this fizz is coming out of the South East – Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire are the front runners. These areas are particularly appropriate for growing the grapes to produce sparkling wine due to their limestone soils, as well as most of the slopes being south-facing. Although global warming is less-than-ideal, it has meant that the climate in these areas is more suitable for wine production.

The grapes used in these sparkling wines are much similar to those in Champagnes – a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Pinot Noir? Isn’t that only for red wine? The answer to that is no. Although it is mainly thought of as a grape that means for a light-bodied red, Pinot Noir is much versatile than a lot of red grapes. The skins are removed from the grapes and fermented at a much lower temperature than they would be for a red wine – meaning that the end product doesn’t become tainted with any reddish colouring. Thus, your sparkling wine, whether it be Champagne or an English sparkling, is that beautiful light golden colour we all love. Some English Sparkling Wines are produced with solely one of these grapes, or a blend of two, or all three.

One of my absolute favourite English Sparkling Wine is the delightful Rathfinny Blanc De Noirs 2015. Wild strawberry and peony on the nose, and a rich mousse of raspberries and toasted almonds on the palate – what more is there to like?! The Blanc De Noirs, which literally translates to ‘white of the blacks’, is a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, two black grapes. I recently had the absolute delight of attending a tasting of their profucts with the Oxford Wine Company, and it’s safe to say we were all incredibly impressed. Some of my colleagues have been to the Rathfinny estate in Alfriston, East Sussex, and it is probably one of the most beautiful-looking estates out there. A family run, new estate, they now have four amazing products, all of which are vintage.

If you would like a lovely English Sparkling Wine at your event – then we are the right people for that, so get in touch!

Whenever I go around to a friend’s house for a party I’m always the one that gets asked “Ah, can you make us some cocktails”. I open the cupboard and there’s a bottle gin, some Arrack which was given as a present from an accountant 3 years ago and some tonic in the fridge. Good luck Sandy!

There is a super easy way to be able to have this is all ready all the time without having perishables dying a week later. Key ingredients will include: sugar syrup, lime/lemon juice and bitters. With these 3 ingredients you can make dozens of cocktails. What we suggest prior to the event is:

• Take a bag of sugar (500g) and slowly mix into 750ml of water. Add the sugar slowly and stir until diluted, do this until the full amount is gone. Pour into an empty wine bottle and this will keep for months.
• With an ice tray fill each slot half with water. Fill the rest up with fresh lime juice. This way instead of having to buy fresh limes each time you have pre-made ice cubes with lime in them.
• Just buy a bottle of bitters! One bottle will last you years, take your pick of flavours but we suggest angostura.

From these ingredients you can make Tom Collins, any type of Sour, Old Fashioned’s etc. Pick your favourite spirit and off you go.

If you want to take it a step further we suggest buying a Boston tin to have a shake, this opens up a vast range of drinks you can make. Let’s get tipsy!

Last Saturday myself and Nik packed up the van and went off to Summertown for a private birthday party at one of the most gorgeous houses! We set up our mini bar in one of the reception rooms, giving it a lovely welcoming feel. We served a selection of really premium wines, starting with a gorgeous French Rosé, Chateau de la Clapière Cuvée La Violette. This wine is super fresh and elegant, with notes of stone fruits such as plum and greengage. The red we served was the Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vielles Vignes de Pinot Noir. The grapes are between 25 and 30 years old and give a fruity palate of redcurrant and blackcurrant. The finish is mildly oaked and pleasant.

The sparkling wine served was one of my personal favourites, NYETimber Classic Cuvée, from East Sussex, UK. NYETimber are one of the most successful English sparkling wine producers, with an ever-growing range of delightful products. Like Champagne, this sparkling wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and has a palate of honey, almond, pastry and baked apple. This was by far the most popular drink we served; it went down a treat with everyone.

As well as the wines, we served classic Mojitos all evening. Made with our house white rum – Ron Barceló Platinum, fresh lime juice, simple sugar syrup and mint, they were perfectly refreshing for the delightful summer’s evening.

We hope everyone that was there had a lovely evening, and that the birthday boy enjoyed himself! If you would like to find out more about how we can help with your party then drop me an email: katie@sandyspianobar.co.uk

Now, I’ve never been much of a lager drinker myself, but this one is certainly something I can get on board with. With an exclusive bottle design and fairly high ABV of 6.4%, the Alhambra Reserva lager is not one to miss when you’re thinking about what beers to consider at your event. This lager is exceptionally smooth for its strength and doesn’t go overboard on the carbonation. There are notes of herbal hops (due to the inclusion of the Spanish Saaz hops grown in the area it is produced) and some caramel – making it really easy drinking despite the ABV.

The tagline for Alhambra Reserva is that it is ‘slow crafted in Spain’. The brewers are certainly right in saying that ‘time and knowledge’ are at the heart of their beer production as they certainly know how to do it the right way. The beer has won many outstanding awards, including qualifying as a product with an Exceptional Taste at the Premio al Sabor Superior 2017 and the ‘Country Winner’ in the strong category World Beer Awards 2016. In my opinion, even those awards don’t do it justice.

The area of Spain that it is crafted in is simply stunning. Granada, in the south of the country, is well-known for its beer production, and is located near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The spring water that comes from these mountains is used in the making of Alhambra Reserva 1925. Furthermore, what makes it so special is its recipe, as it hasn’t changed one bit since it was first produced almost 100 years ago. Its uniqueness really shines through as there are very few lagers being bottled in green glass without a label – which is what made it such a distinctive product in 1925.

We serve Alhambra Reserva 1925 at Sandy’s Piano Bar and can serve it at any event too!

Last Friday night, we took to the Oxford Town Hall once again for one of the crazier of the events of the year so far, the MBA Ball. The night was rather impressive, with two of our bars, our baby grand piano, a casino room, photobooth, amazing DJ and even a churro stand. We had an unbelievably fun night, starting by singing along to some Elton John with our very own Nick Schinder on the piano, to swinging our hips to some Shakira blasted out by the DJ.

One of our bars at the event was a classy martini bar, located in the casino room. Serving Espresso, French and Porn Star Martinis, they all proved to be wildly popular. In true busy Sandy’s fashion, we churned them out all night, non-stop. My arms are still aching from so much shaking!

Our other bar was serving another three cocktails – delicious G&Ts, Dark ‘N Stormys and Palomas. They all went down a treat! As well as these drinks, there was a marvellous array of wines (Dea Del Mare Pinot Grigio and Navajas Rioja), beers, and spirit mixers. Of course all provided by OWC.

Nick Schinder, our pianist, kicked off the music of the night on the piano. Playing classic sing-a-longs, he set the tone of the evening very well. He was specifically requested by the organiser of the ball he’s that good! To find out more about our pianists and music head over here.

If you would like to find out more about what we can bring to your event, then please drop me an email!

katie@sandyspianobar.co.uk

You can check out all of our musicians here.

On May bank holiday Monday we took to the streets of Jericho to work with our sister company, the Oxford Wine Cafe for this year’s Mayfest event. A brilliant day out filled with good food, drinks and wonderful live entertainment from bands and singers.

The stalls consisted of the likes of The Oxford Soap Company, LJs, Gourdan’s Steak Frites and more. We had the chance to try different foods from allover the world – the Ethiopian cuisine was standout!

The headline act, Lucy Goldthorpe, put on a great performance, covering some classics from Adele and Lewis Capaldi. A big shout out to her!

So what were we serving? Well due to our great relationship with the Oxford Wine Company, we are able to serve a wonderful range of drinks. The wines were Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Rioja, Malbec, Pinot Noir and Rose. Of course we were serving fizz too!

The beers were all local – something which we really pride ourselves on. The Red Ram lager and Cotswold IPA both proved exceptionally popular.

We also got the chance to rock some of our new Sandy’s On The Move snapbacks…don’t they look awesome?!

Last Saturday we took our fabulous bar over to the beautiful village of Standlake, Oxfordshire, to run the event for the lovely Edd and Tamsin. It was a glorious day, and the sun even decided to come out for most of it, (rare for a spring day in England!). There was plenty of dancing and singing, and even a strong collection of Drum and Bass anthems selected by the groom himself.

We served a huge range of products – including three of our ever-popular Sandy’s House Cocktails – Breezy G, Sweet Walkin’ and East Harmony. Three great choices made by the bride and groom, and all deliciously refreshing on a warm day.

We had the pleasure of serving two wonderful beers brewed by our friends at Tap Social Movement – the Good Size Eh? APA and their extremely popular Even Larger lager. The kegs were drank dry by the guests! These beers are always sought after at the events that we do.

Of course, along with most weddings, gin and tonics, vodka cokes and plenty of shots of tequila were also provided.

The wedding was one of the first few events of the summer season, and we can’t wait to do even more coming up soon!

We had the pleasure of doing our first event with The Oxford Yurt on the May Bank Holiday weekend. If you haven’t been then this has to be something on your list of event venues to visit in Oxfordshire.

Run by Sarah Lay near Farringdon this venue is the perfect setting for yoga retreats, hen dos and hopefully weddings come next year. Equipped with teepees / tipis!, camper van kitchens and a friendly team of staff this venue is designed to host flower arranging, cocktail masterclasses, live music and much much more

We did a lovely masterclass for Rose at The Oxford Yurt. 16 lovely hens came to take part in the glamorous cocktail making. This party learned how to make some classics like a Gin Sours but then got to make some of Sandy’s own cocktails.

The Pinaquiri – Plantation Pineapple, Pineapple Syrup, Pineapple Liqueur and lime is one of our classics at Sandy’s and brings a zing to the lovely summers day.

Raspberry Blush – Hutton Ridge Rose, Bleu D’Argent Gin, Raspberry Liqueur, Lychee Liqueur, Grenadine and Lime. With a bit more red berry fruits in this number it gives a juicer flavour and went down a hit