I was honoured to be invited to help judge the regional final of the Cotswolds Distillery Cocktail Competition at The Fire Station in Cheltenham yesterday. 

Before arriving I didn't really know what standard to expect. It was very high. We had smoke, chewbacca t-shirts, serious competition, great story telling and a lot of fun with Dan Morgan from Koj Restaurant the overall winner. 

Participants were asked to make both a Cotswolds Gin and a Cotswolds Whisky cocktail in 8 minutes, and were judged on their presentation while preparing the drinks, their brand knowledge of the Cotswolds Distillery and its products, the appearance of the cocktail as well as its aroma and, of course, taste. 

Dan will now go on to compete in the overall final at the Cotswolds Distillery Summer Festival on Saturday 17th August at the Distillery.

​For more information about the festival, click the link below.

Cotswolds Distillery Festival

The Cotswolds has announced that their highly anticipated summer festival will take place on Saturday 17th August. 

They will be bringing together some of the best live music, delicious food and drink here at their distillery near Shipston on Stour in the beautiful surroundings of the North Cotswolds. 

From 12pm – 8pm you’ll be able to relax and enjoy a day filled with incredible blues, jazz, swing and rock music from 7 different acts, including the legendary swing, rhythm & blues band King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys, 1970’s rock band Yellow Dog with their hit song ‘Just One More Night’ and Hipkiss fronted by Patsy Gamble and Muddy Manninen (ex. Wishbone Ash).

A number of local food producers from the Cotswolds will be on offer, so whether you’d like pizza, paella, tacos or a BBQ, there will be something to tickle your fancy. The distillery will, of course, be serving their award-winning spirits and ales from Hook Norton Brewery will be available.

Tickets are just £20.

www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/blogs/news/the-cotswolds-distillery-festival

The music line-up day splits have been announced for the 2019 Big Feastival. 

Friday will see the Fun Lovin' Criminals, Lewis Capaldi and Rudimental headline, Jess Glynne and The Zutons will draw Saturday to a close while Elbow and the newly announced Jonas Blue will wrap up the festival in style. 

The Big Feastival takes place at Alex james' Farm in Kingham from the 23rd -25th August 2019.

thebigfeastival.com

The line-up for Barn on the Farm Festival is always one to look out for in the summer. Previous years have seen Ed Sheeran, Bastille, James Bay and Hozier all perform and this year it's no different with Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender and Maggie Rogers attending. 

The 10th anniverary of the festival takes place at Over Farm on 4th - 7th July 2019

You can find the full line-up and tickets at www.barnonthefarm.co.uk 

Jess Glynne and Elbow will be Saturday and Sunday headliners at this year's Big Feastival alongside Rudimental who will be doing a DJ set to close Friday night. 

Lewis Capaldi, The Zutons and Fun Lovin' Criminals are all on the line-up. 

Confirmed chefs include Raymond Blanc, Prue Leith and Gennaro Contaldo. 

The festival takes place from the 23rd - 25th August on Alex James' Farm in Kingham. 

thebigfeastival.com

The line-up for Wilderness has been revealed this morning with Bombay Bicycle Club, Tom Odell, Freya Ridings and Tom Grennan all featuring. 

The festival takes place at Cornbury Park from Thursday 1st - Sunday 4th August 2019.

www.wildernessfestival.com

The line-up for the Cheltenham Jazz Festival has been confirmed with some big names on the bill including Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, James Morrison, Sergio Mendes and Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night. 

The festival takes place from the 1st - 6th May 2019. 

Members tickets go on Sale on 27th February at 10am, 16-25 Members on Sale on March 1st at 10am and General Sale goes live on March 6th at 10am.

www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls will headline the Thursday of this year's 2000 Trees Festival. 

The multi-award-winning festival is a 3 day extravaganza set Upcote Farm in the stunning Cotswold Hills.

​He joins You Me At Six, Rolo Tomassi and former My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero and his Future Violents band. 

The festival takes place on the 11th, 12th and 13th of July 2019. 

www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

The Specials and Keane will join The Beach Boys as headliners of this year's Cornbury Festival that takes place on the 5th/6th/7th July at The Great Tew Park. 

The rest of the line up will be announced in March. 

www.cornburyfestival.com

Legendary punk band The Stranglers will close the Wychwood Festival on the Sunday evening this summer. 

Now in its 15th year, the festival takes place on 31 May – 2 June 2019 at Cheltenham Racecourse and is one of the leading family festivals in the UK. 

The Stranglers will join funk and soul DJ Craig Charles, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam band,  Scouting For Girls, T'Pau, Toyah +many more across the weekend. 

wychwoodfestival.com

The Stereophonics are the latest band confirmed to play Forest Live this summer. 

They will be coming to Westonbirt Arboretum on Thursday 23rd June 2019. 

You can find all information here - www.forestryengland.uk/music/stereophonics-westonbirt-arboretum

The Beach Boys have been confirmed as Sunday night headliners at the Cornbury Festival in 2019. 

The festival takes place on the 5th, 6th and 7th July at Great Tew Park. 

www.cornburyfestival.com

Tears For Fears have been confirmed to play at Blenheim Palace on Saturday 22nd June 2019 as part of the Nocturn Live events. 

They will be supported by White Lies & Scritti Politti. 

For tickets visit nocturne.seetickets.com/tour/nocturne-live

Paul Weller and Kylie Minogue have both announced dates to play in the Cotswolds in June 2019. 

The "Modfather" is playing at Westonbirt Arboretum on the Forest Live tour on Friday 14th June 2019 while Kylie is live at Blenheim Palace as part of their series of summer concerts. 

You can find more info on both below. 

Paul Weller - www.forestryengland.uk/music
Kylie - ​www.nocturnelive.com

If you weren't at The Big Feastival this weekend then you were really missing out. As well as some great music and awesome entertainment, it also boasts arguably the best line-up of street foodies at any festival in the UK.  

We have scoured Instagram to find you the best food pics from this year's festival that will make your  stomach rumble with envy if you missed out!

The renowned food, drink and music festival, The Big Feastival will be home to the Mexican collaboration of the summer: Patrón the Summer x Breddos Tacos Feasts. This unique dining experience from Patrón Tequila and Breddos Tacos, brings together the authentic flavours of Mexico.

Each day from 7pm, festival-goers will be treated to the refreshing taste of Patrón Tequila summer cocktails, perfectly paired with the Mexican culinary delights straight from the Breddos Tacos’ BBQ.

For those who aren’t able to make the feast, The Patrón Tequila airstream will also be hosting margarita masterclasses during the festival. 

​Check out the awesome menu below.

​If you have already purchased festival tickets, please use the following links to book dining experiences. Otherwise, please add them to your booking when you purchase your festival tickets.

 Friday
 Saturday
 Sunday

‘Please note: This event is for over 18s only.

For the full Big Feastival line-up, please visit thebigfeastival.com

The summer festival announcements are coming thick and fast and the latest to reveal their line-up for 2018 which includes Squeeze, Decon Blue, UB40 and a UK exclusive performance by Alanis Morissette. 

The festival will take place at Great Tew Park on JUly 13th/14th/15th and tickets are available now. 

www.cornburyfestival.com

The line-up for Wilderness 2018 has been announced this morning with Bastille, Nile Rodgers & Chic and Kamasi Washington all on the bill. 

There will also be a DJ set by Groove Armada and top chef Yotam Ottolenghi will be hosting a long table banquet. 

The Festival takes place from Thursday 2nd - Sunday 5th August. 

www.wildernessfestival.com

The line-up for this year's Cheltenham Jazz Festival has been announced and it includes some star names from all corners of the globe. 

The festival runs between 2nd - 7th May 2018 and will see Van Morrison, Imelda May, Kamasi Washington, Courtney Pine and Omar, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rick Astley + many more acts embark on Montpellier Gardens over the Bank Holiday weekend. 

Tickets for Cheltenham Jazz Festival go on sale to Members on Wednesday 28 February, from 1pm; Public booking opens on Wednesday 7 March, from 1pm.

www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will play at Blenheim Palace on Friday 15th June in a series of concerts over 4 nights. Tickets will go on general sale on Friday 16th February. 

The Nocturne Live Concerts in the Great Court series also include Nile Rodgers & CHIC, plus special guests Soul II Soul, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, plus special guests The Waterboys and Nick Lowe and Gary Barlow (Sold Out). 

Visit www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/nocturne-live.html for more information.