Two Bolton businesses have been recognised for a winning cocktail and dried meat snacks.
Cocktails At Home UK, based in Bolton, receieved the Great Taste Award for their pornstar martini.
George Greenhalgh and Zac Marshall run the company, making and selling pre-mixed cocktails all around the country.
The business partners were overjoyed to find their lockdown business had won.
Zac said: “It feels amazing and we’re already thinking about entering more cocktails next year.
“It costs money to enter, and you go up against some of the best cocktail makers in the country.
“Our cocktails are 100 per cent authentic and we don’t cut any corners to make it cheaper, we use real and fresh ingredients.
“We’ve only been going nine months and have already achieved more than what we both thought we would.”
Although the business officially launched in lockdown, the owners say it took off just nine months ago and now also sell their drinks to other suppliers.
Bothwere furloughed in 2020, when George came up with the idea and brought Zac on board.
Their pornstar martini uses real passion fruit, sweet Madagascan vanilla, premium vodka and passion fruit liqueur.
Zac said: “We met in bars and restaurants we worked at for seven years before we applied for a government loan to get started properly after George ran it from home.
“We make the cocktails at our unit in Bolton, bottle it up then ship it out to customers and suppliers.
“We’re also at festivals.”
Zac and George entered the awards in March before finding out they had won this week.
The Great Taste Award 2022 was also given to Farnworth based business This Is Biltong, selling the cured meat originating from Kimberley in South Africa.
This Is Biltong air dry their beef before using South African spices and sell it online.
Snacks include biltong bites and various chilli flares and bites, all cured using the cold method, where natural cool dry air is used over four to five days.
The Great Taste Awards are judged by experts in each category, including highly acclaimed mixologists and tasters.
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