Chocolate eggs, step aside. Easter 2025 is going savoury. A surprising yet delicious new collaboration between award-winning drinks expert and TV presenter Aidy Smith, British cheesemakers 1912 Stilton (from Long Clawson Dairy), and indulgent Mozart famous Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Liqueur brings bold flavour and grown-up fun to the Easter table.
From a rich and creamy cocktail made with Stilton-infused rum, to elegant canapé-style bites, this trend-led partnership taps directly into one of 2025’s biggest food and drink movements: multi-sensory mixology.
According to the Waitrose Food & Drink Report, umami is the defining flavour of 2024–25, and savoury cocktails are leading the charge. Diageo’s Bar Academy has reported a boom in bartenders using ingredients like miso, seaweed and cheese to create complex drinks, while Bacardi’s Cocktail Trends Report reveals a 20% jump in interest for savoury flavour profiles. With TikTok ablaze with fat-washing demos and Parmesan Martinis, blue cheese cocktails are the next big thing.
“Flavour is all about storytelling,” says Aidy. “When you can take something nostalgic and familiar, like Stilton, and reimagine it in a cocktail, you create something memorable. Fat-washing with cheese might sound out there, but the umami flavour it creates is sensational.”
Meet the ‘Strawberry Velvet’ Cocktail
This rich and velvety creation blends Mozart’s Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Liqueur with Aidy’s viral 1912 Stilton fat-washed rum (yes, you read that right), finished with a crushed pistachio and chocolate rim. It’s topped with a thin slice of strawberry for the perfect balance of sweet and savoury.
“People are craving new experiences – flavour explosions that spark conversation,” says Aidy. “Fat-washing with Stilton adds an incredible umami depth to spirits. It’s unexpected, indulgent and seriously easy to do.”
The cocktail taps into the booming trend for savoury drinks with a luxury twist and is ideal for those wanting to break away from sugar-laden Easter cocktails or generic prosecco spritzes.
How to Fat-Wash with Stilton
Fancy trying your hand at flavour alchemy? Aidy’s fat-wash method transforms rum into a rich, savoury base perfect for cocktail creativity.
Ingredients:
750ml of Quality Rum
1 Block of 1912 Stilton
1 Block of Unsalted Butter
Equipment
1 x Pan
1 x 400 Mesh Kitchen Sieve or Fine Strainer
1 x Wooden Spoon
1 x Large Sealed Food Container
Instructions:
- Gently melt your butter into a pan before adding in your 1912 Stilton (crumble it to allow it to melt faster).
- Once the butter and Stilton have combined, take off the heat and allow to cool before pouring into a large Tupperware box with your rum
- Leave at room temperature for 8 hours
- Place in the freezer for 24 hours
- Remove from the freezer and fine strain using a 400-mesh kitchen sieve (or very fine strainer). Once the liquid is clear of sediment, pour it back into the bottle.
- a fine mesh sieve. Bottle and enjoy in cocktails.
RECIPE: Strawberry Velvet Cocktail
Mozart Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Liqueur meets 1912 Stilton fat-washed rum in this silky, savoury-sweet cocktail.
Rim Ingredients:
Crushed Pistachio
Crushed Chocolate
Any Mozart Chocolate Liqueur
Thin Slice of Strawberry
Cocktail Ingredients:
100ml of Mozart Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Liqueur
50ml of 1912 Stilton Rum
2 Dashes of Chocolate Bitters
Equipment
2 x Small Dishes
1 x Coupe Glass (or Equivalent)
1 x Knife
1 x Cocktail Shaker
1 x Strainer / Fine Strainer
Method:
Pour some Mozart Chocolate Liqueur into a dish. In a separate dish, sprinkle in your crushed chocolate and crushed pistachio mixture.
- Dip the rim of your glass into the Mozart Chocolate Liqueur before covering the outside of the glass with your crushed chocolate and pistachio. Try not to get any of the mixture inside the glass, if you do just use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe it out.
- Add your 1912 Stilton Fat wash Rum, Mozart Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Liqueur and 2 chocolate bitters into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice until chilled
- Fine strain into your glass and garnish with a slice of strawberry.
Research backing savoury-inspired cocktails on the rise:
Waitrose Food & Drink Report 2024-2025: The report indicates that umami flavours have been defining drinks in 2024 and continue to rise into 2025, with cheese cocktails particularly trending. johnlewispartnership.co.uk
Diageo Bar Academy: Diageo notes that many of the world’s best bars are incorporating savoury, umami ingredients like tahini, miso, mushrooms, and seaweed to create complex cocktail flavour profiles, a trend predicted to boom in popularity in 2024. Diageo Bar Academy | Home
Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2025: Bacardi’s annual report highlights that savoury flavours, immersive experiences, and bartender expertise are set to drive cocktail culture in 2025, reflecting a shift towards more complex and less sweet beverages. Bacardi Limited
Drinks Retailing News: The publication reports a 23% increased interest in brine and a 30% increased interest in oils among bartenders in 2024, indicating a growing inclination towards incorporating savoury elements into cocktails. drinksretailingnews.co.uk
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants: Kimpton’s 2024 culinary trends report identifies umami-rich cocktails as a notable trend, with bartenders incorporating ingredients like miso, seaweed, and mushrooms to create complex, savoury drinks.
The Spirits Business: The publication predicts a surge in savoury cocktails featuring umami flavours, with bartenders experimenting with ingredients like miso and seaweed to add depth to their creations.
1912 Easter Bites
With the blue cheese market forecast to grow from £1.2 billion in 2024 to over £1.6 billion by 2029, it’s clear that bold flavours and gourmet snacking are in high demand. Retailers are already leaning into the trend, with products like blue cheese crisps and savoury pairings gaining serious traction. 1912 Stilton is perfectly placed to meet this appetite for indulgent entertaining, offering a rich, versatile profile that elevates even the simplest of bites. Whether paired with fruit, nuts or crisp veg, these easy-to-assemble canapés bring a touch of luxury to Easter tables and tap directly into the growing consumer love for flavour-first sophistication.
Team large olives with chunks of 1912 fashioned into small bird’s eggs to create a sophisticated Easter table setting.
1912 Chicory Bites
Arrange a selection of chicory leaves on a plate and on each leaf place a generous chunk of 1912 plus a sliver of pear and crushed walnuts. Add a toasted seed mixture for decoration – a great accompaniment to a summer berry sangria!
1912 Date Platter
On a platter arrange pitted dates, crumbled 1912 toasted almonds and a little honey drizzled on top. A fantastic cocktail accompaniment that takes seconds to prepare!
1912 Dip
Combine half a cup of sour cream, quarter of a cup of mayonnaise, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and blue cheese to taste
Add a little 1912 crumbled onto the top of your dip and serve with a selection of crudités
1912 ‘Sushi’
With a potato peeler cut long slippers of cucumber and blot with a piece of kitchen towel. Add a thin layer of blue cheese and team with a raw vegetable such as a piece of mangetout or an asparagus tip.
Hot and Loaded Bloody Mary
For the ‘fully loaded’ spicy Bloody Mary, mix vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, Worcester sauce, smoked paprika, and topped with chilli flakes and pepper. Using long kebab skewers treat the drink to a selection of blue cheese stuffed olives, 1912 stuffed mild chilies, prawns, cherry tomatoes, and cocktail gherkins.
For further information, please contact:
sian@intelligentprofile.com / 07977280183
emma@intelligentprofile.com / 07788757377
For more information about Long Clawson Dairy and its award-winning 1912 Blue Stilton, please visit Long Clawson Dairy. 1912 Stilton is available at select retailers and www.longclawson.co.uk.
About Clawson Farms:
Established in 1912, Long Clawson Dairy is a farmer-owned cooperative known for producing award-winning Stilton and specialty cheeses. Long Clawson’s unwavering commitment to tradition and innovation has made the dairy World Champion Cheesemakers, dedicated to delivering the finest cheeses.
About Mozart Distillerie:
For more than 60 years, the Mozart Distillery has been located in Saltzburg, Austria, the birthplace of the composer Mozart. Decades of experience has ensured the highest quality Chocolate Liqueur. For an authentic chocolate taste, Mozart macerates Cocoa from West Africa, Vanilla pods from Madagascar, Sugar beets as the distillate and the finest Belgium Chocolate. Mozart has a variety of flavours: Cream (milk chocolate), White, Dark, Strawberry, Coffee, Pumpkin Spice and Coconut. Mozart can be enjoyed neat over ice, drizzled over ice cream added to coffee, mixed in cocktails or as an ingredient in an indulgent dessert, Buy Mozart online at Amazon, Spiritly and John Lewis.
About Aidy Smith
Aidy Smith is an award-winning TV presenter, journalist, content creator and motivational speaker. He presents the award-winning Amazon Prime travel series, The Three Drinkers, writes a wine and spirits column and is the LGBT+ travel specialist for The Independent and hosts a bi-weekly food and drink show called ‘Thirsty Thursday’ on BBC Radio London. Aidy is the only global TV presenter with Tourette Syndrome and works closely with various neurodiversity charities. He is the Global Ambassador for the Tourette Association of America alongside being a patron for the UK’s largest neurodiversity charity, the ADHD Foundation & Neurodiversity Charity. You can find more of his work across his social platforms @Sypped and @DisLabeled.