DRINKS
By carefully monitoring customer demands and tastes, we have refined our extensive range of draught beer, lager, and cider. Our passion lies with cask-conditioned beer. The key to serving a great pint through our four hand pumps is ensuring freshness, maintaining the correct temperature, and upholding cleanliness, and not to forget using the correct branded glassware.
To guarantee freshness, and at our request,the vast majority of our cask-conditioned beer is now supplied in Pins (4.5 gallon barrels). Previously, everything was supplied in Firkin-sized (9 gallons) barrels, which sometimes resulted in the very tail end of the barrel not being as fresh as we would have liked.
HOUSE STANDARD & GUEST ALES
Three of our hand pumps are dedicated to our nearly permanent beers: Palmers Copper (3.7 ABV), Fullers London Pride (4.1 ABV), and St Austell Proper Job (4.5 ABV), which are always available.
We also offer a very popular range of GUEST ALES, which are regularly rotated in no particular set order. These can include Palmers 200, St Austell Tribute, Jurassic Durdle Door, Bath Ales Gem, Exmoor Ale, and DBC Jurassic. Finally the perennial favourite draught Guinness which our customers tell us is the best in the region.
We recognise the shift in personal preference to low or no alcohol beers and cider which we stock in bottles and includes Peroni, Thatchers and Guinness.
The guest beer selection will also be adjusted seasonally, with lighter beers introduced during warmer months. While the presence of a specific guest ale cannot be guaranteed at any given time, whichever one is on tap will provide a contrast to our three House Standards.
LAGERS & CIDERS
Lager drinkers tend to be very brand loyal. We offer a contrasting range of three lagers: Amstel, Heineken, and Birra Moretti, each with a dedicated following.
West Dorset is cider country, with the largest following attached to Thatchers. Our range includes four Thatchers ciders: Gold, Haze, Rascal, and Blood Orange.
Complementing this selection is the award-winning Harry's Scrummage Medium cider (6.0 ABV).
WINES & SPIRITS
Our extensive and moderately priced wine list, with an emphasis on red wines, is wide ranging in content and very popular. We always stock an exceptional range of spirits to suit every taste, including local gins, vodka, and brandy (Conker, Fordington, Black Cow, and Sherborne Castle Brandy.)
Our cocktail range is extensive, with particularly strong demand for the Coffee Martini and Bloody Mary, again all sensibly priced.
CONKER GIN
Small batch premium quality Dorset-based distillery. International award winner. “This gin is ace in a martini and delicious with tonic in a very British way” John Tarode Master Chef Presenter.
BLACK COW VODKA
The world's first pure milk vodka made in West Dorset, near Beaminster, is distilled at the dairy farm of Jason Barber, bottled by hand and created from a 250-head dairy heard. Smooth and delicious.
FORDINGTON GIN
Dorsets finest premium gin at 45% ABV with a twist of extra juniper and blood oranges - a truly original gentle and distinctive flavour.
SHERBORNE CASTLE BRANDY
Distilled from the Castle vineyard wines and barrel-aged for at least eight years. Probably the very best ‘non-cognac’ brandy we have tasted. A must for the connoisseur.
Aside from our range of real ales together with the lager and ciders, we offer a comprehensive range of non/low alcohol beers, lagers and cider all personally tested by us for taste.
How things have moved on from the original non-alcohol beer which was that ghastly ‘non-taste’ of Kaliber.
The present range tastes so good you will want to come back for another and still be able to drive home safely.