I loved being back in the studio with Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer, and we had some brilliant guests this week too – including Pearce Quigley, who I absolutely loved in Detectorists and Small Prophets, and Gabrielle, whose song Dreams was quite literally the soundtrack to my childhood.
As always, my segment on Sunday Brunch was rooted in sustainability, and this week I wanted to shine a light on World Day of Social Justice.
Social justice is simply the idea that dignity, safety, and opportunity shouldn’t be luxuries rationed by postcode, passport, pay grade, or skin tone. It asks uncomfortable but necessary questions:
Who gets paid fairly?
Who gets listened to?
Who gets protected when systems wobble?
And who is allowed pleasure without exploitation quietly propping it up?
It might sound lofty to talk about social justice through the lens of drinks, but it does make a difference, because money talks. Sustainability isn’t a trend, it’s a social contract. And if we want a fairer future, it begins with noticing where we’re standing right now, and choosing to buy just a little better.
Sunday Brunch Drink One: PALO’MOTA
A smoky, savoury twist on the classic Paloma.
Traditionally, a Paloma is tequila with pink grapefruit and lime. Here, I swapped tequila for mezcal and added sweet vermouth for depth:
45ml mezcal
15ml sweet vermouth
15ml grapefruit juice
7ml lemon juice
5-15ml simple syrup (depending how sweet you want it)
Mezcal is made from the heart of the agave plant and gets its distinctive smoky flavour from being roasted in underground pits rather than steamed like tequila. That process gives this cocktail a lovely umami depth, balancing the freshness of the citrus, while the vermouth rounds everything out with gentle sweetness.
I used Mezcal Verde Aramas, chosen for its commitment to both people and place. They partner directly with Maestros Mezcaleros across Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Durango, preserving ancestral techniques while guaranteeing fair practices for workers. They invest in small farms, support regenerative agriculture, and have been 100% carbon-neutral since 2021. Their work includes composting programmes, organic agave cultivation, planting over 150,000 agave seeds to restore biodiversity, and a long-term partnership with the World Wildlife Fund.
Available at Majestic
Sunday Brunch Drink Two: CHANCE CIDER
I’ve tried a lot of non-alcoholic drinks, and this is genuinely one of the best ciders I’ve had. Like most no- and low-alcohol options, there’s a touch of sweetness, but nothing cloying, and nowhere near as sugary as many mainstream fruit ciders.
CHANCE is the UK’s first dedicated non-alcoholic apple cider made from 100% British apples. Just like grape varieties in wine, each apple brings its own character. Produced in Worcestershire, within the British Cider Triangle, it uses varieties such as Dabinett, Michelin, Vicky, and Fiona, creating a bittersweet profile with a light sparkle.
To mark World Social Justice Day, CHANCE is making a charitable donation to We Are Hummingbird Health. The cider’s founder also founded the organisation after losing a close friend to suicide. It focuses on mental health awareness and Mental Health First Aid training, helping workplaces and communities better support mental wellbeing and reduce stigma.
Available at Wine Society
Sunday Brunch Drink Three: MOCHA MARTINI
A lighter, chocolate-leaning take on the espresso martini, but not quite how you might expect.
This version uses a cacao-infused gin from Hotel Chocolat. It’s a London dry gin infused with cacao for a malty, toasted edge, alongside botanicals like macadamia, juniper, coriander, orange, and grapefruit.
The chocolate industry isn’t always as sweet as it looks. Hotel Chocolat is the only UK chocolate brand to own its own cocoa plantation, in St Lucia, giving them direct oversight of farming practices. In Ghana, where they source the rest of their cocoa, they adhere to the International Cocoa Initiative’s Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System, covering all 3,500 farming families in their Gentle Farming programme.
For the cocktail, I kept it simple:
2 parts cacao gin
1 part coffee liqueur
1 part fresh espresso
Plus a splash of simple syrup, just enough to soften the edges without masking the bitterness.
Available at Hotel Chocolat
Curious where else a good drink collides with bigger ideas? Find more in our culture section.
You might also like this piece from our Tastes Like Home series, which explores the drinks people recognise as home – through stories of habit, memory, and meaning.