Fizz, Flavour and the Bumbu Banger: August at Wine Rack
August is the month when summer hits its stride. The evenings are warm enough to eat outside without a jumper, garden plans stop being optimistic and start being routine, and there is a general sense that if you are going to open something worth drinking, now is the time. Your local Wine Rack has the range to match the mood.
This month brings standout savings on prosecco and champagne, a wave of new arrivals that lean into bold, fruity summer flavours, cider deals for the long evenings, and a cocktail of the month that is as easy to make as it is to drink. Whether you are hosting a proper celebration, putting together an impromptu garden gathering or simply treating yourself to something cold on a Tuesday, it all starts here.
Prosecco and Champagne: Celebrations Made Easier
A good bottle of fizz turns any occasion into an event, and this month’s sparkling range covers every budget from casual midweek to statement bottle.
Freixenet Prosecco 75cl at £10.99 (was £14.99) is crisp, citrusy and crowd-pleasing, the kind of bottle you can open without needing a reason. Freixenet Sparkling Rosé 75cl, also £10.99 (was £14.99), adds soft berry notes and a blush of colour that makes it feel more like an occasion even when it is not. Both represent a £4 saving, which makes grabbing two feel like common sense.
For champagne, Charles Mignon Brut 75cl at £28.99 (was £34.49) is a grower champagne with real depth. Expect toasty, biscuity complexity with a fine, persistent mousse. It is the kind of bottle that impresses people who know champagne and delights people who do not, and the saving of over five pounds makes it an even easier pick.
The showpiece this month is Moët Ice Imperial 75cl at £43.99 (was £63.99), a saving of £20. Moët Ice Imperial is designed to be served over ice, which makes it genuinely unusual among champagnes. Tropical fruit, a hint of ginger and a refreshing minerality that comes alive with ice cubes and a slice of cucumber or a sprig of mint. It is made for warm weather and it feels like a celebration in a glass.
Cocktail of the Month: Bumbu Banger
August’s cocktail of the month is the Bumbu Banger, and it is exactly the kind of drink you want on a warm evening. Smooth Caribbean craft rum meets strawberry and lime, stretched with ginger ale into something long, fruity, spiced and dangerously drinkable.
Ingredients
- 50ml Bumbu Rum
- 10ml strawberry purée
- 5ml fresh lime juice
- Ginger ale, to top
- Ice
Method
Combine the Bumbu Rum, strawberry purée and lime juice in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake briefly to chill and combine, then strain into a tall glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger ale, pouring slowly down the side to keep the fizz alive.
Bumbu is a rum that does a lot of the work for you. Blended from Caribbean sugarcane and distilled with banana, vanilla and warm spices, it brings natural sweetness and complexity that most spiced rums cannot match. The strawberry softens it, the lime sharpens it, and the ginger ale lifts the whole thing into something crisp and sessionable. Make one as a test. Then make a jug.
New In Store: Bold Summer Flavours
August’s new arrivals lean into the kind of bold, fruity drinking that warm weather calls for.
Aperol Spritz 250ml at 2 for £5 is arguably the easiest summer serve in the chiller. No mixing, no measuring, just crack it open and pour over ice. At two for five pounds, it is an effortless aperitivo for the garden.
Smirnoff Crush Blueberry & Pomegranate 6% 440ml at £2.49 is a flavoured vodka RTD with proper fruit depth and a clean finish. Serve it ice cold straight from the can or pour it over ice for a longer drink.
Breezer Passionfruit & Mango 274ml at £1.49 is a nostalgic favourite landing at a price that makes it an impulse buy. Light, tropical and easy drinking.
On the spirits side, Jack Daniel’s and Coke 4 Pack 250ml at £4.99 brings the classic combination in a convenient pre-mixed format, perfect for BBQs and garden parties. And Jack Daniel’s Blackberry 70cl at £21.99 is a distinctive flavoured whiskey that works brilliantly with cola, lemonade or ginger ale, and brings something genuinely different to the spirits shelf.
Cider for the Long Evenings
The cider deals continue into August with two of the most popular names in the chiller. Thatchers Gold 10x440ml at £9.99 (was £12.75) is the crisp, medium-dry apple cider that has become a British summer staple. Thatchers Haze 10x440ml, also £9.99 (was £12.75), is its cloudier, softer sibling, unfiltered and with more orchard character.
At under a pound a can, both are exceptional value for a 10-pack, and they suit everything from a quiet evening in the garden to a full-blown summer gathering.
Make the Most of August at Wine Rack
August is the month for drinking well without overthinking it. Whether that means a Moët Ice Imperial served the way it was designed, over ice in the sunshine, a Bumbu Banger that turns a Thursday into an occasion, or a can of Thatchers pulled cold from the fridge after a long day, Wine Rack has it covered.
Pop into your local store, explore what is new and discover more with Wine Rack.
Discover more with Wine Rack.