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Botran Reserva Blanca
Francis from Distillnation came round the other day to drop off some absinthe and he presented me also with a handsome bottle of Botran’s new Blanca Reserva. It doesn’t officially launch in the UK till...
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The looking-glass half full…
David with a row of Pop Goes the Walrus cocktailsAs I have commented before, I don’t normally do bar reviews, but I was invited along a couple of weeks ago to the launch of a new watering hole managed...
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One small dinger for mankind
A Small DingerI have a troubled relationship with grenadine. It’s an age-old cocktail ingredient, a syrup or cordial traditionally made from pomegranate (it’s name coming from grenade, French for...
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G-Line Whisky: A Scotch with an unusual production method
A Guest Writer Article from the IAE South Coast BranchToday, I’m looking at a whisky that came as something of a surprise on a multitude of levels. Firstly, it arrived without my knowledge as a...
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G'Vine seeks the flower of London's bartenders
The breathtaking view from Paramount at the top of CentrepointTo Soho last Monday, for the finals of the London leg of the G’Vine“Connoisseur Programme” 2013, in the Paramount bar at the top of the...
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The Art of the Japanese Cocktail
The moga style starts to appear alongside traditional dressThe 1920s saw a rush of modernization in Japan, bringing an interest in Western culture and fashion. Photos, movies and illustrations from the...
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Introducing the Sloppy Giuseppe cocktail
In our ceaseless quest for interesting corners of the Prohibition world around which to theme Candlelight Club parties, we have twice taken advantage of Cuba’s romantic and exotic place in booze...
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Think pink but bring an umbrella…
A Pink Puppy cocktail“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp,” Robert Browning opined, “Or what’s a heaven for?” Of course in this country it’s the heavens themselves that can put the kibosh on the most...
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A thoroughly Scottish gin
The mysterious box opens to reveal…I was lucky enough to receive a mysterious package in the post the other day, which turned out to be from the folk at Caorunn, a relatively new gin from Scotland....
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Two Birds, Dodd's, Sacred—gins that show their craft
All looks orderly as DBS hands out pens and scoring sheets at the beginning of the session…Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to join a panel for a blind tasting of British “craft” gins,...
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Tequila: busting myths and fighting red tape
Matthias addresses the mobThe New Sheridan Club’s summer party on Saturday had (rather inexplicably, I admit) a Mexican theme. It proved a rich seam, with Frida Kahlo rubbing shoulders with Zorro,...
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Some tequila cocktails
A Matador cocktailAsked to name a tequila cocktail, most people would pipe up with the Margarita (roughly two parts tequila to one part lime juice and one part triple sec, with an optional salt rim,...
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Sacred Rosehip Cup—a thoroughly English aperitivo
To Primrose Hill last week for the launch of Sacred Rosehip Cup. The Sacred Spirits Company is basically Ian Hart, a thoughtful boffin with a twinkling curiosity, who has built a vacuum still in a room...
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Sipping on ‘yak’…
My kit for blokeish heaven*Although cocktails based on Cognac are among the oldest created, it’s no surprise that major brandy players are keen to get hip to the “Second Golden Age of the Cocktail”...
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Hernö: like gin, but more so
A rare bottle of Hernö Juniper Cask Gin, with a cask in thebackground (the real ones are much bigger)I went to the launch of a new gin on Monday, from Hernö in Sweden, proudly the northernmost...
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Tea-Total Cocktails
A Medina RoseMaking cocktails with tea has been fashionable for quite a while now. (And that’s just this time round—tea was a common ingredient in punches, some of the earliest mixed boozes created by...
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National Calvados Week—The Pere Magloire & King's Ginger Flask
This week is National Calvados Week (for more information and events check out http://www.nationalcalvadosweek.com/) and I am rather a fan. Any one who has ever spoken to me about the French apple...
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Brimstone and bubbly
“Contains sulphites” (or “sulfites”, if you are American). These two words are like a clang of doom on many a wine label. The fact that wine-makers are obliged to print this notification probably...
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The Green Fairy's new wings
I haven’t written about absinthe in a while, not least because the last time I did it revealed just how weird the absinthe world can be. I reviewed the whole of the La Fée range at the time, presenting...
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Absinthe and chocolate—the ultimate decadent pairing?
We gave last weekend’s Candlelight Club a “Resolution Busters” theme: apparently the third week in January is round about the time that a lot of people who made New Year resolutions give up and go back...
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