How Takamaka rum went from garage grog to a top tipple August 23, 2021 Would you drink rum that started life in a swimming pool? The former manager of a Soho dive bar and a drag club in Camden thinks you’d be mad not to. Richard Cohen is the only non-national working for the Seychelles rum brand Takamaka, which has just arrived in the UK in the form of Rum [...]
Mezcal is here and The Lost Explorer is the ideal place to start August 23, 2021 Mezcal has been on the verge of breaking into the UK’s mainstream spirits market for some time now, with some excellent and accessible brands knocking on the door of discerning drinkers. And there is perhaps no better, more successful small batch mezcal available on these shores right now than The Lost Explorer. Launched in late [...]
Inside the crazy, expensive world of whisky miniature collecting August 19, 2021 The founder of The Whisky Exchange is selling his collection of rare and old whisky miniature bottles. The collection will be sold as part of the quarterly miniatures and memorabilia auction at, live until Tuesday 24 August. Sukhinder Singh, who founded the global whisky retailer with his brother Rajbir in 1999, is putting four hundred [...]
Forget the Caribbean: Why the hottest tipple is… Welsh rum August 18, 2021 An Englishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman were sitting in London’s Leman Street Tavern moaning about their boring, grey, routine-bound lives. They decided to do something different, starting by ordering rum instead of their customary gin. This became the origin story for their own commercially produced rum made in Carmarthen using Welsh fruit loaf and [...]
Collection of rare and unusual single malt whisky to go on sale August 17, 2021 “Prime” and “ultimate” connote excellence, but they also mean first and last. Diageo’s Prima & Ultima collections play with that ambiguity, by bringing together a selection of exquisite single malt whisky, which are also the first or last of their kind. The age and rarity of these spirits would make them enticing enough, but each [...]
How to mix… The perfect New Orleans Sazerac August 17, 2021 August is hurricane season in New Orleans, a time when oppressive heat and torrential showers mean it’s foolish to do much more than sit on your balcony with a frosty drink and watch the world pass by. The extremity of London’s weather in recent weeks, from floods to heatwaves, put me in mind of the [...]
One of the world’s finest wines is Kent’s Squerryes 2011 Brut August 16, 2021 Get ready for something seriously tasty to tickle your tastebuds. Over 18,000 wines were blind-tasted at the largest, most renowned wine competition internationally, The Decanter Awards. The Judges then allocated the select few winners Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum medals, but this is not the pinnacle. Get ready to feel patriotic. Of those 18,000 wines, [...]
Afternoon tea in style: A short guide August 5, 2021 For the British, “tea” is an absurdly complex word. It is laden with meaning and nuance, and how you deploy it will, in certain circles, say more about you than you might like. Most obviously, it is, supposedly, our national drink. I can’t abide tea at any price, but steeped leaves from China, India and [...]
Bringing these wines will make you the perfect dinner party guest August 3, 2021 “Freedom Day” has come and gone and invitations to dinner parties, garden gatherings and long luncheons have come flooding in. It is the “done thing” to bring a bottle for your dinner party host but this can be tricky when you have no idea what is on the menu. If you cannot pair the wine [...]
Chapel Down boss to step down after 20 years at helm August 2, 2021 England’s biggest winemaker Chapel Down is preparing for a leadership shift as it announced today chief executive Frazer Thompson will retire next month. Andrew Carter, currently managing director at Chase Distillery, a vodka and gin producer set up by the owner of Tyrrells crisps, will succeed Thompson on 13 September. The designated CEO said he [...]