Finland is a country of contrast. In the winter, there is very little sunlight, with a lot time spent in pitch darkness, but come summer that all changes. There is pretty much daylight all the day, creating a phenomenon that the Fins have called ‘The Midnight Sun.’ This odd, but also rather curious, situation has been immortalised on a bottle that most people will have seen. Finlandia Vodka. …
Finlandia-enjoying the ‘Midnight Sun’
August 8th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Aug, 08 2010
1 Comment »
69 Colebrook Row and the Hawskmoor
August 6th, 2010 Posted in Bar Review, Visits
Aug, 06 2010
Every now and then I am lucky enough to find myself in the cocktail capital that is London, and no matter whether it is for business or pleasure, its always worth while to use this opportunity to try out a couple of new bars. So this week I eagerly took a trip to Islington to check out 69 Colebrook Row, before heading Shoreditch way to have a sneaky peak at Hawksmoor. …
Is the future Dark ‘n’ Stormy for Goslings?
July 24th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jul, 24 2010
Goslings Black Seal Rum has a long and wonderful history behind it, and is also famous for being a key ingredient in one of the very few trademarked cocktails of the world, the Dark ‘n’ Stormy®. This cocktail has led to a major resurgence in Goslings as of late, and the world has come to learn the story of this family business hailing from Bermuda. …
anCnoc-a modern whisky with history
July 16th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jul, 16 2010
Not too long ago I was given a bottle of whisky as a present, one I was unfamiliar with, and was certainly intrigued by. That whisky was anCnoc (pronounced a-noc), a 12 year old highland whisky. It stood out for two reasons, first its packaging and branding is very un-Scottish. It was in a smart white tube, pretty minimal, and well… modern. Secondly it is rare in the fact that the whisky is not named after the distillery, Knockdhu, rather the hill the distillery stands beneath. This decision was made in 2000 to avoid confusion with the whisky Knockando, however their history goes back a lot further than that. …
Tequila-to sip or to slam?
July 6th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jul, 06 2010
Tequila. We’ve all tried it, some love it, some hate it. But in all honesty, how many people have tried it other than as a cheap shot when they’ve had a couple already? When I ask people what they think of tequila, they automatically think of a bright gold coloured shot served with lemon and salt. Now I’m sure there are many people that actually enjoy it, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the world of tequila involves a hell of a lot more than this! …
Jul, 06 2010
You might have seen that recently my wife and I made the short trip up to Wales to visit the guys at Penderyn, and boy was it worth while! We arrived in the small village of Penderyn in the south Brecon Beacons, and were immediately greeted to the visitors centre by Keith a man that knows everything about whisky, and in particular Penderyn. Here he introduced us to the history of Welsh whisky, and the Penderyn distillery. It’s fascinating to see that there really is such a history with Wales and whisky, and how proud the guys at Penderyn are of this. …
Chase the Dream
June 22nd, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jun, 22 2010
Chase vodka recently won Double Gold and best in class at the prestigious San Francisco Spirits Awards, which effectively names it the best Vodka in the world. That’s quite a title to be given, especially when you consider the history of Chase, and how long the have been distilling their vodka.…
Beefeater 24-a premium gin worth the premium?
June 17th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jun, 17 2010
I like gin. It has such versatility and can be put into any form, whether it’s the classic G&T, or a cocktail like a John Collins or maybe even something as decadent as a Martini. Because of this, gin has seen a rise in popularity, especially in the so called ‘premium’ category. This premium category has grown heavily over the last 2 years, with a number of gins coming out claiming how pure, fresh and amazing they are.…
Express Yourself
June 17th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jun, 17 2010
Someone asked me what my favourite single malt was earlier. And it got me thinking, I have many, and each one suits a different setting and situation. This really set me off thinking about whisky and how one should think about it. I mean for example with wine, in summer there is nothing better than a nice crisp, fruity white wine, but then later in the evening there is nothing wrong with a good red wine. So why can’t people have different whiskies for different occasions? This then got me thinking to different expressions from the same distillery. How do they differ, and are there enough of these differences to enjoy throughout the evening? So, like always, I thought to myself “there’s only way to find out!” so this evening I’m going through a couple of expressions from Talisker. …
Ron Zacapa-is it worth all the hype?
June 16th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jun, 16 2010
Let me set the scene for you: its just over a year ago, and I’m sat in a board room in London learning about and tasting all the different spirit categories you can imagine, a tough job I’m sure you’ll agree, but someone has to do it! It gets to about 3 in the afternoon, and we’ve tried vodka, whisky, and brandy. Then it gets to one of my favourite categories, rum. Obviously I sit forward a bit and get ready to explore this wonderfully diverse group and learn all that I can. But the real bombshell comes with the last spirit to be tasted. …
The duty free Holy Grail
June 9th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review
Jun, 09 2010
Duty free alcohol. We’ve all bought it, and let’s face it, it’s the only constructive way to spend your time waiting for your plane. But when you get it home, is it all that’s it cracked up to be? Lets be honest for a moment, you trawl the aisles looking for something a little different, maybe even regional, or something that is fairly cheap in comparison to UK prices, or the real jackpot is a bottle that satisfies both! …
A new summer classic?
April 26th, 2010 Posted in Bottle Review, Ideas
Apr, 26 2010
During the summer months, people enjoy summer drinks outside with friends, and rightly so! But people want to try new drinks, and we’re constantly being asked for new recommendations. There are obviously the usual suspects, G&T, Pimms, etc.…
Facebook Like Box
