The drinks diaries: An experimental new whisky and ready mixed cocktails April 7, 2022 Whiskymakers Compass Box are well known for their mischievous approach to the rules governing the production of Scotch whisky. While some might regard these as necessary impediments to creativity, Compass Box takes apparent delight in tweaking the nose of the establishment, sometimes making whiskies that seem to be a calculated riposte to figures in authority [...]
Why your next meal out should be in Sheffield thanks to Jöro April 6, 2022 Taking a two hour train ride to Sheffield to dine inside a shipping container next to a bypass may sound like a hard sell, but having done exactly that last week, allow me to try… Jöro is a labour of love from husband and wife duo Luke French (chef director) and Stacey Sherwood-French (managing director). [...]
Wine tips from a real Michelin star at Trivet April 6, 2022 When I first meet Isa Bal, impressive winner of the Michelin Sommelier Award, he is smiling as he tells me a brick was thrown through his restaurant’s window last night. The would-be thief was knocked over by a car shortly afterwards and arrested. “I would not normally be happy about someone being hit by a [...]
The Russia–Ukraine war and other geopolitical risks April 5, 2022 | City Talk The war in Ukraine is dominating the headlines. For now. But the conflict’s indirect reverberations will ripple far beyond the borders of its combatants and their allies. Indeed, they could give rise to new and varied geopolitical risks throughout the world. The war’s potential effect on the global grain supply and food inflation is especially [...]
Price of milk may increase by up to 50 per cent, as worried UK and EU industry leaders gather in Brussels April 4, 2022 The price of a pint of milk may jump by 50 per cent, as industry leaders held crisis talks. A perfect storm of supply chain pressures and rising costs for farmers has led to fears that the price of milk might soar to the highest for years. According to The Telegraph, four pints will jump [...]
Making bubbles under the sea: Is this the future of fizz? March 26, 2022 English wine has boldly gone somewhere it has never been before: under the sea. The idea of under-water aging has been trialled across the world since 2010, when some Veuve Clicquot dating from the early 1800s was found in a shipwreck, proclaimed delicious, and sold at a premium. However, Hampshire’s Exton Park is now the [...]
Rapper Kano is the mastermind behind The Duppy Share’s new rum March 26, 2022 Last week the latest season of the gritty London crime drama Top Boy dropped on Netflix, and as you settle in to binge the series, its star – actor and MOBO-winning grime pioneer Kano – has you covered for drinks. He’s the driving force behind the flavourful Duppy White Jamaican rum, part of The Duppy [...]
Last minute Mother’s Day idea: Try the Pan Pacific hotel March 25, 2022 Mother’s Day is on the horizon and with canny timing the Pan Pacific hotel has launched an afternoon tea centred around childhood memories in its elegant Orchard Lounge. Award-winning executive pastry chef Cherish Finden recalls her own Singaporean childhood during either a traditional English tea or a fully Asian affair, the latter of which I opted for. We [...]
Hospitality chiefs call on Sunak to reverse VAT hike or leave London businesses ‘unviable overnight’ March 20, 2022 Hospitality heads have said the government’s plans to increase VAT from current rates of 12.5 per cent to highs of 20 per cent at the start of next month will see some London businesses “become unviable overnight.” Industry chiefs warned that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to hike consumer taxes on food, soft drinks, accommodation, and [...]
Push the boat out on your Irish celebrations with a £1,000 whiskey March 17, 2022 This weekend is the perfect excuse to indulge in some Irish whiskey. But if you’re feeling particularly indulgent, you should get your hands on a bottle of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s new rare release, The Taoscán. The Taoscán is the first whiskey finished in a combination of tawny port and French chestnut barrels. Bottled [...]