Hamlet at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: To see or not to see? February 22, 2022 Sean Holmes’ new production of Hamlet at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is something of a curate’s egg. The costumes are an odd mix of period and modern, and there are a range of acting styles, which don’t really mesh, either. On the whole, it was the actors taking a more traditional approach who engaged better [...]
The whisky diaries: Tasting a very special 39-year-old January 27, 2022 Some whiskies want to get you drunk, some want to challenge you, but The Singleton 39 Year Old is a super premium single malt that really wants to take you to dinner. While the first release in The Singleton’s Epicurean Odyssey series, a 38-year-old single malt launched in 2020, tasted of baked apples and caramel, [...]
Burns Night is here again: Here’s what to drink and where to go January 25, 2022 Today is Burns Night, the annual celebration of Scotland’s national poet, and semi-official “St Patrick’s Day” for lovers of Scotch. Plan B restrictions may have derailed large-scale Burns Suppers and ceilidhs, but there’s no reason you can’t stay home, put on a Gay Gordons LP, whip up some haggis, neeps, and tatties, and toast the immortal memory of Robert Burns with [...]
Last Minute Xmas gifts: Singleton X Biscuit Boutique December 20, 2021 If you’re stuck for gift ideas, this culinary match made in heaven could be for you. Matching fine scotch with excellent confectionary, The Singleton x Biscuit boutique is one of our top gift picks of the year. The Singleton 12 Year Old is a delightful, fruity single malt, with buttery hazelnuts, baked apples, and blackberries, [...]
Trouble in Mind at the National Theatre is a searing portrait of racism December 18, 2021 Racial tensions reach breaking-point in the National Theatre’s production of Trouble in Mind. It’s the mid-1950s, and race is a hot-button issue in America. Al Manners (Rory Keenan) is a white Hollywood director, suspected of communist sympathies, who is compelled to take a job on Broadway. He intends to direct Chaos in Belleville, a broad [...]
Xmas Drinks 2021: The spirits you need on your cabinet over the holidays December 15, 2021 The Botanist Islay Dry Gin is ideal for seasonal cocktails. Made by the experimental Scotch whisky-makers at Bruichladdich, using a rare, salvaged Lomond still, the Botanist combines nine traditional gin botanicals with a further twenty-two ingredients foraged from the island. The resulting spirit is incredibly smooth, enlivened by citrus, mint, and harmonious floral flavours, that make [...]
Measure For Measure at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review December 8, 2021 Government sleaze is on display again, but at least in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s latest Shakespeare production, it’s entertaining. In Measure for Measure, the Duke of Vienna delegates power to an outwardly righteous advisor, with the hope he will restore moral order in an increasingly licentious society, but remains in the city in the guise [...]
For a one of a kind gift check out this unique whisky auction from Sotheby’s December 1, 2021 The Distillers’ Charity, the philanthropic wing of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, has teamed up with Sotheby’s for a charity auction that promises to net some lucky bidder some rare and rarified bottles. Taking place at Barnbougle Castle on the outskirts of Edinburgh on Friday 3 December, the theme is “One of One”, with each [...]
The whisky-maker putting the ‘fun’ in Non-Fungible October 13, 2021 Glenfiddich is putting the “fun” into non-fungible, with NFTs you can drink. The pioneering single malt whisky brand is partnering with BlockBar, a new platform for buying, collecting and trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to luxury wines and spirits. The service will launch next week, with the sale of limited edition Glenfiddich NFTs: fifteen unique [...]
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 [...]
