Category: Food & Drink
A Field Guide to Whisky: Everything you ever wanted to know, but were too tipsy to ask
What country produces the most whisky? (Hint: It’s not Scotland).
What are the risks involved in investing in whisky, aside from the possibility you’ll go on a bender and drink your portfolio?
What is the best way to store an unopened bottle of whisky, in the unlikely event that you possess the superhuman power to leave that golden nectar unmolested?
And, while we’re at it, what exactly is whisky—and how is it made?
In his book, A Field Guide to Whisky, Hans Offringa—Patron of the Whisky Festival of Northern Netherlands, Honorary Scotsman, and Keeper of the Quaich (it’s a Scotch thing)—addresses all these issues, and hundreds of others besides.
Whisky on the rocks. Literally.
Flip through his 320-page “expert compendium” of the world’s best-loved firewater, and you’ll be prepared for any whisky-related question a bearded, bespectacled quiz master would dare to throw your way. In fact, there’s an entire chapter devoted to trivia.
I’ve been a whisky lover ever since my first visit to Scotland more than a decade ago, and I’m always fascinated by how much there is to learn. Now, I’ll be tossing around terms like “potcheen,” “lyne arm” and “boil ball” (which are apparently not plagues eradicated in the Middle Ages) with aplomb.
Here are a few things I’ve discovered, thanks to Offringa’s guide. (more…)
Drink Pink…Gin Cocktails, That Is
The world looks better, the ubiquitous “they” say, when viewed through rose coloured glasses. That’s especially apt when your glass is filled with Pink Gin.
Image courtesy Angostura
Ironically, the rosy blush of this optimistic elixir is due to a dash or two of Angostura aromatic “bitters.” In 1848, a Royal Navy ship surgeon added a few drops to a jigger of gin to help assuage seasickness…and folks have been happily sailing three sheets to the wind ever since.
Here’s how to create your own Angostura Pink Gin cocktail. (more…)
Top Things to do in Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Go to Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Stay for the gob-smacking glitz of Monte-Carlo’s Michelin-starred restaurants, chic shops, and palatial hotels.
Small but perfectly formed, Monaco measures less than one square mile and is the most densely populated—and arguably the most glamorous—country in the world. In this coastal kingdom, synonymous with the dazzling municipality of Monte-Carlo, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches prowl the streets, and multi-million dollar yachts jockey for space in a pair of posh ports.
Port Hercules, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Impeccably-coiffed women in sunglasses and stilettos stalk the shop-lined Cercle d’Or. Bronzed beauties bask at exclusive beach clubs, and high rollers try their luck in the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo, surrounded by crystal chandeliers and gold-flecked mosaics.
The casino by night.
Royal-watchers climb to the hilltop Palace of Monaco to see the changing of the guard. In such a small country, it’s not uncommon to even catch a glimpse of Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene, whizzing by in a motorcade.
The changing of the guard at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco.
And every May, of course, racing enthusiasts rock up for the high-octane adrenaline rush of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. Some fans shell out thousands to watch competitors speed through city streets from a prime position on the harbor’s edge, with pit lane access and an open bar.
Credit danfador Pixabay
WHERE TO EAT
The cars may be fast, but the food is not. One doesn’t make a pilgrimage to Monaco for McDonald’s, now does one? No, indeed. One comes to snarf at a constellation of Michelin-starred culinary institutions.