Category: Food & Drink
Go With The Grain: Embrace Bain’s
“The end is nigh.” Lovers of malt whiskies have been hearing this for a while now, as growing demand for premium aged spirits allegedly threatens to outstrip supply. But should the rumoured apocalypse ever materialize, at least one unlikely saviour has emerged. A grain whisky. From…South Africa.
Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky
It’s called Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, and it scooped the title of the World’s Best Grain Whisky at the 2018 World Whisky Awards—for the second time in five years. That’s particularly impressive kudos for a brand which only launched in 2009.
But here’s the real surprise. While Bain’s rests in ex-bourbon casks for just five years before bottling, it’s a smooth, sweet, saucy little sophisticate—a mere babe in the whisky woods that is remarkably mature for its age. Lamb dressed as mutton, in the nicest possible way.
Easy, Breezy Summer Picnic Wines from the Loire Valley
Food and Wine Pairings for Summer
With the warm weather breathing hot and heavy upon our necks like a Tinder Lothario pumped and plumped on Viagra, it’s time to pack up the picnic basket and decamp to the nearest swathe of sunshine.
Nestled amongst the sandwiches and salads, there must be an obligatory bottle or two of your favourite fermented grape.
Here are two juicy Loire Valley varietals to try–a white and a red–along with suggestions for perfect pairings. (more…)
New High Tech Cocktails at The Berkeley, London
Imagine you’re on the beach, enjoying a rum and coconut concoction beneath a thatched umbrella, soaking up the sight and scent of the sea. Somehow, no matter how faithfully you follow the bartender’s recipe, that cocktail will never seem quite the same at home on a dreary, grey winter evening.
“Some drinks just taste right in a certain place, because context impacts flavour,” says Rashid Ghuloom, manager of The Berkeley’s Blue Bar in London, England. “So, we decided to recreate that place.”
The Berkeley Hotel has partnered with Bacardi Limited to introduce the “Out Of The Blue” extrasensory imbibing experience, using sight, smell and, of course, taste to establish the perfect environment for four different cocktails. With these immersive sipping sessions, a maximum of four guests are ushered into a small square room, where 360-degree films and molecular scents provide clues to the ingredients within a quartet of mystery cocktails.
Out of the Blue cocktail experience. Courtesy The Berkeley Hotel.
Picture a more sophisticated version of a “Smell-O-Vision” movie theatre…but, y’know, with alcohol. So, you might find yourself sipping a fruity vodka mix, perhaps detecting a whiff of suntan cream in the air, as an extreme close-up of a pineapple exploding in slow-motion, Quentin Tarantino-style, plays out over four walls. Later, stay tuned for a whisky-based beverage, accompanied by footage of mossy streams and the smoky scent of peat and leather wafting through the room. (more…)