• Drinks of Note — Summer ’24

    Drinks of Note — Summer ’24

    The change in weather signals a change in sentiment; an optimistic outlook on what is set to be a great Summer. Here are some choice drinks to enjoy this season.   Mercer + Prince by A$AP ROCKY “Born at the intersection of Art & Culture, Mercer + Prince is twice distilled and aged for a minimum…

  • Drinks of Note — Spring ’24

    Drinks of Note — Spring ’24

    A tad opulent I must admit, but nonetheless a selection befitting of the mood—and the season—of Spring. Drinks to be discovered as well as enjoyed.   Aberturret Gin “The Glenturret Single Malt New Make Spirit is enhanced in richness and complexity with 14 selected botanicals and housed in a Lalique designed bottle. An elegant London Dry…

  • Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo

    Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo

    “A special drink for a special occasion” That was what I was always led to believe but for some reason I never had this same approach to drinking rum. For me rum has always been a drink that I associate with having fun; a sweet elixir capturing a moment of enjoyment between friends. It’s a…

  • Drinks Worth Gifting ’22

    Drinks Worth Gifting ’22

    30 Years Old by The Glenturret “A limited edition launch by Scotland’s oldest working Distillery, The Glenturret 30 Years Old was created exclusively for the new web3 platform “Amber Island”; a web3 membership community focussing on high-end spirits.” ☟ Taste Notes  30 year aged with a final year in European Oak sherry cask before being…

  • Decem — Modern Spirits for Modern Times

    Decem — Modern Spirits for Modern Times

    It’s an unfortunate paradox, the fact that the more we drink, the less we remember. There are so many hours in a night out, with those towards midnight so readily dulled by our enjoyment of cocktails. Sobriety is always an option, so too is restraint. Thankfully, DECEM have invented something to help us avoid such…

  • The Bottled Cocktail Company — Unprecedented Tradition

    The Bottled Cocktail Company — Unprecedented Tradition

    The term ‘unprecedented’ was, in 2020, a well-worn refrain — one that might not please an overcritical historian. But though there are many precedents of mankind facing illness in history, the way in which our generation experienced the pandemic was, without question, new. The internet age transformed isolation into a paradoxically collective phenomenon, as people…

  • Avión Tequila — Cristalino Clear

    Avión Tequila — Cristalino Clear

    In the past decade, tequila has enjoyed a much deserved boost of image. Gone are the days where a shot of tequila was a grimly tolerated steppingstone towards getting “blackout blotto”.     Tequila is one of Mexico’s most famous – or infamous – exports, but this newfound prestige may have something to do with…

  • A Grandfather’s Legacy — Ron Abuelo

    A Grandfather’s Legacy — Ron Abuelo

    Quite literally translating to “grandfather”, Ron Abuelo can count itself as a founding pioneer of heritage rum. Forget coconut flasks and paper umbrellas. This sweet spirit hailing from the fertile fields of the Azuero Peninsula, Panama counts its very antiquity as its secret weapon. Don Jose Varela founded the country’s first sugar cane fields and…

  • Olmeca Altos Tequila

    Olmeca Altos Tequila

    Accessing the world of tequila (or any spirit, for that matter) can be a bewildering affair. There are often many factors to consider, few of them obvious, and any tequila worth its salt would balk at the branding of an ‘entry spirit’. Olmeca Altos provide a tequila that has all quality and credentials one would…

  • Hail Mary

    Hail Mary

    Our relationship with alcohol can be… complicated. We drink to toast a celebration; we drink to commiserate a loss; we drink to the past, present and future; we drink to forget and we drink to regret. Sometimes we just drink – for no other reason besides the fact that it’s there, omnipotent, and the done…

  • Affligem | What monks know about brewing beer

    Affligem | What monks know about brewing beer

    What do monks know about brewing beer…? Not a lot—or so I thought as I made my way to the small Belgium town called Affligem on the outskirts of Brussels. In my mind the connection between what beer and monks represented seemed disparate and, for the most part, non-conducive to the piety required to maintain…

  • Johnnie Walker + Tom Dixon

    Johnnie Walker + Tom Dixon

    The purpose of design has always been two-fold. While stylistic definition is at the forefront of any object, purpose, function and integration into daily life are just as pivotal. Using this mantra to supreme effect is designer Tom Dixon in his collaboration with Johnnie Walker. Inspired by the art of whisky making and the craftsmanship…

  • THE LEGACY OF DON JULIO

    THE LEGACY OF DON JULIO

    “Don Julio means the best tequila in Mexico.” These are the words spoken to me by Enrique de Colsa – one of Don Julio’s seasoned ambassadors and pre-eminent master distiller. It’s peculiar to speak in absolutes when discussing food, drink, music or any other of life’s unquantifiable pleasures we call ‘art’. It is, however, a…

  • Ring of Fire | Ballantine’s Hard Fired

    Ring of Fire | Ballantine’s Hard Fired

    “Be yourself, be authentic, be genuine and the stories that you live will deserve to be toasted,” said Ballantine’s founder, George Ballantine, some 200 years ago. As purveyors of some of the finest blended whiskies in the world, Ballantine’s is as relevant today as it was all those years ago. And in true Ballantine’s style,…