Gông, the upscale cocktail bar on the 52nd floor of the Shangri-La Hotel on St Thomas Street in London, may be the most atmospheric spot in The Big Smoke to sip a sunset cocktail. One can watch the city dramatically illuminate below one’s highly coveted viewpoint at the edge of …
British spirits industry writer Jim Murray, who literally wrote the Bible on whisky (Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible) describes the successful Sauternes-finishing of Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or in the following enthusiastic terms: “Great to see French casks that actually complement a whisky-so rare! An exercise in outrageously good sweet-dry balancing.” Nectar d’Or is …
Louis XIII’s L’Odyssée d’un Roi Cognac is the product of an inspired collaboration amongst the revered Louis XIII Cognac house and three luxury French maisons—Hermès, Puiforcat, and Saint-Louis. Only three bottles will be released for auction, each one-of-a-kind masterpiece representing over 1000 hours of work by specialized artisans. Hermès created the …
Elysian: of, relating to, or characteristic of heaven or paradise. The word stems from the Elysian fields of Greek mythology, a utopian paradise reserved for heroes after death. Synonyms include heavenly, paradisiacal, and divine. The Elysian Collection, then, seems an appropriate agnomen for British designer Jo Sampson’s sublime collection of …
The four woods in question in Woodford Reserve’s Frosty Four Wood Kentucky Straight Bourbon are the American oak barrels in which the bourbon was aged as well as the port wood, sherry wood, and maple wood barrels in which the whiskey was slowly, meticulously finished. “Frosty” refers to the polar …
The inviting elevated Moroccan-style bar and glass floor revealing the remains of a Cluniac monastery dating back to 1082 create a lovely eclectic and welcoming ambiance at Del’Aziz in London’s Bermondsey Square. But the reason to stay is the wonderful variety of fresh, healthy, skillfully-prepared cuisine by executive chef Salvatore Polizzotto …
“The melt, glowing in the furnace, is what draws me to new discoveries.” —Göran Wärff, Swedish crystal designer One of Wärff’s newest inspirations is a collaboration with Folke Andersson, a fellow Swede with over 35 years experience in the world of fine Cognac and spirits working with Maison Tiffon, one …
If there’s one thing you can say about innovative British designer Jo Sampson, it’s that her taste is absolutely impeccable. Coming from your writer who is lucky if she can match her socks or not end up with a ragtag collection of uncoordinated wine glasses due to breakage—let’s just say …
Immensely popular yet intriguingly complex, Mosaic hops bring a powerful trifecta of contributions to the completion of a well-balanced brew: bittering, flavor, and aroma. Austin-based brewery Hops and Grain proudly showcases the multi-talented nature of Mosaic hops in their new American IPA, A Pale Mosaic. The life of A Pale …
2001 was something of a pivotal year in the Knob Creek family. It was the year Booker Noe, the sixth generation Knob Creek Master Distiller laid down some of the final bottles of his career in the last few years of his life, passing the reigns to continue the family’s …
Let’s begin with a little beer history. Back in the 1880’s in Copenhagen, Denmark, modern lager as we know it was still in its early stages. Yeast varied greatly in quality, making it difficult for brewers to consistently produce good, or even drinkable beers—“beer sickness” as the result of questionable …
We were initially a little perplexed over a whiskey that seemed to be named for a hotel, but the name of Hilhaven Lodge Whiskey becomes clearer when one takes into account its co-founder is hotelier and Hollywood director Bret Ratner, owner of the now-iconic Beverly Hills accommodation. The property was once …