Posts in spirits
LONDON'S BEST NEW COCKTAILS
LONDON'S BEST NEW COCKTAILS

“Put down the shaker, screw the cap back on the Campari, stop trying to figure out how to make those big clear ice cubes in your little home freezer; it’s time to give cocktail duties back to the professionals. After a tough year-or-so for the industry it’s basically the duty of every self-respecting cocktailian to head out and support our favourite spots by getting a few rounds in. Just as well then, that London’s bartenders are offering new menus, honed over months of lockdown, and filed with new drinks to get acquainted with. These are some of the best new cocktails on offer in the capital right now. Cheers.”

See the full list at the Spectator.

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Bars, cocktails, London, Restaurants, spirits, WineJoe RogersLondon, Lockdown, Cocktails
HOW TO MASTER THE GIN GIMLET
HOW TO MASTER THE GIN GIMLET

“The Gin Gimlet was an unlikely hero of our socially distanced year. With their venues shuttered, bartenders were forced to get creative in order to ply their trade to a homebound audience. In a rush to create cocktails that could withstand bottling and postage, many turned to shelf-stable cordials in place of more temperamental citrus juices. After decades as a classic cocktail deep cut, the Gimlet was back on the menu. The original calls only for London Dry, Rose’s Lime Cordial, and a little ice to chill it down – but like many old favourites it affords ample room for experimentation.”

Read the full guide at the Spectator.

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cocktails, Bars, spiritsJoe Rogersgin gimlet, gin
THE BEST DRINKS TO SERVE IN YOUR GARDEN
THE BEST DRINKS TO SERVE IN YOUR GARDEN

“It’s finally time. After long months walking in the park and pounding coffees in the street you can have a small number of pals over as long as they stay in the garden. Will you have a few drinks when then come by? For the first time in months? Just a couple…? Yes, you absolutely will. Here are some of the best things to serve while you to remember how to have a conversation with more than two people.”

Read on at the Spectator.

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cocktails, Wine, whiskey, whisky, spiritsJoe Rogerscocktails, spirits
FOUR TWISTS FOR YOUR G&T
FOUR TWISTS FOR YOUR G&T

“The gin and tonic is a beautiful thing. Refreshing, anti-malarial, and fixable by even the least confident home bartenders. However, malaria rates are at an all-time low in the UK and over-reliance on old favourites is a sure-fire route to monotony and disenchantment. There’s a whole wide world of ways to knock back gin so why not give the tonic water a rest and try something different when 5pm rolls around?”

Get the full list at the Spectator.

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cocktails, spirits, WineJoe Rogersgin, cocktails
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT MARGARITA
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT MARGARITA

“One popular origin story has a Texan socialite coming up with the Margarita during a jolly south of the border in the late ‘40s but that’s about as believable as her showing up in Acapulco and inventing guacamole. In reality, prototypical Margaritas were being mixed up by bartenders around Mexico as early as the 1930s. The drink's adaptability and sheer brilliance has seen it remain popular through nine decades of changing tastes.”

Read the full article at the Spectator.

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cocktails, spiritsJoe RogersMargarita, Cocktails, Tequila
WHAT TO DRINK DURING DRY JANUARY
WHAT TO DRINK DURING DRY JANUARY

“January 2021 looks set to be a little duller than your average. And that's before many of us take on the traditional new year’s detox. Luckily, the drinks world has upped its game significantly on the low-and-no alcohol front of late, so cutting back doesn’t mean giving up on fun. Here are some of the best options for a dry – or perhaps just a little less wet – January.”

Read the full article at the Spectator.

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cocktails, spiritsJoe Rogerscocktails, Zero ABV, Dry January, Alcohol Free
WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR CHRISTMAS DRINKS CABINET
WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR CHRISTMAS DRINKS CABINET

The drinks section of the supermarket is more crowded than ever. Lead booze scientist predict that gin distilleries will soon outnumber people in some parts of the UK. By 2030 there will be more low-intervention wine labels than there are stars in the Milky Way (probably). While all that choice is nice to have it does make for a lot of difficult decisions when stocking the Christmas drinks cabinet. Here to take the hassle out of things are some of the best options for staying merry this festive season.”

Read the full article at Spectator Life

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spirits, cocktailsJoe RogersChristmas
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT MOJITO
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT MOJITO

“The origin myth of the Mojito often credits Sir Francis Drake, the famous privateer and ruff enthusiast, with its invention. The story finds Drake on Cuba in 1586, absolutely knackered from plundering and at the command of an increasingly sickly and overheated crew. As a way to improve morale, get some fruit and greenery down everyone, and generally blow off steam Drake supposedly mixed lime and mint with some Spanish aguardente and in doing so invented the prototype for the modern mojito.”

Read the full article at Spectator Life

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cocktails, spiritsJoe RogersCocktails, rum, mojito
SIX FILM AND COCKTAIL PAIRINGS TO LIVEN UP YOUR NIGHTS IN
SIX FILM AND COCKTAIL PAIRINGS TO LIVEN UP YOUR NIGHTS IN

“Not just a return to form for Guy Richie but one of the best whisky drinking films in years. The framing device for the action sees Hugh Grant’s slimy hack sneaking into criminal enforcer Charlie Hunnam’s house to engage in a bit of light blackmail in the form of narration. In doing so, Grant pilfers a bottle of whisky from Hunnam’s drinks cabinet – a 40-year-old Glenfarclasdistilled in 1976, to be precise. If you happen to have a bottle of that lying around then, well, have fun with that. To drink along with the Gentlemen the rest of us can make do with the benchmark Glenfarclas 15yo; an excellent dram in its own right.”

Read the whole article at Spectator Life

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cocktails, spirits, Film & TVJoe Rogersnetfli, amazon, itunes, cocktails
THE BEST WHISKEY BARS FOR ST PATRICK'S DAY
THE BEST WHISKEY BARS FOR ST PATRICK'S DAY

“Talk to people outside Ireland about Irish whiskey and they’ll probably tell you it’s all about light, easy, triple distilled spirits. Prop up the bar at Dingle on Dublin’s Nassau street for a few hours and you’ll learn just how broad and varied Irish whiskey is. The sheer number of styles on offer speaks to the richness of Irish distilling culture that’s so often overlooked.”

Read more at Spectator Life

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whiskey, spirits, London, cocktails, BarsJoe Rogerswhiskey, St Patricks day, cocktails
WHERE TO DRINK LIKE JAMES BOND IN LONDON
WHERE TO DRINK LIKE JAMES BOND IN LONDON

“James Bond’s most impressive superpower is not his prowess as a spy or his skills of seduction, it’s his ability to always get exactly what he wants at the bar. In the 1954 novel Live and Let Die, while on a train to meet his CIA opposite number Felix Leiter, he orders a round of Old Fashioneds. Not only does the buffet car make them for him, but they even have his preferred brand of Bourbon, Old Grandad. You try pulling that sort of thing on the LNER from Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverly. ‘Sorry Solitaire, they wouldn’t do us a cocktail but I’ve got a tin of strong lager and a cheese and pickle sandwich on the meal deal.”

Read more at Spectator Life

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cocktails, spirits, BarsJoe RogersJames Bond, 007, martini, champagne, London bars, cocktails
THE BEST GINS TO DRINK THIS CHRISTMAS
THE BEST GINS TO DRINK THIS CHRISTMAS

“Gin sales in the UK are expected to pass 100 million bottles by mid-2020 as the nation remains mad on juniper and citrus. The gin shelf has become so crowded that it can be difficult to spot the real gems among the bandwagoners and the marketing fluff. But even in this brave new world with hundreds of brands to choose from there are quality producers still innovating, refining, and rethinking this centuries old spirit.”

Read more at Spectator Life

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cocktails, spiritsJoe Rogersgin, cocktails, distilleries