Drink
My recipe to cure a hangover
Journalists exaggerate, often reaching for superlatives to chronicle mildly interesting events. Even so, there are times when it is necessary…
Christmas without God in the Appalachians
Christmas: without being grand and Proustian, this is a season when time present inevitably takes one back to time past.…
Letters: Just how should you pronounce vermouth?
Down to zero Sir: Paul Collier’s siren call to take advantage of near-zero interest rates to go on a massive…
The delights of Spanish wine – and art
First, an apology. In my last column, I appeared to be saying that good champagne does not age. This must…
There is always time for a bottle of Champagne
My friend Dominic decided that it was time to convoke a lunch. There were matters to discuss, including that perennial…
Reasons to be cheerful: gardens, Ben Stokes and cold wine
‘The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.’ Is there a more charming passage in…
A toast to the wisdom – and wit – of Norman Stone
We were in a club, discussing Norman Stone, recently departed, over a meal that he would have enjoyed. Norman divided…
25 years off the booze has taught me three simple things
What I’ve learnt from 25 years off the booze
Save us from fads and change for change’s sake
There is no new thing under the sun. Over the weekend, I read a book which was alarmingly relevant to…
Is wine an art?
Acouple of lawyers were disagreeing about a matter which could become increasingly relevant. Could a sitting president pardon himself? But…
Why our soldiers are more impressive than every other kind of leader
One of the pleasures of journalism is the opportunity to meet eminent persons: bankers, businessmen, civil servants, diplomats, politicians, vignerons.…
Stockbridge, Hampshire: an unexpected gastronomical haven
‘The doors clap to, the pane is blind with showers / Pass me the bottle, old lad, there’s an end of summer.’…
How blind tastings led to wine’s identity crisis
Blind tastings have baffled since ‘the Judgment of Paris’
Is Frank Skinner the new Alan Bennett? Edinburgh Fringe round-up
For recovering teetotallers, like me, Thinking Drinkers is the perfect Edinburgh show. On stage, two sprucely dressed actors perform sketches…
Farewell to a bottle and a half per day – I have finally embarked on a diet
Are there still travelling fairs? In many villages, they used to be part of the annual round. For weeks, the…
I’m grateful for my grateful drinking friend
The phone rang. ‘You are the last person in the world I should be talking to’, proclaimed an old friend…
Tasting the true island spirit: single malts from the Isle of Arran
Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, is an island whose charms vary with the seasons. In summer, the hills are…
Found in a friend’s cellar — the wines of a lifetime
In longevity, great wine can march with human life. Creating (better still, maintaining) a fine cellar really is a compact…
Artisan gins leave me in low spirits
Spare me the hype over craft gins
Rare whiskies can be a better investment bet than first-growth clarets
Henry Jeffreys says a rare Scotch can be a better investment bet than first-growth claret
I survived a hen party — just
The hen party was seated at an outside restaurant table under the plane trees when I arrived. They sat with…
My love affair with single malt whisky
Mark Palmer on his late-blooming love affair with single malt whisky
Burgundies that taste of T.S. Eliot
Eliot. After 50 years trying to make sense of his verse, and at the risk of admitting to rampant philistinism,…
The wonder of Wetherspoons
Of all the stories I’ve heard about the fallout from Brexit — families divided, work jeopardised, friendships ended — the…
From kittens to claret: an ideal education
Call me a sentimental old whatever, but watching a four-year old hearing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers for the first…
Most Popular
- Read
- Recent
- Read
- Recent
Editor’s Choice
Cartoons
