Malt lovers immediately fall into one of two camps: one does not enjoy the peaty, smoky, seaweed notes that whisky from Islay usually offers. The second group loves those characteristics. No prize for guessing where Ken Gargett falls. But what about Ron Swanson and Lagavulin from the Scottish island of Islay?
Lebanon has an extensive history with vines being cultivated there for some 6,000 years. Vines were brought to the region by the Phoenicians, who then took the wines around the Mediterranean. All of which has led to the amazing wines of Chateau Musar in the modern age as Ken Gargett reports.
Fans of Japanese whisky will be all too aware that the better offerings are extremely hard to find. Once a curiosity, then mainstream, and more recently highly awarded and much sought after (okay, now subject to a feeding frenzy), the stuff is as rare as an honest politician. So grab whatever you can whenever you can!
Yamazaki 12-Year-Old from Japan is a whisky that Ken Gargett has loved every time he has had the chance to try it. The bottle he sampled for this piece was actually one from the back of his cupboard, which he has been sitting on for far too long. When a mate saw it, he implored him not to open it. But Ken of course did and shares the experience with us here.
The Charles Joguet winery is in Chinon, France where it sits adjacent to the Vienne River, a tributary of the Loire. What makes Chinon different from the rest of the Loire Valley is its focus on red wines from the Cabernet Franc grape. And Ken Gargett has a lot to say about this!
For Ken Gargett, the Veuve Clicquot 2012 La Grande Dame is a special champagne. It walks the tightrope between dense and coiled power with delicacy, finesse, and elegance. Great intensity, finally balanced acidity, early complexity, and it is still wonderfully youthful with a long future ahead of it. But what interesting story lies behind this fantastic champagne?
Ken Gargett’s recent champagne extravaganza lunch might seem like an exercise in utter hedonism (and it pretty much was), but as an exercise in showing how versatile and how incredibly varied champagnes can be, it was a masterclass. Ken even compares the 1993 Dom Pérignon to itself!
Ken Gargett is delighted to see the Champagne Charlie make such an impressive return, but he prefers Charles Heidsieck’s wonderful Blanc des Millénaires 2007 and here he explains why.
For many people, anchovies are one of those foods to be avoided like the plague. But for Ken Gargett anchovies are not a love-it-or-hate it food. Rather, they are a love-it-or-you-have-not-discovered-how-good-they-can-be food. A lunch of a freshly baked loaf of hot, crusty bread smothered in good quality anchovies is just magic. Here he takes you on an aquatic journey through the culinary aspects of this small fish.
Graham’s releases a trio of Single Harvest Tawny Ports called the Cellar Master’s Trilogy comprising The Apprentice, The Artisan, and The Master. Ken Gargett gives us the lowdown on how it’s made and how it tastes.