Held on the fourth Friday of October – in 2023, the 27th of October – Champagne Day was originally established in 2009 by Californian wine educator, Chris Oggenfus, and has taken off, with events around the world. You might be like Ken Gargett and have wondered why we need an official Champagne Day. Surely, every day is perfect for champagne?
Normally Ken Gargett would not highlight a retailer/supplier, but Dekanta offers special limited edition Japanese whiskies as well as many of the harder-to-find bottlings. And he does think this Asaka Aoi Edition Single Cask is a very fine whisky and definitely worth a look.
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.
So, what does a squillion dollar tequila taste like? The color is a deep gold/bronze, not dissimilar to an aged rum. The nose is both powerful and mellow, with dried fruits, orange rind, cinnamon, hints of nutmeg, honey, even cassis and Christmas cake. The palate is quite stunning, as smooth and seductive as one could imagine.
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?
Old wine is always a lottery. The provenance, the chances of the wine being a fake, did the cork hold up, how was the storage, and so on. But sometimes the Gods smile and you taste history!
Sometimes, people have really good ideas. Not something I normally say about marketing departments of any kind, but whoever first came up with the concept of the annual Diageo Special Releases deserves all the credit which can be showered upon them. A fabulous idea and one that other regions, spirits, producers could adopt and adapt.
Ken Gargett thought that his Montecristo Churchill Añejados cigar was stunning. But things could never be that simple. His fellow video smoker had a completely opposite experience, so variation is the name of the game.
An exceptional tasting of vintage champagnes provides great insight into the enormous differences between the styles made by the various houses, variations in vintages and also in the different versions of champagne available. Ken Gargett took one for the team and lets us know what he thought of these superlative wines.
As with every aspect of our lives, the world of wine and spirits is heavily regulated. Growing grapes, making the stuff, distilling, selling, even (perhaps especially) drinking it. Here Ken Gargett takes a light-hearted look at some of the newer and crazier laws and regulations around the world.