Diageo ‘Elusive Expressions’ Special Release Whiskies

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.

Montecristo Churchill Añejados Limited Edition Cuban Cigars: Serious Complexity, but Mixed Results

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.

Evolution of Social Media Watch Photographs Part 3: Storytelling, Collaboration, and a Bunch of Boobs – Reprise

It’s already time for the latest update in GaryG`s series of articles providing a completely subjective, unscientific, and unofficial history of watch photographs online. The big trend he has recently seen is the emergence of storytelling as a dominant theme in how watches are displayed. And while he lauds the rise to prominence of many more women among the population of online watch shooters and commentators, the emergence of boob shots with a watch hardly “empowers women” . . . or does it?

The Joy of Champagne II: an Incredible Tasting Session of Simply Superlative Champagnes

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.

Strange Laws in the World of Wine and Spirits: The Good, The Bad, and The Idiotic – Reprise

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.

In Praise of Anchovies: If You Don’t Already Love Them, You just Haven’t Yet Discovered How Good They Can Be – Reprise

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.

Marchesi di Grésy Italian wines: Rates among Barbaresco’s Greatest Grand Crus

The Marchesi di Grésy estate is now one of Barbaresco’s most highly regarded, if not the region’s greatest – for many, Barbaresco’s first – Grand Cru, even if not officially designated as such.

Glorious Burgundy is Experiencing an Unprecedented Golden Age of Fantastic Wine Vintages – Reprise

“So marvelous, so delicate was the bouquet, it seemed an impertinence to go further and taste this miraculous liquid; and yet, on the palate it almost made one regret the waste of time the moments spent in taking in the perfume.” Ken Gargett didn’t write that, but he feels the same way about the fabulous wines of Burgundy. Find out here why this is the golden age for this region.

Australian Chardonnay:  The Judgment of Paris Part Two (Oz Edition)

For those not familiar with what was a monumental shift in the tectonic plates of the world of wine, the Judgement of Paris is a legendary moment when the spotlight’s glare revealed that it was entirely possible to make great wine outside France.

Splice the Mainbrace! Pusser’s Rum: July 31st is Black Tot Day, and the End of a Royal Navy Tradition – Reprise

The first Black Tot Day was in 1970, the last day on which sailors in the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy were issued their daily rum rations (“tots”). Pusser’s has taken the exact recipe used by the Royal Navy when it discontinued the daily ration on July 31, 1970 and used it to make its rums, the only producer in the world to do so. Here, Ken Gargett fills us in on everything tot – he luckily doesn’t go “sipping the admiral,” though.