Appleton Estate 21-Year-Old: One of the World’s Great Rums
While the Appleton Estate distillery in Jamacia has a reputation of the highest order for quality rums, for Ken Gargett, the sweet spot has long been their 21-Year-Old.
Champagne Lallier: Getting into the Ground Floor Early
For champagne lovers, Ken Gargett recommends taking a look at the Lallier range. You might not be getting in right on the ground floor, but awfully close. And you’ll never regret it.
Billecart-Salmon Nicolas François 2008: Absolutely Sensational Champagne!
In Ken Gargett’s opinion, Billecart-Salmon’s Cuvee Nicolas François is a great champagne, whatever the vintage, but from 2008, it is transcendent. The champagne is of a gleaming appearance, like cut crystal. One sniff and it is obvious we are dealing with something that is wonderfully complex, elegant, still fresh and impeccably balanced.
Clark Gable Wears The Coolest Watch Of 1955 In ‘Soldier of Fortune’: Patek Philippe Reference 1526 Perpetual Calendar – Reprise
Like a proper gentleman, Hollywood legend Clark Gable paired wristwatches to go with his outfits both on and off screen. Gable had a gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Reference 6011 and also wore a Patek Philippe Reference 1526 Perpetual Calendar, prominently seen in ‘Soldier of Fortune’ as Nick Gould highlights here.
Fly Fishing in Scotland with Al Peake of Twin Peakes
Having relocated to Deeside, Scotland, Colin Alexander Smith fulfilled a lifelong ambition of fly fishing on local rivers and fisheries. For some insights into fly fishing in Scotland, he talked to Alastair Peake who, with his twin brother Will, runs the aptly named Twin Peakes Fly Fishing.
Ken Gargett’s Best of 2023: Best Wines, Best Cigar, Best Meal, Best Event, Most Curious Meal, and Much More
Happy New Year to all and many thanks for your support and comments throughout 2023. Before we head off into 2024, and the chaos that it promises, a few ‘Best Of’ selections from the past 12 months.
Book Review: Oxford Companion to Wine – “The Greatest Wine Book ever Published” Washington Post
There is one wine book that every wine lover, from the most recent beginner to seasoned professional, simply must have. ‘The Oxford Companion to Wine’, edited by Jancis Robinson MW. The first edition came out almost thirty years ago. There was nothing like it. Still isn’t.
Book Review: Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith
‘Modern Caribbean Rum’. has already been dubbed the bible on the subject. The first thing you are going to notice about this book is its size. It is massive!
Bartolo Mascarello: Not just a Great Italian Winery, but One of the World’s Great Wineries
Mascarello is an Italian wine producer family that adheres to the old ways. Apparently, there is no email nor website (I certainly could not find one), and until 1990 they did not even have a phone. However, there are many who believe that Maria Teresa (granddaughter of founder Giulio Mascarello) has taken the wines to unprecedented heights. After a recent visit to the winery in Italy, Ken Gargett is one of them.
A Watchmaker’s Technical Look at the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Fire: A Dual-Balance Watch with a Difference – Reprise
The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Fire has captivated everybody with the mesmerizing appearance of its twin balances and the unusual, long, sinuous, grey spring gently oscillating along the middle of the watch. ‘The Horological Journal’ editor and watchmaker Justin Koullapis asks the question, “Does it live up to the hyperbole?”