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.
For Ken Gargett, Champagne de Venoge seems more like background music than a headline act. It seems to have been around forever, usually within reach, but not chased after. However, now under new management, Ken thinks it might be worth looking out.
There is one wine producer that has taken on almost mythical status in recent years: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. And one of its wines, Romanée-Conti, stands out above all others. Many wine lovers, perhaps most, consider it to be the very best wine in the world. Ken Gargett is one of them.