Paradise at National Theatre: Kae Tempest play a partial success August 13, 2021 Everything old is new again. The National Theatre is back with its first full-capacity show since lockdown, and like the Young Vic it has decided to run with a modern reimagining of a work from antiquity. Directed by Ian Rickson, with a script by the Ted Hughes Award-winning and Mercury Prize-nominated spoken word artist Kae [...]
Changing Destiny at The Young Vic is a disappointing return August 4, 2021 The Young Vic is rolling out the big guns for its first post-lockdown production. Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah helms a new play by Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri, with sets and costumes from architect David Adjaye, whose design for a Holocaust memorial was approved last week for installation next to the Houses of Parliament. Expectations were [...]
I’ll be toasting International Tequila Day with a Maestro DOBEL July 23, 2021 National and international awareness days for foods and drinks might have begun as cynical marketing ploys, but some have evolved into annual events that the public have embraced with genuine enthusiasm. One of the most successful of these pseudo-holidays is International Margarita Day, which takes place on 22 February, and in pre-Covid times was widely [...]
Bitter Summer: Asterley Bros’ Vermouth and Amaro July 16, 2021 Summer might finally be arriving in London this weekend, with a forecast for sun and temperatures expected to hit 30°C on Sunday. It’s the perfect weather for a tall, refreshing cocktail made with ice-cold tonic water and an Italian aperitivo. But if England’s loss in the Euros has left a bitter taste in your mouth, [...]
Doctor Who: Time Fracture – an immersive Bond Street show June 22, 2021 If you’ve ever wanted to step out from behind the sofa and into the TARDIS, your moment has arrived. Doctor Who: Time Fracture is a new, interactive theatrical event from Immersive Everywhere, the team behind 2019’s immersive adaptation of The Wolf of Wall Street. In the back streets of Mayfair, minutes from Oxford Street, is [...]
Talisker to launch its oldest whisky yet – 43 years old May 19, 2021 From its sea-sprayed distillery on the Isle of Skye, Talisker is about to launch its oldest whisky to date, and with overseas travel restrictions still frustrating holiday plans, it could be as close as you get to an ocean-going adventure this summer. Talisker Xpedition Oak: The Atlantic Challenge, is a 43-year-old single malt, bottled at [...]
Gin review: Hendrick’s Lunar is a giant leap for spirits fans March 31, 2021 Hendrick’s air of cultivated whimsy would be grating if it were not so consonant with the character of their product. Hendrick’s flagship cucumber and rose-flavoured gin is best known, but in all its varieties, Hendrick’s is inventive, impish, and iconoclastic. The spirits are produced at a distillery in Girvan, Southwest of Glasgow. The purpose-built Gin [...]
Cement the Special Relationship with some American Whiskey March 30, 2021 Earlier this month the Biden administration announced it was suspending Trump-era tariffs on the import of Scotch whisky to the US, reducing the price of single malts for American consumers. If you wanted to reciprocate, there are many long-established American whiskeys you could purchase, but if you’re willing to try something new, your adventurous spirit [...]
This is what you should be drinking on St Patrick’s Day March 16, 2021 Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day, and while Boris didn’t actually order the closure of pubs until 20 March 2020, for most of us this will be the second year in a row that we mark the event at home. This is no time to crowd into a bar with your mates, swilling Guinness while shouting [...]
Cast your net wider when choosing smoky whiskies March 9, 2021 For many casual drinkers, “smoky whiskies” are synonymous with Islay, the Inner Hebridean home of fire-wreathed sea monsters like Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin. But cast your net wider and you can find spectacular smoky whiskies all over Scotland, and a notable new addition is Smoke Season, the most heavily peated single malt ever to be [...]
