Drink

Cats and clarets

23 February 2017 3:00 pm

Call me a sentimental old whatever, but watching a four-year old hearing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers for the first…

Cats and clarets

23 February 2017 3:00 pm

Call me a sentimental old whatever, but watching a four-year old hearing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers for the first…

Bloody Marys and glorious Jean

11 February 2017 9:00 am

To the Western Isles, or at least to its embassy in Belgravia. Boisdale restaurant always claims to be extra-territorial. There…

Bloody Marys and glorious Jean

9 February 2017 3:00 pm

To the Western Isles, or at least to its embassy in Belgravia. Boisdale restaurant always claims to be extra-territorial. There…

Bloody Marys and glorious Jean

9 February 2017 3:00 pm

To the Western Isles, or at least to its embassy in Belgravia. Boisdale restaurant always claims to be extra-territorial. There…

Cold War collation

28 January 2017 9:00 am

I know an immensely grand aristocratic lady, impeccably mannered, with a regal grace and presence, who cannot be trusted near…

Cold War collation

26 January 2017 3:00 pm

I know an immensely grand aristocratic lady, impeccably mannered, with a regal grace and presence, who cannot be trusted near…

Sherry to start

14 January 2017 9:00 am

Someone came up with a century-old quotation plangent with irony and sadness: ‘The year 1916 was cursed: 1917 will surely…

Sherry to start

12 January 2017 3:00 pm

Someone came up with a century-old quotation plangent with irony and sadness: ‘The year 1916 was cursed: 1917 will surely…

Harry, Jeffrey and Benoit

29 December 2016 3:00 pm

I first ate at the London version of Harry’s Bar in the early 1990s. Back then, Jeffrey Archer and I…

Harry, Jeffrey and Benoit

29 December 2016 3:00 pm

I first ate at the London version of Harry’s Bar in the early 1990s. Back then, Jeffrey Archer and I…

Wines of the times

10 December 2016 9:00 am

The other day, I had lunch with the grandest person I know. Forget 1066: Adrian Ziani de Ferranti can trace…

Wines of the times

8 December 2016 3:00 pm

The other day, I had lunch with the grandest person I know. Forget 1066: Adrian Ziani de Ferranti can trace…

Bottle shots

3 December 2016 9:00 am

This is something to be said for starting to celebrate Christmas before the end of the grouse season. It provides…

Bottle shots

1 December 2016 3:00 pm

This is something to be said for starting to celebrate Christmas before the end of the grouse season. It provides…

Autumn riches

19 November 2016 9:00 am

A few days ago, on the Dorset/Somerset marches, autumn was still in orderly retreat. Although a pear tree’s leaves had…

Autumn riches

17 November 2016 3:00 pm

A few days ago, on the Dorset/Somerset marches, autumn was still in orderly retreat. Although a pear tree’s leaves had…

From Bordeaux to Nato

5 November 2016 9:00 am

An aeon ago, when I was first invited to the odd City lunch, there was a standard formula: G&T, white,…

From Bordeaux to Nato

3 November 2016 3:00 pm

An aeon ago, when I was first invited to the odd City lunch, there was a standard formula: G&T, white,…

The sacred mission to stop real whisky becoming too popular

22 October 2016 9:00 am

A long-standing friend of mine is a lucky fellow. He has spent his career doing exactly what he was born…

Whisky galore

20 October 2016 2:00 pm

A long-standing friend of mine is a lucky fellow. He has spent his career doing exactly what he was born…

Whisky galore

20 October 2016 2:00 pm

A long-standing friend of mine is a lucky fellow. He has spent his career doing exactly what he was born…

Eat, drink and be worried

8 October 2016 9:00 am

We were surpassing Sydney Smith. His idea of heaven was pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. Our…

Eat, drink and be worried

6 October 2016 2:00 pm

We were surpassing Sydney Smith. His idea of heaven was pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. Our…

Winemaking with convictions

24 September 2016 9:00 am

Any Australian who admits to not having convict ancestors loses caste. When granted a coat of arms, the smart ones…