A drink to... toast the late Queen Mother with
A consignment of Graham’s Port 1977, which was ordered for a visit of the Queen Mother, it being a favourite tipple of hers, to the Winter Gardens Theatre in Margate, Kent, in 1983, was never sold — perhaps because it would have cost an eye-watering £70 a glass in the theatre bar.
Now, in time for Christmas, four lots of the rare vintage will go under the hammer at Chiswick Auctions on December 5. And you'll have to be ready to pay a lot more than £70 a glass for it this time round...
But what does it taste like? Chiswick's head of wine Sam Hellyer describes it as ‘luscious, smooth, with the last hurrah of thick tannins lining the tongue and laying down a plush carpet for the chewy fig and lingering acidity to mingle on’. He adds, temptingly: ‘With them came a hint of smoky and chocolatey notes, the smell of cigar boxes and freshly sanded wood.’
A drink to... send you back in time to a 1970s dinner party
'It's inevitable that avocado bathrooms will make a comeback at some point,' we were told the other day. So, too, could the Snowball once again take over the world.
Warninks are certainly hoping so, and as well as getting their famous Advocaat out there in bottles, they're now producing it in cans too.
Warninks Advocaat — £11.50 for 70cl from Waitrose.com
A drink to... get you out of your Pinot Grigio rut
Country Life's wine correspondent Harry Eyres is still buzzing after a recent tasting — and it's all down to Alsatian wines.
'The entirely benign bite of the Alsace bug is still working its way through my system,' he writes in this week's magazine. 'I can’t resist sharing some more discoveries.'
The area makes a huge variety of wine, he says, but 'I reserve my greatest admiration for Alsace Riesling. Riesling is the purest prism among grapes, reflecting and refracting the characters of individual vineyards with unmatched fidelity and panache.'
Where to start? Harry suggests the Cave de Turckheim Riesling 2016 Marnes et Calcaires (six for £70-ish at kwoff.co.uk), which he describes as 'pale, greenish gold, with lime on the nose and a satisfying chewiness of texture.'
Not sure 'chewiness' is a great sell, but who are we to argue with Harry?
A drink to... steal from the Christmas tree
Why steal chocolates off the tree when you could steal gin, whisky, Irish cream and beer baubles? The Bottle Club is selling a huge range of boozy baubles this year, from Whitley Neill's Raspberry Gin to Bailey's, beer and more. Some are baubles full of liquid (like the Pickering ones here), while others are miniatures in bottles (see the Bailey's)... and for those who want something a bit harder core, they also sell packs of miniatures with string attached to hand straight off the tree.
-
The Country Life guide to Somerset: What to do, where to stay and how to eatSomerset is rich in natural beauty and history, but it is its wealth of small-scale food and drink producers, farmers and makers that really set it apart from the competition. Find out how to make the most of it all with our indispensable guide.
-
How to make a gloomy city garden into a haven of colour and natureTiffany Daneff discovers how to transform a typically dark London back garden into a light-filled green haven that is always in use. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
-
The iconic American bars in London perfect for lifting a Thanksgiving cocktailGlamorous American bars were once a familiar sight in London, catering to US and British citizens alike, but only two of the historic ones remain. On the eve of Thanksgiving, Robert Crossan goes in search of both.
-
Curious Questions: Why was absinthe banned?Absinthe is almost unique among alcoholic spirits for having been outlawed in even some of the world's most liberal countries — but how did that happen? Martin Fone traces back the story to find the tales of debauchery, hallucination and even murder that once gave the drink its bad name — and looks at how it's returned to prominence.
-
Perry: The pear cider dubbed 'the English champagne' that's been an English passion for centuriesNot to be confused with cider, the art of perry-making is more than a craft — it’s an English passion. Ben Lerwill meets some of our best producers of fermented pear juice.
-
Seven of the best non-alcoholic spirits to help get you through Dry JanuaryWhether you’re doing it for health reasons or simply for a New Year’s challenge, giving up alcohol isn’t necessarily all that easy. To help you on your way, the Country Life office put a variety of non-alcoholic spirits to the test. Here’s what we found.
-
Hangover cures from some of Britain's greatest writersFrom Hemingway to Wodehouse, we reveal the hangover remedies of literary greats.
-
Christmas drinks gift guide: Best gin, best whisky, beer and more for the festive seasonWhether you're keen to pour your own draft beer, drink Cotswolds whisky or enjoy a raft of different gins, we've got you covered.
-
How to decant wine — and whyIs your decanter gathering dust at the back of a cupboard? If so, says Harry Eyres, it’s high time you started using it to breathe more life into your wine.
-
Curious Questions: What is it REALLY like giving up alcohol for a lifelong lover of fine wine?Sobriety is easier and more interesting than it used to be, finds Giles Kime, who has spent the past year exploring the unanticipated delights of alcohol-free beer.
