By Will Lowe
On Wednesday the 20th of January, bartenders and sommeliers from across the country converged on London’s Saatchi gallery for the undisputed (by me) industry highlight of the year: The Bartenders vs Sommeliers Superstars Competition. The drinks professionals were there to pit their skills head to head, in order to win not only an all expenses paid distillery tour trip to Cognac, but …
By Bibendumtimes
Following from last week’s Tim Atkin Caption Competition, here is this week’s chance to win a bottle of Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut Champagne. All you have to do is watch our very own spirits maestro Will Lowe make our Bibendum Times cocktail then come up with a name for Will’s creation.
The best name for the cocktail (as judged by the B …
Recovering from a mammoth session in Gascony, where we had a three hour lunch in the middle of the Samalens Armagnac distillery, followed by a tasting through their wonderful range of blends and vintages back to 1888, and a Champagne dinner somewhere in the dark countryside of Gers, we wake to silence other than the creaking pipes of the creaking hotel. There is only time for …
By Nick Rodgers
Samalens distillery
It’s a 5am start, and we’ve got a busy schedule for the next three days – a visit to our new Armagnac producers in Gascony, then it’s off to Cognac. Conveniently Easy Jet’s only flights to Bordeaux leave early Wednesday and come back late Friday night. Wait a minute, I obviously did not connect those words – ‘Easy’ …
By Bibendumtimes
Paul Mant & Joe Stokoe
Do you think you can Fake It as a smooth talking, cocktail shaking bartender; or a smart, sophisticated and knowledgeable sommelier?
In 2009, Imbibe Magazine launched the inaugural Imbibe Superstars competition pitting the best sommeliers against bartenders to see who which team could pull off the feat of faking their arch …
By Will Lowe
I’ve got a new toy. It’s a 0.5 ltr Mosa Nitrous Oxide Cream Whipper. Sounded very masculine until that last bit…Anyway, I’ve decided to put it to the test. And of course, a new toy calls for a new recipe! Starting out with my all time favourite rum, I made the basic inroads towards a rum old fashioned. A bar spoon of demerara sugar, …
By Dale Sklar
Dale in Agave fields
It’s October 2nd 2009 and I’m booked on BA 243 to Mexico City, flying out five days later, when I get a telephone call from an old friend, a Mexican Ambassador… “Dale, I strongly recommend you delay your visit, my sister tells me there’s an outbreak of Dengue fever…”. I cancelled my …
By Will Lowe
Salt rim or no salt rim?
This debate has divided the Lowe household for quite some time. For years, the most obvious answer has been the classic “half-salt rim” solution. Half salted, half not, and everybody’s happy. Except they’re not, are they?
Everybody’s half happy.
A new approach was clearly required. Enter the Cocktail Chemist. Molecular Gastronomy has been quietly working it’s way into the mainstream for some …
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