Newsdesk: summer is coming
(splash by Trevor D., licensed under Creative Commons.) It’s summer! It must be, all the clues are there. There was sunlight this afternoon – proper sunlight with warmth and everything! The other big clue? It’s the Guardian’s guide to making the perfect cocktail, of course! Not only that, but they’ve started a weekly series on [...]
Newsdesk: what’s in a name?
This week’s links don’t know what you should call them, in case they sound like a dick. After all, the word “mixologist” has a decent amount of history behind it, not that it stops the discussion. Just don’t say bar-chef. That’ll get you a slap. Table Matters looks at the evolution of the Martini, while [...]
Newsdesk: no, you can’t
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ILndvRyPPQ] There are many noble Scottish traditions – St Andrews Day, the Edinburgh Festival, for example, and it’s important not to forget drinking. Whether it’s three litres of cheap cider in a supermarket carpark or an expensive single malt in an upmarket bar, we’re much better at it north of the border. But the current [...]
Newsdesk: you’d be amazed at what we can do
When it first came to prominence, whisky was thought to be the water of life. It’s been a while since then, but it’s still proving to be transformative. It can be arty, if you’re willing to face a little price rise and a bit of criticism. It can be misspelt and as easily misunderstood. According [...]
Newsdesk: ring-a-ding-ding
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ae6a9Az44] This week, Newsdesk is wondering what it has to do to get some get a lucrative vodka endorsement.
Newsdesk: Back to basics
(Alphabet blocks by dklimke, licensed under Creative Commons.) This week’s news links are brought to by the Martini – alleviating middle-class stress through gin and vermouth since 1867! The release of Revolutionary Road and the return of Mad Men for a second season has reminded the world of the official cocktail of business lunches and [...]
Newsdesk: nanny state
This week’s Newsdesk is sponsored by Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for Her Majesty’s Government – helping you raise your kids since 1998. The CMO’s advice that children under 15 should not be given alcohol has sparked a fairly predictable. Mark Lawson decries the nanny state as definitely not rock’n’roll, while the Times looks [...]
Newsdesk: what is best in life?
There is – or should be – a list of things you should never type into Google Image Search and right near the top of it are the words “erectile dysfunction”. There’s probably also a good way to tie this into the following compilation of drink related links but God, my mind is scarred. This [...]
Newsdesk: and a new one just begun
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHOX0BHKFk] A little later than usual, perhaps, but it’s 2009 – a brave new world of almost exactly the same stuff as in 2008. Excited? Just around the corner from where I was helping customers celebrate the new year in the correct spirit (tequila, by the way), there was a bit of a street party [...]
Newsdesk: the wrath of grapes
Hangovers are the nemesis of the committed drinker, and just ahead of Christmas, it gets worse. The Guardian reports that The British Medical Journal has concluded that hangovers are basically incurable. After reviewing eight randomised, double-blind control tests, they’ve decided that “no compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing [...]