Cocktails for the spring sun

I’m away at the moment, sampling Welsh beers and drinking cocktails on the porch.
Before I left, a much-beloved Scottish friend sent me these cocktail recipes. Unlike some, they work really well with cheap hooch.
I pass them on to you to enjoy as the sun beats down and the yard/garden/balcony becomes an extra room
You will need [...]

Slip George a gin

Watching No End in Sight, Channel 4’s brilliant and chilling documentary about the catastrophic, pointless, losing war against the people of Iraq, it stuck me that things could have been so different.
George W Bush used to be a harmless drunk, a good-time piss-artist who got into a few dust-ups but generally lived a useful life.
Then he hit 40, found the wrong-eyed Jesus, was born [...]

Paddy’s day for toffs

If you’re a traditionalist, then today is the only day that we celebrate that patron o’booze, St Patrick.
I’ve already offered you a recipe for the Everybody’s Irish cocktail, but the posher posers among you may prefer to splurge on a black velvet.
The drink was created by the head barman at Brooks’s Club of London in [...]

The three-day begora bender

There’s a week and a bit to go until the end of Lent and my long abstention from alcohol.
It’s been a frustrating time for someone who writes a drinks blog, but has satisfied my perfunctory approach to Roman Catholicism and given me the opportunity to reflect on the role that alcohol plays in my life [...]

Ziggy’s Manhattan transfer

Dr Ziggy Macdonald, the Government’s head of alcohol and anti-social behaviour, proved once again that it pays to leave embarrassing details about yourself on networking websites.
As the good doctor lectured Britain on the perils of drink today, some bum stumbled upon his Friends Reunited web page, which listed his occupations as drinking Sweet Manhattan cocktails, spending time in posh [...]

Budget predictions

A pal close to the Westminster machine confirms that big tax rises on hooch are coming on Budget Day, March 12.
A report is to be released on Tuesday about Booze Britain, meanwhile papers like the Mirror have been briefed to warm up the “Gordon, please, we beg you  for more tax on alcohol” pleas on Wednesday.
My mole says the smart money is on [...]

Windmill’s a gem

With so many pubs closing these days, it’s a pleasure to see one on the up.
The Windmill in Ormskirk offers a glimpse of the future, where the only pubs standing survive by offering a first-class service that puts them at the heart of the community.
The Mill – recently taken over by Alun and Carolyn Comer [...]

The perfect martini

Vodka be damned! There, I’ve said it and cannot take it back.
The reason why I’ve turned against the colourless, odourless and practically tasteless beverage is because I have wasted half my life, at various times, using it as the principal ingredient of a Martini.
James Bond is to blame. If a vodka Martini was good enough [...]