gethin

If you e-mail them a week or two in advance all the big hotels will do you a gluten free afternoon tea. I've heard especially good reports of the Savoy and the Dorchester. gethin

Bluecoat was one of the gins at a tutored gin tasting I attended at the London Wine and Spirit Fair yesterday. Roberts Cassel , Bluecoats distiller, is attending the fair so hopefully this means Bluecoat going to be available here soon. The other gins at the tasting were Beefeater, Hendricks, Tanqueray, Whitley Neil, Plymouth, Martin Millers Westbourne Strength and a strange blue gin which seems to be called "The London Gin" . This is apparently made by a former tea blender, has bergamot as one of the botanicals and has a distinct hint of Earl Grey tea about it . (I've never seen this gin before, but apparently its being distributed by Gonzalez Byass the sherry people ). The gin that really stood out for me , among this collection of pretty distinctive gins, was the Martin Millers which had such a complex set of tastes ranging from parma violets to cucumber , as well as the more conventional citrus and juniper flavours. gethin

Cothi Valley Goats sell very good kid meat at farmers markets around West Wales and by mail order, but i think they have had to expand into "ready meals" to make a go of it. (They do a great kid and mushroom pie , goat lasagne, moroccon stewed kid etc) . You sometimes see kid at the farmers market in Islington too - i think its from a goat cheesemaker caled Medown Cedridge . Gethin

Could anyone suggest somewhere in Boston where these bitters might be available to buy ? My business partner is going there next week and it would be great if he could do one useful thing while he's there ! I'd also like to add at least one bottle of something interesting to his shopping list - is there any chance of him finding Bluecoat gin there ? gethin

The two places in Aber that have aspirations to be serious restaurants are: Le Vignoble, 31 East Gate St Harry's Restaurant, 40 - 46 North Row (Harry Hughes is a local boy who trained with the Roux brothers). for big portions of decently made food - Gannets Bistro. If you are in Lampeter at lunchtime Sospan Fach is the best bet, plain , old fashioned food made with care and proper ingredients. Aber is rather far north for laverbread its more of South West Wales thing - Swansea Market is your best bet for freshly prepared, though you'll find it in tins easily enough. Carmarthen ham is widely available , at least the aged, parma ham type is. You might need to go to Albert Rees's shop in Carmarthen Market to find the younger version designed to be cooked in thick slices rather than eaten as it is. (Though I think Owain's (Butchers) in Aberaeron may have it sometimes.) Look out also for local bresaola and smoked lamb. You might also want to keep an eye out for "Calon Lan" oils - cold pressed camelina (false flax) and hemp oils, grown and produced in Anglesy. They also do an avacado oil, but unfortunately not made from Welsh avacados) and a "dukkha" based on camelina seeds and Anglesy sea salt. These are recently launched, really innovative Welsh products. Best of the local micro brewers is the Ffos Y Ffin brewery, available only in bottles though. gethin

The scones in your pic do look a little mis shapen - more like rock cakes than scones . Apart from making sure you get a nice clean cut with the cutter it may be that your dough is a little too wet. Sour milk and a good pinch of baking powder produces the best results. gethin

Does anyone know what red hembarig was and when it ceased production ? All the references I've seen (usually in recipies for the Roffignac cocktail) refer to it as something that used to be used and most suggest raspberry syrup as a substitute. (though a few suggest grenadine). I assume that the "hembarig" part is somehow related to the german "himbeere" and that raspberry syrup is going to be more authentic. Is this correct ? Did "red hembarig" contain anything more than raspberries and sugar ? Does the Roffignac cocktail date from the 1820's (when Roffignac was mayor of New Orleans ) or is it a later invention named after him ? gethin

if you want to kill both birds with one stone: The Cock Tavern, Smithfield Gethin

By coincidence, I happened to spot the Fee Bros lemon bitters on sale in London today so I snapped up a bottle. (Gerry's in Old Compton St, £4.95 a bottle if any other London based E-gulleteers are looking for it). Having had a fair bit of cheap red wine this evening and quite a lot of grappa (plus a glass or two of white and a few glasses of Jameson) my taste buds may not be at their most accute , but for what its worth : 20 ml of London tap water plus 3 drops of Fees LB - cloudy,smells strongly of "lemon scented" cleaning product , tastes "lemony" but somewhat artficial 20 ml of London tap water plus 3 drops of bitter truth LB - clear , slightly orange tinted, smells of fresh lemon peel , tastes strongly of chlorine (which the tap water by itself itself doesn't) 20 ml of Berry Bros Gin plus 3 drops Fees LB - cloudy, smells of gin , tastes of lemon sherbet 20 ml of Berry Bros Gin plus 3 drops Bitter Truth LB, clear, smells lemony , tastes of gin and lemon peel gin, Fees LB (as above) + 10 ml Chambery vermouth - slightly cloudy, though this disperses, tastes lemony but rather flat. gin , bitter truth LB (as above) + 10 ml Chambery - clear, smells lemony and herbal, tastes initially very piney but has a strong rounded lemon after taste and various herbal notes , I 'm enjoying drinking this. My impression from all of this is that the Bitter Truth Lemon bitters bring out and highlights other flavours in way that the Fee Bros ones don't . This might be a good thing (with the gin and Chambery) or really rather unpleasant (with the tap water). I'll do some more tasting next week (using Noilly Prat rather than the rather idiosyncratic Chambery which is all I have to hand tonight) and perhaps a few more assertive gins . I'll see how the bitters taste just diluted with some nice Welsh spring water too. gethin PS Happy St David's day to everyone ! I'm off to mix myself a "Hen Fasiwn" , using Penderyn madeira cask whiskey, a bit of sugar. a couple of drops angostura and a couple of drops Regans OB.

I'm afraid that's unlikely, I'll probably just have to take a chance, and see what the good people at thewhiskyexchange.com (the finest site around) can offer me. ← Unless you are really out in the sticks, it shouldn't be impossible to find places that stock the bigger (at least in the UK) brands (Bulleit, Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey, Rebel Yell, Makers Mark etc ) and try a single shot. If you are in London and want to taste a decent range of higher end Bourbon, the Rockwell, on Trafalger Square has an amazing range - not cheap (and they only sell doubles) , but certainly better than splashing out a lot of dosh on something you then find you don't like. Both the Vintage House (Old Compton St) and the Whiskey shop at Vinopolis have a decent range of bourbon in minatures - again not the cheapest way to buy booze , but it does give you a chance to try a range of bourbon without splashing out on full bottles. Milroys usually have a bottle or two of bourbon open for tasting Apologies if you are nowhere near London , this info will be of little use . Gethin

Anyone know where i can get a takoyaki grill/pan/mold ? Prefereably gas , preferably largish (say 36 ball), but any leads at all on any sort of takoyaki kit would be appreciated. Thanks Gethin

Having, last weekend, been stricken by the nonbacterial gastroenterirtis that Mr Hayward mentions , I'd hazard a guess that he's probably right. That said, of you'r in a suing mood, why not go after Bernard Mathews and A A Gill. They are a pretty ghastly pair ! Gethin

The 1707 wine bar at Fortnum anmd Mason is pretty civilised and has a small but quite interesting cocktail list (and decidely decent bar food, also some reasonably priced wine "flights" specifically matched to the food). Just up the road , towards Piccadilly, the cocktail bar on the 5th floor of Waterstones bookshop is also worth checking out. gethin

I hope Jazzyjeff won't be too upset of I share the fact the "shop in Piccadilly" is Fortnum and Mason. They originally sourced the Noilly Ambre for use in the 1707 wine bar, where they include it in their version of the Hankey Pankey Cocktail (in which they also incorporate some own brand marmelade), however they now have it as a regular stock item in the wine dept. gethin

For what its worth, the London and South Regional finalists in the Theme Bar and Restaurant awards , announced last night, included: Best Drinks Selection - Hawksmoor Best Hotel Bar - The Dorchester Best Bar Team- The Lonsdale Best Classic Bar - Koba , Brighton Best New Bar - Montgomery Place They also gave out awards for various irrelevancies, decor, music etc but I won't bore you with them. Best Bartendr was shared between: Tobias Blazquez Barcia , Pintxo People Brighton Joe Stoke, All Star Lanes Manuel Soro, Salvatores at Fifty Charles Vexenat ( bar not listed , but presumably the same Charles Vaxenat as was at Tres Agaves in SF ??) All Star Lanes btw is an upmarket ten pin bowling establishment with a decent cocktail list , and Salvatores at 50 is a private members establishment. gethin

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There is certainly a shortage of competant cocktail bar tenders in London. I was recently talking to one of our students (aged perhaps, 20) who is earning £18.00 an hour working in one of the Match group bars - we pay £7.58 per hour to students working in the student union bars pulling pints . I would guess that most pubs are paying a bit less than that. Anyone with a reputation can presumably earn more, even behind the bar. As far as places to go in London, I'd say that Trailer Happiness is the best of the NYT list ans that Hawksmoor is as interesting as practically any of them. This probably reflects the facts that: I can't afford hotel bars and don't like wearing a suit and tie I dont like loud banging music or people who confuse slish puppies and cocktails That said, I'm tempted by the Dorchester- their range of vermouth and the fact they had some Old Tom gin made specially for them ! Gethin

There is a good Morroccan butcher on Goldbourne Rd , on the left hand side as you walk towards the Trellick Tower. Gethin

see this thread gethin

I don't know if its what prompted your query , but they are all classic enough to be described as such by the Museum of the American Cocktail and included in their pocket recipe guide among the 100 drinks any bar tender should know. I wouldn't quibble with them myself but I guess classic may mean different things to different people. The only ones I drink at all regularly (from your sub set of the 100) are the Berlin Station Chief (which derives from a Norman Mailer novel , Harlot's Ghost, where its the favorite drink of the CIA station chief in Berlin. (Rince ice with a nice smokey malt, tip out excess, addd lemon peel then a good slug of gin. Stir , Drink) the Widows Kiss , which Ted Haigh dates to 1895. (George Kappeler- Modern American Drinks) . Equal quantities Yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine, double the quantity of Calvados, dash of angostura- stir with ice, strain , drink . Actually I think its better if u cut back a bit on the Benedictine. gethin

One thing I can say with certainty is that its nothing to do with the LSE Students Union bars - as the General Manager and licensee , I'd certainly have noticed if we had taken over a public convenience at the far end of Aldwych ! We did in fact refit both the Underground and the Tuns 3 years ago and provided them with much improved and far less toxic toilets facilities. The only bit of the original fittings that we kept was a piece of carpet (from the bar - not the toilets !). It was originally intended to be one of the items placed in a time capsule to be buried in the foundations of the New Academic Building (as it will continue to be called till someone rich enough coughs up enough dosh to get it named after themselves ) but of course it just ended up in my office . gethin

The former undergound gents toilet slap bang outside One Aldwych has recently been re-opened as a bar (i think). It has no obvious name or anything to indicate what kind of place it is, possibly because it wants to be "exclusive". Although, that in itself is enough for me not to want to go there, it would be interesting to know exactly what it is I'm not going to (as I walk past it several times a day). Anyone know anything about it ? Gethin

Pintxo People (a tapas/cocktail bar in Brighton on the UK South Coast) used to have a really nice whisky/coffee/lemon cocktail using a smoky Islay malt (possibly Laphroaig Quarter Cask) Toussaint coffee liqueur and a twisted lemon peel. seems to have disappeared from the menu (to be replaced by a bourbon/coffee number). The coffee/smoke/lemon combination works really well. I guess Lemon Bitters , for those lucky ones amongst you that have access to them, would probably add something to it as well. gethin

Bad idea or not - gin, vermouth and rasberry is a better one ! That's how they make Bloodhounds in Hawksmoor and they are delicious. I'd assumed, possibly wrongly, that the rasberry version was the original, partly because its the better one and partly because Hawksmoor generally take care about authenticity. They claim the cocktail (or at least the rasberry one) was "introduced to thunderstruck London tipplers by the Duke of Manchester in 1922". Gethin

Is there now a source of Noilly Ambree in the UK ? I thought it was only available in Marseillon. Gethin