Sipsmith

Over at The Dabbler, I write, in conjunction with Jassy, about Sipsmith Gin and Vodka.

A remarkable little operation. Two extremely well-spoken CamCleggy types called Sam and Fairfax operate out of a small shack in Hammersmith, which contains this bloody fantastic gin-making machine called Prudence.

London really is an endlessly amazing place.

Important announcement concerning San Miguel beer

Have you noticed that San Miguel four-packs are nearly always on 'special offer' in the supermarkets? And yet it's one of the best bottled (non-Czech) lagers, isn't it? Got a bit of taste to it, unlike the only one that's usually cheaper, Brahma, which, it seems to me, tastes of absolutely nothing at all.

So, I declare, importantly, a four-pack of San Miguel beer is a sensible purchase. And that concludes my important announcement concerning San Miguel beer. Thank you.

Green's Dictionary of Slang

A bit of a coup for the Dabbler, as we have an exclusive post from Jonathon Green, the English language's leading lexicographer of slang, and author of the astonishing Green's Dictionary of Slang.

When I emailed Jonathon to ask him if he'd like to contribute a post about slang, he said he'd be happy to oblige, but pointed out that his only problem would be choosing, out of 125,000 slang terms, which areas to concentrate on, as the brief seemed rather broad.

'Ah yes', I replied. 'I suppose there are quite a lot of ways you could cut it. How about English slang terms for 'drunk'?'

'Drunk is no problem', he said. 'None at all.'

Fever-tree tonic water

After seeing Gaw’s shameless attempt to wangle some free pants, I thought I’d follow suit and try my luck with a bit of plugging.

Have you tried Fever-tree tonic water? I drank gallons of it over Christmas. Rather than copying other tonic waters, Fever-tree have taken the innovative step of not making their drink taste like hell. It is sufficiently delicious that you could consume it neat as a soft drink if you were so inclined, but for me it has elevated the G&T into one of Christmas’s great second-tier pleasures, ie. just below company, afternoon naps, In the Bleak Midwinter and brandy butter; and just above smoked salmon breakfasts, the bumper Radio Times and mulled wine. So on a par with pigs-in-blankets, eye-watering pickled onions and A Chistmas Gift For You from Phil Spector.

So, Fever-tree Viral Marketing Department, if you’re reading, my email address is on the sidebar and I want whatever’s coming to me.

(Will this work, do you think?)