Latest news with #Dubonnet
Spectator
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Kingsley goes to the toilet
In 1978, I gave a poetry reading at Hull University. Philip Larkin was glumly, politely, in attendance. I was duly appreciative, knowing what it must have cost him. He was deaf as well as disaffected. Perhaps the deafness helped. The next day, we had a lunchtime drink at the University bar. We talked about Kingsley's recently published Jake's Thing, a fictionalised account of Kingsley's sexual relations with Jane Howard. Larkin was puzzled: 'It's determinedly foul-mouthed, which I like, but there is a central implausibility. Jake can do it, but he doesn't want to.' An innuendo? A suggestion that Jake, and by implication Kingsley, couldn't? He sipped something improbable like a Dubonnet. A year previously, Kingsley had taken me to lunch in Wheeler's. I was teaching at Christ Church and Kingsley wanted to know if I thought an Oxford college might be called St James's – or 'Jim's' in what he called 'popular parlance'. I thought it entirely plausible and, as he told me more about the novel, I had several other suggestions of my own. I thought he wanted to pick my brains. He didn't. I had answered the question he wanted answered. Anything else was an impertinence. He became irritated. Finally, before he had finished his dover sole Walewska, he got to his feet and said he needed a shit. When he returned, he asked me if he had tucked his shirttail in properly. 'One of my nightmares: everyone knows you've just had a shit.' Sometime later, we had lunch together in La Capannina, an Italian greasy spoon near the New Statesman offices in Holborn. Kingsley, his lips gathered, was in evangelical mode, hot against false gods: 'Picasso couldn't draw.'
The Independent
12-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
What goes into the £1,000 ‘once-in-a-lifetime' cocktail?
A Belfast hotel has launched a £1,000 cocktail which it described as a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience'. On Wednesday, the Merchant Hotel launched its new cocktail menu, including a collection crafted with rare whiskeys by Midleton, Macallan and Michter's, which start at £785 and go up to £1,000. It's priciest tipple has been hailed as a 'masterpiece of Irish whiskey'. The most expensive, the Midleton Foret de Troncais (£1,000), is described as 'a masterpiece of Irish whiskey, aged in rare French Troncais oak casks and delivering elegant notes of honey, toasted almonds and delicate spice' and is served with Antica Formula and Dubonnet. The Belfast city centre hotel earned the Guinness Book of Records title for the world's most expensive cocktail in 2007 with its £750 Mai Tai. According to Guinness World Records, this was overtaken in 2013 by Club 23 in Melbourne, Australia when 'the Winston', a cognac cocktail, sold for £8,583. The menu, consisting of 21 drinks which start from £14.99, was created by a team led by the Merchant Bar's general manager, Aaron Dugan and cocktail bar manager Emily Doherty. Mr Dugan said: 'We are proud to bring our unique collaboration with three icons of whiskey to life with The Rare & Refined Collection. 'These exceptional drinks have been crafted to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences to be savoured. The lucky few that get to try these drinks will get to relish something truly special. 'And, for those that find the price tag too rich, we have also created an exceptional collection of 21 cocktails, inspired by timeless classics, but with a unique Merchant twist. Named according to their flavour profile, the menu has been designed to help customers match their preferred flavour profiles to their choices. There truly is something to suit every taste.' The cocktail bar at The Merchant has been described as one of the most decorated in the UK and Ireland and will be the first and only bar in Northern Ireland to be awarded the coveted 2 Pin status by the Pinnacle Guide, later this month.
The Guardian
12-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Big shot: Belfast hotel launches ‘life-changing' £1,000 cocktail
Spending a grand on an unforgettable experience might not feel extreme for people keen to shake up their routines. But what if it doesn't involve falling through the skies, or even going outside at all? 'A life-changing experience' is the promise of one Belfast hotel's £1,000-pound cocktail, launched as part of a new drinks menu. According to the Merchant hotel, the cocktail is a 'masterpiece Irish whiskey, aged in rare French Tronçais oak casks, delivering elegant notes of honey, toasted almonds and delicate spice'. Its main ingredient is Midleton's rare Irish whiskey Forêt de Tronçais, that costs £4,000 a bottle. To keep the flavours light and showcase the Midleton, it is served with Antica Formula red vermouth and Dubonnet, a fortified wine. The Merchant bar's general manager, Aaron Dugan, said 'What makes it special is that there are only 1,000 of these bottles of whiskey made and very few were available to buy … we were invited down to taste it, which is really rare, normally you don't get to taste things that are so expensive. 'It's between 13 and 37 years old so it's very, very old whiskey. You are going to get a lot of oak wood, cacao and deep vanilla flavours.' A £750 mai tai previously earned the decorated city centre hotel the title of world's most expensive cocktail, according to Guinness World Records. That was later taken over by a cocktail sold for £8,583 in Melbourne, Australia. The new menu also includes a collection made with rare whiskeys by Midleton and Michter's, and a Macallan whisky, which start at £785 and go up to £1,000. Dugan said: 'These exceptional drinks have been crafted to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences to be savoured. The lucky few that get to try these drinks will get to relish something truly special. 'For those that find the price tag too rich, we have also created an exceptional collection of 21 cocktails, inspired by timeless classics, but with a unique Merchant twist,' he added. 'Named according to their flavour profile, the menu has been designed to help customers match their preferred flavour profiles to their choices. There truly is something to suit every taste.'
Fox News
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Cocktail recipe is spin on Queen Elizabeth's favorite drink
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning British monarch in history, taking the throne on Feb. 6, 1952, at age 25, and serving until her death on Sept. 8, 2022. Her reign lasted for 70 years and 214 days – second only to France's King Louis XIV among European sovereign states, according to Sky History's website. To commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the start of the queen's rule, the Connecticut-based founder and chief executive officer of Highclere Castle Gin is sharing the recipe he created for her platinum jubilee in 2022. (See the video at the top of this article.) The Queen's Jubilee cocktail is a spin on the late monarch's favorite drink: Dubonnet and gin. Adam von Gootkin, founder and CEO of Highclere Castle Gin, crafted the cocktail. "I launched the brand with my partners, the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, who own Highclere Castle, which is recognized by millions of people around the world as the real Downton Abbey," von Gootkin told Fox News Digital. "We make the gin using botanicals from the actual estate, and it's distilled in England's oldest gin distillery." Although von Gootkin never met the queen, his connection to her runs deep. "I wanted to do something that paid homage to her late majesty Queen Elizabeth." Von Gootkin serves on the board of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, a charity she established in 2018. "I wanted to do something that really paid homage to her late majesty Queen Elizabeth," he said. "And the way I can best do that is through liquor and cocktails. So I started thinking, how can we do a spin?" That's what led to the Queen's Jubilee. Von Gootkin said Dubonnet and gin was a popular drink in the 1950s and 1960s and has since "fallen out of fashion." "But it really deserves to come back," he added. 1.5 oz. Highclere Castle Gin 1.5 oz. Dubonnet Rouge Splash of champagne Orange twist garnish 1. In a mixing glass half filled with ice, combine Highclere Castle Gin and Dubonnet. 2. Stir until well chilled (30 seconds). 3. Strain into a coupe glass and top with champagne. 4. Squeeze an orange twist over the surface of the drink and place into glass. This recipe is owned by Highclere Castle Gin and was shared with Fox News Digital.
