The Dabblers visit Sipsmith, makers of artisanal gin and vodka... In a shed in a residential road in Hammersmith, two thirtysomething former public schoolboys are busy at work under the shadow of a colossal copper machine. They are making London gin. Well, not actually physically making gin themselves – a distilling ... Read More...
Dabbler Soup
Food and drink
I was in my local fishmonger's on the weekend, Steve Hatt on the Essex Road. Whilst I was waiting to be served I took a look at their list of orders for collection on the day. It was mostly fashionable seafood for smart local restaurants - I noticed Ottolenghi were ... Read More...
Now that I've reached the age where I’ve come to terms with life turning inexorably from carefree abandon into a sort of slow accumulation of lint, I find myself experiencing strange new feelings. Walking into the tools section of the DIY store imbues me with a thrilling promise of untapped ... Read More...
This week something slightly different on the whisky front, as The Dabbler's drinks writer Ian Buxton – author of the bestselling 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die – looks at a unique artisan blender, and picks three of the best from the Compass Box... As it enters its second decade, ... Read More...
I lived in Ireland for three months last year and if there was one thing I learned to appreciate while I was there, it was the importance of a good cup of tea. Every evening, after work, my housemates and I would gather together and churn through the day, sifting ... Read More...
Glengoyne whisky is distilled slower than any other single malt Scotch whisky. This creates a more subtle, complex product in which all of the delicate flavours are freely allowed to express themselves - which description could equally apply to The Dabbler, of course. The Dabbler is teaming up with Glengoyne to offer ... Read More...
There’s no dish in the British cook’s repertoire more thrilling than pancakes. Even a flaming Christmas pudding pales into dull insignificance beside the spectacle of pancake-flipping. It’s not something that can be done privately. The cook emerging triumphant into the dining room with a plate of warm pancakes and a coy ... Read More...
March 1st: a day to pin a daffodil or leek to your lapel, sing a ballad or two and generally celebrate being Welsh (if you are Welsh. If you aren’t, you may look a little ridiculous, although good for you for carrying on with multiculturalism when it’s so unfashionable). The 1st ... Read More...
The Dabbler talks to Andy Davidson of Glencairn Crystal, a man on a mission to help you to really appreciate whisky… You wouldn’t buy a Rembrandt and then magnet-stick it to the fridge under the MOT reminder and the Chinese takeaway menu, would you? And you wouldn’t go to a Michelin-starred ... Read More...
There’s no such thing as an aphrodisiac food. There’s nothing you can grill, fry or roast that will have your dining companion casting aside their cutlery and crawling across the table towards you, growling like a lusty tiger on Viagra. Aphrodisiac foods do not work, apart, of course, from when ... Read More...
