Launching our new series in which writers share their favourite pubs, Henry Jeffreys waxes lyrical about a proper boozer that celebrates diversity East End-style... Before moving to Lewisham (or Blackheath as I sometimes say when in polite company) a couple of years ago, I spent twelve years living in the East ... Read More...
Drink
Henry explains how he made a (very) small fortune speculating on wine... Back in 2010 I decided to squander/ invest the last of my redundancy money on some En Primeur Bordeaux. I know that makes me sound like a former Goldman Sachs employee splashing out on a case of Le Pin ... Read More...
Will Lowe helps you face the New Year by mixing a much-needed winter warmer. It's January in England. And everywhere else for that matter. But here, especially, this means cold, dark, soggy evenings. Try this recipe as a winter-warmer, a traditional 'cure-all' for those seasonal sniffles, or as a delicious digestif. Start with ... Read More...
Happy New Year from all the Dabblers. To get you in the mood for tonight's celebrations, here's Mr Slang's very first dabble from the archives, all about being drunk... If I do a rough count of the main themes that inform my recently published Green’s Dictionary of Slang, I find – ... Read More...
It's the trendy white wine of the moment - but how good is Picpoul de Pinet, asks Henry... If you’re anything like me, you'll be desperate to know what the big names of the British wine world, yer McQuittys, yer Becketts, yer Moores, have been drinking this summer. To a woman this year, they have ... Read More...
Ian Buxton, occasional drinks correspondent for The Dabbler and author of the superb 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die, has another new book out, this time featuring the rarest and weirdest whiskies in the world. 101 Legendary Whiskies You're Dying to Try But (Possibly) Never Will is available ... Read More...
Henry accidentally invents a new drink.. One of the drawbacks of having a wife who doesn’t drink very much is that it often means I drink more. Brought up by thrifty parents and taught at school to always finish what was on my plate, I hate to see things go to ... Read More...
Can you buy an ordinary bottle of wine, stick it in your garage for a few years and expect it to improve with age? Henry Jeffreys tries a scientific experiment... It’s not often I get told off for not talking about wine. In fact a few years ago a flatmate bought me ... Read More...
Do you really need a certificate to pontificate about wine?Henry Jeffreys gives his thoughts on booze blogging... A little while ago I was reading the comment section on a wine blog, in which someone had written in to voice his displeasure that people could start blogs and pronounce on wine without ... Read More...
Why did port and sherry conquer the world while equally good French equivalents remain local obscurities? Because the British Empire globalised booze, argues Henry in his forthcoming book... Perhaps my favourite part of France is the Roussillon, the area closest physically and culturally to Spain. My wife calls it Sprance. I ... Read More...