Good Stuff and lots of it! Here’s the low down on some fine things to see, sip or take a bite out of – all of which I’ve recently come across and thought were worth sharing with you. Enjoy.
Following a £1.4m redevelopment (making it London’s largest provider of artists’ residencies) the Delfina Foundation has relaunched in an exquisitely renovated Edwardian townhouse and its adjacent building, doubling its residency and exhibition space. On now at the new location (29/31 Catherine Place, SW1E 6DY) is The Politics of Food featuring work by international artists including Tadasu Takamine, Zineb Zedira, Abbas Akhavan, and Candice Lin, who “examine relationships between food and environmental, economic and social concerns, as well as notions of cooking and eating as performative acts”.
Speaking of “relationships between food and environmental, economic and social concerns”, Organic Seed & Bean is the UK’s only 100% ethically accredited chocolate company, having scored 100% ethical in the Ethical Company Organisation’s “Good Shopping Guide”. The company’s range of Fairtrade and sustainable fine chocolates is available online, at independent retailers across the UK and in 11 countries worldwide.
Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey
Whoo! Now that’s a winter warmer! And what a treat it was to sip a sample of Jefferson’s Straight Rye. Recently made available in the UK via thedrinkshop.com, the Rye is the latest addition in the Jefferson’s Presidential Collection. Bottled at 47% ABV, this 10-year-old whiskey with a crème brûlée nose and a velvet finish is well worth seeking out.
Botran
Barrel-aged Botran rum from Guatemala is now available in Britain … and that’s fantastic news for rum lovers. Wowing my palate with impressively chocolaty, nutty, and orange zesty depth of flavour, I can vouch for the Botran Reserva, a blend of rums aged five to 14 years. There’s also the Botran Blanca (three years aged and charcoal filtered) and the Botran Solrera 1893 (blended from rums aged five to18 years). Stockists for Botran Rums include: Gerry’s, Selfridges, Hedonism Wines, thedrinkshop.com, masterofmalt.com and thewhiskeyexchange.com.
Hotel group ibis has recently reached the milestone of opening its 1000th hotel. To commemorate the ocassion, ibis sent five adventurers to Devil’s Mountain in Venezuela with “ibis Sweet bed” in tow and the challenge of getting “the Ultimate Sleep in the most incredible and unexpected place they could find”. On a much less audacious note, I tagged along to a party at the ibis Euston St Pancras Hotel for the premier of the short film resulting from the Devil’s Mountain stunt. Fun!
