Top 10 wine and spirits tattoos

Last week I wrote a feature on the top ten wine and spirits tattoos on thedrinksbusiness.com that captured the imagination of our readers, receiving over 17,000 hits in 24 hours. Click on this link for a round up of some of the most impressive wine and spirits-inspired body art, from the Bacardi bat and The Kraken squid to the Ravenswood emblem via a dodgy tribute to the German village of Assmannshausen... I ink therefore I am.

Glenfiddich breaks world record at auction

An extremely rare bottle of Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky sold at auction last week for a record-breaking £59,350, at an event celebrating the distillery’s 125th anniversary. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, the 55-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, one of only 11 in the world, smashed the record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at auction.

Described by master blender Brian Kinsman (above right) as having “a very strong pear taste,” the bottle was bought by Mahesh Patel, an Atlanta-based real estate developer. Held on New York's Liberty Island last Thursday, the auction was co-hosted by Kinsman and Entourage star and environmentalist Adrian Grenier (above left). Proceeds from the auction will benefit SHFT Initiatives, the charitable arm of SHFT, a website founded by Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer to promote sustainability issues.

Late last year Grenier launched a sustainable wine, Stomping Ground 2009, a Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre Rhône-style blend made from organic and biodynamic grapes from sustainable vineyards in Paso Robles, California. "You don't have to be a stick in the mud to do right by the planet,” said Grenier, who offered up a surprise auction lot on the night – a date with him. “I’ll throw in a bubble bath,” he declared after jumping on stage with the auctioneer.

The whisky was created to commemorate the 110th birthday of Janet Sheed Roberts, granddaughter of Glenfiddich founder William Grant, and the oldest living person in Scotland. Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve has quickly established itself as the benchmark for fine and rare whiskies, with the first bottle fetching an unprecedented £46,850 at Bonhams in Edinburgh last December.

A second bottle was sold for £44,000 in February at an event hosted by Prince Harry at the Honourable Artillery Company in London in aid of Walking With The Wounded. "We're excited to have kicked off our 125th anniversary year in such an unprecedented and memorable way," said Lindsay Prociw, senior brand manager for Glenfiddich.

World's hottest chilli vodka launched

Online drinks retailer Master of Malt has launched what it claims to be the world’s hottest chilli vodka, as reported on thedrinksbusiness.com. Made by infusing vodka with Naga Jolokia – the hottest chilli on the planet, 100,000 Scovilles Naga Chilli Vodka is so fiery it comes with a lengthy heath warning on the back of the bottle.

This vodka, named after the units used to measure the heat of chillies, is not intended to be drunk neat. Each Scoville unit denotes how many times the chilli must be diluted by its own mass of water until the heat is only just detectable. A Jalapeño has around 5,000 Scovilles. The Naga Jolokia, used to make the vodka, can exceed 1,000,000 Scovilles, which is more than most police grade pepper spray.

The retailer recommends the vodka be used sparingly to add spice to exotic cocktails, or even in cooking. It strongly advises against having the vodka as a shot. Included in the online health warning is the following: By purchasing this bottle you agree that you fully understand that this product contains extreme heat and should be used responsibly.

You use this product entirely at your own risk and understand the potential danger if used or handled irresponsibly. If you give this product as a gift you will make the recipient aware of the potential danger if used or handled irresponsibly. Master of Malt was founded in 1985 and is one of the UK’s leading online whisky and spirits merchants. 100,000 Scovilles is available from the Master of Malt website for £31.95. Drink it if you dare!

Foraging with Mark Hix

I’m in a tiny dolls house of a hotel with an ice pink façade, built on a slope by the roadside in Lyme Regis. Barely mid-afternoon, it’s already dark, and the wind is howling outside like an untamed beast, causing my window to crash against itself, as if out of sympathy for the giant waves in the distance, cascading up the harbour. Rain lashes relentlessly, the cool air from the drafty window filling my room with a ghostly chill. I feel like Emily St. Aubert in The Mysteries of Udolpho, scared to open my wardrobe for fear of what I might find.

Earlier that day I’d braved the wind-swept beach in search of sea creatures to cook. A group of us had taken the train from London, leaving behind bright blue skies for a tempestuous Jurassic Coast, shrouded in gray. We’d descended upon the “Pearl of Dorset” to forage with Bridport-born celebrity chef Mark Hix, who splits his time between London and Lyme Regis, home to his Hix Oyster & Fish House. Stepping off the train into the rain, we dump our bags at the Mariners hotel, don Wellington boots, and weave our way down to the beach.

The unrelenting wind makes it impossible to get near the sea, which would have gobbled us up without spitting us out, so we have to make do with what’s growing between the pebbles, which includes sea spinach, sea kale, sea cabbage, sea purslane, and my favourite, the spicy, celery-like rock samphire. Shakespeare referred to the dangerous practice of collecting rock samphire from cliffs in King Lear: "Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!" Munching on a sprig, I begin my ascent to Hix’s hilltop restaurant, prodded up the hill in my soporific state by fellow hack Ben Norum’s umbrella.

Safely ensconced in Hix’s hideaway, we refuel on Talisker-laced hot toddies, dispensed into copper cups by master mixologist Nick Strangeway. Hix launches into a pep talk about the joys of foraging, handing round mushrooms he’d picked before the rain hit, including the ominously titled “Trumpets of Death”. We then dine like kings on deliciously fresh seafood platters dotted with lobsters, oysters, razor clams, muscles and jumbo prawns, followed by a meaty fillet of Torbay silver mullet accessorised with cockles in their shells and a forest of foraged seashore vegetables. Dessert reaches a decadent crescendo with a Talisker-drenched walnut tart with Dorset clotted cream, which matches wonderfully with accompanying drams of Talisker 10-year-old and 18-year-old. Glinting gold in their glasses, both have a powerful nose of peat-smoke, pepper, citrus and toffee, lifted by salty, sea air notes.

The next morning, the landscape had transformed. I awoke to the sound of birds chirping, and a view of a calm coastline welcoming the rising sun, piercing through the clouds. The sky was blue, the sea unmoving. It felt like a different place. I sat on the window ledge taking in its beauty for a minute or two, transfixed by the tranquility. How much my horizon had changed in a day. At breakfast, I learnt that Beatrix Potter had stayed in the hotel aged 17, during a visit that served as the inspiration for The Tale of Little Pig Robinson, which, though her last published book, was one of the first to have been written. Having never heard of the book, I chanced upon a copy at an antiques fair a week later. Dipping into it, the pages were interspersed with illustrations of the Lyme Regis coastline, bobbing with boats.

Whisky and Indian food matching at Quilon

I seem to have written a lot on the subject of Indian food and drink pairing of late. A notoriously hard cuisine to match with wine and sprits, earlier this year I attended a dinner at Moti Mahal in Holborn matching Indian food with saké, which worked strangely well.

More recently, I returned to the restaurant to see how Indian wines fared with their native cuisine, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines made from international varieties coming out of Grover Vineyards, in the Nandi Hills near Bangalore.

For the hat-trick, this month I attended a dinner at the Michelin-starred Quilon in St James's, to see whether whisky and Indian cuisine make good bedfellows. I don't pretend to be whisky fan – I can appreciate its complex array of aromas, but find the burn on the palate hard to swallow. The evening was hosted by self-confessed whisky nut Dominic Roskrow, who has recently published a 300-page tome on the subject: The World's Best Whiskies (£30). Quilon, which specialises in south west coastal Indian cuisine, has a 50-strong whisky list, so served as the ideal venue to put the pairings to the test.

The unassuming Roskrow is keen to divorce himself from any snobbery associated with whisky, which he views as 'a farmers drink' made in poor areas for people to celebrate and commiserate with. Roskrow touched on the need for whisky brands to reach out and communicate with the new generation of writers and bloggers coming through.

After his impassioned speech, mouthes were parched, and we were all keen to get our heads in a glass. First up we tried an Indian whisky: Amrut Double Cask, which had a young, intoxicating nose of barley, peat, cedar and spice - almost like Old Spice aftershave. The palate was smooth and creamy, with notes of vanilla and an aniseed finish. Next we imbibed a 1982 Karuizawa (pictured) from Japan, weighing in at a eye-watering 56% abv. The nose had lovely aromas of sea salt caramel, held up by an intensely peaty backbone. The charred, smokey notes made it taste like a liquid bonfire.

Third in line was my personal favourite: Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bourbon – by far the smoothest of the quartet. An attractive deep amber colour, it smelt like a sweet Oloroso, full of vanilla, caramel and toffee notes, along with walnut, varnish and maple. The American oak leant it an approachable banoffee pie character. Smooth, round and long, it was the only whisky I didn't add water to. Finally, we were presented with a serious Scotch: Glenkeir Macallan 17 Year Old Cask Strength, which showed great elegance, with citrus and orange peel aromas, along with the customary peat, wood and spice.

But how did these alcoholic giants fare with the delicate Indian food? They take their spices so seriously at Quilon they have three full-time chefs working soley on sourcing them, and import more spices than any other London restaurant. Head chef Sriram Aylur is a purist, known for championing subtle flavours and not using any butter of cream in his dishes – something I was disappointed to hear, as I'm into rich, heart-curdling food.

The food may have been lacking in fat, but it was far from lacking in flavour. It's easy for a chef to slather his dishes in butter for instant customer gratification, but it takes real skill to create big flavours from subtle ingredients. Standout dishes included exquisitely moist, soft and juciy Dakshini pepper chicken, a powdery soya bean chop with plum sauce, Okra Pachadi – fried okras mixed with yoghurt, ground coconut and cumin seeds (I ate the entire bowl intended for four), and curious pepper ice cream, which perfectly navigated the playful divide between sweet and savoury.

I can't come to any prolific conclusions about the suitability of whisky as a drink pairing for Indian food, as I switched to wine as soon as the food arrived. But perhaps that says it all: some drinks are best enjoyed on their own, and the alcoholic burn from whisky wouldn't work with dishes with any degree of spice in them. But the fun is in the experimentation, and I'm happy to be proved wrong.

The next whisky dinner hosted by Dominic Roskrow at Quilon takes place on 1 February 2011. Tickets are priced at £59.50 per person. To book, call Quilon reservations on: 020 7821 1899.

William Curley interview

Wine and the City catches up with master chocolatier William Curley to get his opinions on wine and chocolate matching, and find out about his latest project: recreating classics like the Jaffa Cake and Bounty bar.