By Jerome Gardener If you’ve been keeping an eye on our Twitter recently you may have noticed we’ve been over to Feis Ile, Islay’s annual festival of music and whisky, in Scotland. Each distillery have their own day upon which they celebrate the festival with plenty of drams, the freshest sea food you could wish for, and great music. What … Read More
Living it up in Leicestershire
Nine of us sat down in rural Leicestershire for an excellent gastronomic evening, with Michelin Starred Chef Sean Hope of the Olive Branch in Clipsham, drafted in to provide the fare to match no less than fourteen admirable bottles. Bollinger Grande Annee 2002, which gets better and better, was a perfect aperitif to kick off this warm May evening’s proceedings, and it was not … Read More
May Malt of the Month
Springbank distillery is located near Campbeltown, mainland Great Britain’s most Westerly town. One of only three active distilleries in the region, Springbank is one of only two distilleries in Scotland to perform every step in the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit, on the same premises. Our Malt of the Month is the two-and-a-half times … Read More
Reconstruction of Glenfiddich’s 15 Year Old Solera
By Jerome Gardener The Solera Vat system at Glenfiddich is something that is unique to the distillery. No one else has yet succeeded with this method for whisky production. The vat is essentially made up of three different 15 year old whiskies from various cask finishes that marry together to create the ultimate 15 Year old single malt Scotch whisky. The … Read More
A Guide To Tasting Whisky
Whisky, whisky, whisky. When it comes to finding out your favoured one, it can be a somewhat tricky process. Have no fear though, we’re here to help. To get started, you’re going to need to familiarise yourself with a few key steps often used to discover the character of a particular whisky. The following pointers act as an ideal beginners’ … Read More
Los Haroldos Tasting Evening
Argentinean Wines – Bodegas Los Haroldos On 20th February we were delighted to welcome to Nickolls & Perks Lee Evans and Diego Torres, to conduct a tasting of an enticing selection of wines from Bodega Los Haroldos. The tasting was held in our 16th Century cellars in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Diego, who joined Bodega Los Haroldos in June … Read More
Chateau Angelus with Hubert Brouard de La Forest
John Salvi, who was instrumental in bringing Hubert to tutor this year’s Master of Wine’s First Growth tasting, explained that we were privileged to receive one of Bordeaux’s most influential wine men. The Seventh generation proprietor of Chateau Angelus began his dedicated life’s work in 1980, taking the reins in 1985. Monsieur de Bouard, talked candidly and incredibly modestly. Now … Read More
Tasting Times – Hotel du Vin 06.11.14 – Will Gardener
Tasting Times – Hotel du Vin 06.11.14 – Will Gardener The quality of the fizz set the tone for an excellent evening of fine food and wine matching. An impressive toasty nose introduced a tight reticent wine, the palate similarly full of promise, with power and obvious Pinot character. But this wine, as with all great young bottles was all … Read More
The Annual Bordeaux Tasting: 2010 vintage
The Institute of Masters of Wine The Annual Bordeaux Tasting 2010 Vintage 5th November 2014 Vintner’s Hall, London A colleague uttered at lunch, rather out of the blue as if compelled to do so, a statement which succinctly summed up the mornings activity…”that was the best tasting I have ever been to!” It’s hard to disagree with him. For … Read More
Kilchoman’s “UK Land Rover Tour Tasting” At Nickolls And Perks November 11
Kilchoman’s “UK Land Rover Tour” On Tuesday 11th November, the celebrated Kilchoman UK Land Rover Tour was welcomed to the historic cellars of Nickolls and Perks in Stourbridge. George Wills, the son of the owner of the distillery Anthony Wills, arrived at N&P (one of only 14 shops from in the U.K. selected to host this event) in a rather … Read More