"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” – P.J. O’Rourke
ARTICLES
Cutlery-theft. Montgomery martinis and the best table at Harry's Bar Venice
Defiance, solidarity and optimism over lunch in the time of the Coronavirus
Swiss watch ownership is a bit like membership of a gentleman's club. This article then is the modern gentleman's guide to horological clubland.
A Masterpiece at The Connaught Bar
Cubist theatre, perfection and Martinis at the Connaught Bar. Undoubtedly one of the best bars in the world and Mecca to a Martini-lover.
I appears I could write about Bordeaux forever. Eventually however one has to press publish. Here I've somehow ended up touching upon random horse racing knowledge, classical architecture and more besides. Who knew that such knowledge would one day come in useful. The Senior wine list continues...
I've been told I'm a difficult man to buy for. As if to prove this belief wrong here are my picks for Christmas gifts for the Senior and seniors-alike. Containing everything for the champagne-imbibing, cigar-smoking, scarf-wearing, dog-walking, caviar-enjoying, dice-rolling, Negroni-quaffing, hip-flask-carrying, train-journeying, gentlemen’s-barber-shop-scented bibliophile (and audiophile) in your life.
Why $31M for a wrist watch isn't nearly enough
Here we move into the main course of the wine list. Like "Steak Bordelaise in Bone Marrow Jus" at Brasserie Zedel this is rich mouth-filling affair that will warm your belly like your mother's cooking too. Consume in small mouthfuls if needed and always chew well before swallowing (as The Senior found out recently). Most importantly may it spur lively discussion and good meals with your friends and loved ones too.
Like the Godfather Part 2, this piece is in fact two histories which share a common theme. A look at two masterminds. It's a long Sunday Paper type of affair. It's sort of like what How to Spend it might read like if written by a outsider amateur or self besotted genius in need of an editor.
I don't typically do things by halves but sometimes in life one must bend the rules in order to create something better. Section three of the wine list, like the Godfather trilogy, is a two-parter. This time we look at rosé...
Re-invigorated after a trip to California the Senior continues his exploration of his favourite fine wines. This time we look at Champagne.
It could be said I’ve crossed the threshold with this one. Seemingly expounding a love for latrines, Mitford, Victoria Beckham, Mark Birley, John Wayne, Krug and most of all Annabel’s nightclub. From this description at least this article has it all.
To a wine lover there is something magnificent about a wine list, like a cookbook to an amateur chef, or a blank canvas to an artist, it implies infinite sense of possibility. This is a personal list including some of the producers and wines that have impressed me over my life.
Dukes is a small bar in the same way that Fenway is small ballpark or that Humphrey Bogart, perhaps the largest man onscreen, was only 5’8’’. Its global reputation and stature completely transcend its physical constraints. To anyone who has successfully meandered around the clubland-lined streets of St. James in search of it Dukes is renowned as the font from which the world’s best Martinis flow...
The Senior gives his liver a rest whilst looking at horological developments: Chopard's new instant classic - the Alpine Eagle.
The Senior visits Maison Dolin and imparts his advice on making and enjoying Martinis at home
The Senior reports from the bar in which James Bond lost his virginity and the world lost a whole generation. One of my favourites - Harry's New York Bar Paris. Ask the driver for Sank Roo Doe Noo and I'll meet you there...
The film Jaws, whilst undoubtedly a classic, will indelibly blemish, if not completely extinguish, the joy of open sea swimming for the rest of your life. Whilst the line “we’re going to need a bigger boat” will amusingly grace your fishing trips or visits to Scott’s, you'll never be able to experience blissful relaxation whilst swimming serenely at sea without hearing John Williams’ bloody score in your head every time an unrhythmic wave of saltwater stirs against your skin.
Since 2008 I've been drinking my way through some of the world's best wines in a pursuit to drink every wine on the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux. I'm now nearly there.
As an optimist in extremis I've already got an incredibly well-researched list of those elements I'll buy when my impending lottery win actually happens. The fact that I've been carefully planning my future lifestyle as a lottery winner means I've already saved myself many wasted years and eventual dissatisfaction when that moment finally arrives.
In 1952, at the age of 44, whilst on his annual 2-month holiday at Goldeneye in Jamaica Ian Fleming wrote the book Casino Royale - simultaneously inventing the character James Bond. In an interesting twist, Fleming eponymously named Bond after a bird-watcher and the author of a book on his bookshelf "Birds of the West Indies - a guide to the species of birds that inhabit the Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles and Bahama Islands”.