Author: natebrown

Master of Malt – July ’19 The economics of opening a whisky distillery are not for the faint-hearted. Years of planning, design, construction, commissioning of stills, bottling contracts and a hundred other factors are to be tackled even before the long wait for maturity begins.

Master of Malt – June ’19 Hemingway once said that drinking was a way to end the day. Clearly, old Ernest didn’t spend enough time in 21st century Europe, where Croatian fishermen begin their daily routines with a tall Karlovačko, or where French farmers drink Picpoul like water under the afternoon sun. To true Europeans, the ‘it’s 5…

Master of Malt – April ’19 A great coffee served alongside a Whisky Highball, a bitter espresso in the same sitting as a clean Negroni, an americano and an Americano. Little moments of heaven. Or so I imagine. Because as delightful as these sound, the chance of me getting a decent coffee where I can get a…

Master of Malt – April ’19 Dublin is no stranger to the concept of revolution. Yet, with hindsight, the peaceful corner of Green Street and Little Britain Street in the unpopular Smithfield area of the city seems like an unlikely place to make a start.

Master of Malt – May ’19 There’s a universal truth in the hospitality world: “We don’t go to the bars which we know best, we go to the bars that know us best.”

Master of Malt – May ’19 …I assumed it was some sort of penance. The road to perdition it seemed, was drenched in Harvey’s Bristol Cream…

Master of Malt – Jun ’19 … read the back label from an anonymous spirits bottle and try and guess what it is. Chances are you’ll be met with a bingo scorecard of buzzwords. In order to help you through the word soup, I’ve provided this handy guide:

Master of Malt – April ’19 There has been an explosion of new products launched over the last couple of years. Every week we are introduced to something ‘new’. From so-called craft distilleries to the big boys, any excuse to launch a new expression will be hunted down and executed. We’re bombarded with whisky from…

Imbibe Column – March 19 Some folk can get really caught up on labels: remoaner, millennial, snowflake, nationalist, woke – something that a Northern Irish upbringing literally hammered home. My mother used to say “Nothing unites people like a common enemy.” And you know, she’s never been more correct. We use labels to identify ourselves…

An empty bar. Every operator’s worst nightmare. No chatter. No laughter. None of the clinking of glasses or the shaking of ice. Team members fidgeting with awkward inexperience, slipping into the default position on their phones. If the devil makes work for idle thumbs, then an empty bar is his production line… Imbibe May 2018