Review: Dinner with Armand de Brignac
A fine time was had by all at the Dickie Fitz Restaurant and Dining Room in London W1 the other…
Mount Gay Rum
Jonathan Ray visits the oldest rum distillery in the world and gets his hands dirty blending My travels round the…
The Joy of Chocolate
In Grenada, Jonathan Ray attempts to extend his life by eating plenty of dark chocolate. I’m in the House of…
Letter from the Caribbean #2
Jonathan Ray gets his head around how to create the perfect rum cocktail. I’ve lost count of the number of…
Letter from the Caribbean #1
Jonathan Ray gets a taste for rum but knows when it’s time to stop. Excitement in the Caribbean concerning Prince…
Blind tasting
In my line of work, I’m lucky enough to go to a lot of wine tastings – press tastings that…
Life’s Too Short to Drink Bad Wine
We had a fine party at 67 Pall Mall last night to launch the new edition of Simon Hoggart’s Life’s…
Hennessy XO and the Hennessy Gold Cup
Hennessy, the best-selling cognac of all, is giving two lucky Spectator readers the chance to win a bottle of Hennessy…
Kummel and Soda, sir?
Jonathan Ray encounters his new favourite drink. The other night I had a drink I’d never had before and I…
Cash in the cellar
Achum of mine claims to have put two of his sons through private school solely on the back of his…
Spectator Gin
If it’s true that we get through a lot of Pol Roger champagne in the Spectator office, it’s also true…
Imperial pint of champagne
Jonathan Ray gives a heartening update on the campaign to bring back the imperial pint of champagne When the Spectator…
Portmeirion blog
Jonathan Ray heads to north Wales and braves both Welsh rain and Welsh wine in search of the fabled Welsh…
What Should We Call English Fizz?
On Friday 2 September we will be having a very special Spectator outing to Gravetye Manor in West Sussex. We will…
Win two bottles of exceptional English fizz – the Ambriel Classic Cuvée and the Ambriel Rosé
We have two bottles of exceptional English fizz – the Ambriel Classic Cuvée and the Ambriel Rosé – to give…
Rescheduled event: Lunch with Domaine Chanson
Join us in the Spectator boardroom for our rescheduled Winemaker’s lunch with Matthieu Barrère from Domaine Chanson, producer of exceptional, handcrafted…
Ten More Unexpectedly Wonderful Places in Which to Eat
One of the great joys of travelling is happening upon a restaurant or bar that quite unexpectedly brings a beaming…
Our lunch with Pol Roger
We had a full house in the boardroom last Friday with James Simpson MW, managing director of Pol Roger (UK),…
Our lunch with Olivier Humbrecht
We had a fine Spectator Winemaker Lunch with Olivier Humbrecht of leading Alsace producer Domaine Zind Humbrecht the other day.…
Our lunch with Olivier Humbrecht
We had a fine Spectator Winemaker Lunch with Olivier Humbrecht of leading Alsace producer Domaine Zind Humbrecht the other day.…
Summer tour and lunch at Nyetimber
Join us for a very special tasting, tour and lunch at Nyetimber, the UK’s leading producer of champagne-rivalling sparkling wines. The…
Summer tour and lunch at Nyetimber
Join us for a very special tasting, tour and lunch at Nyetimber, the UK’s leading producer of champagne-rivalling sparkling wines. The…
Browsing and Sluicing in Toronto and the Niagara Peninsula
Browsing and Sluicing in Toronto and the Niagara Peninsula Jonathan Ray discovers that Canada’s most vibrant and global city is…
In Praise of the Oyster
I do love a good oyster. And I love the fact that here in Toronto it’s okay and acceptable to…
English Brandy
Good grief, I’ve just been well and truly seduced! Back in April, attentive readers might recall, I led a heavily…
