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Champagne with fish and chips, and what to drink at Christmas with Oscar Dodd of Fortnum & MasonFortnum & Mason's wine and spirits guru Oscar Dodd joins the Country Life podcast.
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Patrick Galbaith: If you don't keep using your local pub and butcher, you won't have a community worthy of the namePatrick Galbraith laments those who complain about the price of beer in pubs and and beef in butchers — the real value is in keeping a sense of place.
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Dry January 'is an abomination' dreamt up by 'misery merchants who are never happier than when they’re uncomfortable'Our columnist Agromenes turns away from his usual focus to take a look at the Dry January movement. It's fair to say, er, that he's against it.
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The iconic American bars in London perfect for lifting a Thanksgiving cocktailGlamorous American bars were once a familiar sight in London, catering to US and British citizens alike, but only two of the historic ones remain. On the eve of Thanksgiving, Robert Crossan goes in search of both.
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Curious Questions: Why was absinthe banned?Absinthe is almost unique among alcoholic spirits for having been outlawed in even some of the world's most liberal countries — but how did that happen? Martin Fone traces back the story to find the tales of debauchery, hallucination and even murder that once gave the drink its bad name — and looks at how it's returned to prominence.
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Perry: The pear cider dubbed 'the English champagne' that's been an English passion for centuriesNot to be confused with cider, the art of perry-making is more than a craft — it’s an English passion. Ben Lerwill meets some of our best producers of fermented pear juice.
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Seven of the best non-alcoholic spirits to help get you through Dry JanuaryWhether you’re doing it for health reasons or simply for a New Year’s challenge, giving up alcohol isn’t necessarily all that easy. To help you on your way, the Country Life office put a variety of non-alcoholic spirits to the test. Here’s what we found.
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Hangover cures from some of Britain's greatest writersFrom Hemingway to Wodehouse, we reveal the hangover remedies of literary greats.
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How to decant wine — and whyIs your decanter gathering dust at the back of a cupboard? If so, says Harry Eyres, it’s high time you started using it to breathe more life into your wine.
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Curious Questions: What is it REALLY like giving up alcohol for a lifelong lover of fine wine?Sobriety is easier and more interesting than it used to be, finds Giles Kime, who has spent the past year exploring the unanticipated delights of alcohol-free beer.
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10 of the most beautiful corkscrews to make opening a great bottle of wine the event it should beThe best corkscrews you can buy today, as selected by Amelia Thorpe.
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The beekeeper who became an accidental distiller: 'When I took it to the farmers’ market, it sold out within an hour’Frustrated by wasted honey in her frames, a beekeeper tried soaking them in whisky. The results are award-winning, discovers Vicky Liddell, as she samples Beeble’s spirits.
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Best summer gins for sipping on long, hot afternoons (or for drowning your sorrows on cold, rainy ones)From floral and fruity gins to wines that you can drink without a pang of conscience, we've rounded up some of the best new drinks on the market, perfect for an al fresco drink as the height of summer approaches.
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How to make The Hudson, Country Life's 125th anniversary cocktailThe Hudson is a cocktail created by the team at Claridge's to commemorate Country Life's 125th anniversary. Here's how it's made.
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5 drinks to try if you're bored of Pimm'sSwap your lukewarm party pitcher for one of these Continental aperitifs, says Emma Hughes.
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16 of the best gins for Mother's DayWhat better for Mother's Day than a bottle of 'Mother's Ruin'? We've selected some of the finest gins on the market which are sure to give your long-suffering parent a treat.
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The traditional Gloucestershire cider producers keeping a great Cotswolds tradition aliveCider will be forever associated with the Cotswolds thanks to Rosie. Jane Wheatley meets the makers keeping the tradition alive; photographs by Mark Williamson.
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Best Father's Day gifts for foodie fathers and thirsty dadsFather's Day is coming up on June 20, and a little treat will always be a winner. Of course, a big treat is even better... Toby Keel and Martin Fone pick out some of their favourite Father's Day food gifts.
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Chateau International Space Station: The $1 million bottle of wine that's literally out of this worldSending wine to space, and bringing it back down to earth to sell for a good cause seems like a Herculean effort. But the true admiration must be for the astronauts who managed to resist the temptation to pop it open for some 14 months.
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How to make Ed Brown's Elderflower 'Champagne'Ed Brown is arguably Britain's top expert on elderflowers — and here's his favourite method for turning them into something rather special...
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11 of the best gins to buy this ChristmasOur Christmas gin special includes some of our favourites available right now.
