72 | squaremeal.co.uk

CHERRY NICE

Spiced rum is going great guns (see p.84), and rum brand Lamb's

has released a new flavour: Lamb's Spiced Cherry. At 30%abv, it's

not strong enough to legally be called rum, but it's made with a

blend of Caribbean rum and spices, plus wild cherry and almond

flavours. It tastes like a Bakewell tart, with plenty of drying spice

character to boot. £14.99, drinksupermarket.com

MAGIC FOR

MARGARITAS

Be prepared to welcome some savoury

characters into your home bar… in the

form of • avoured salts. Anyone who

enjoys a salt rim on their favourite Tequila

cocktail - or any other cocktail, for that

matter - now has a range of 10 • avours

to play with. Available from World of

Zing, a 'food and drink emporium' in

east London, the collection includes

Mexican Cactus and Applewood Smoked.

£2.45/75g, worldofzing.com

THINK TANK

As we went to press, Alan Yau (of Wagamama/Babaji fame) was about to open

his eagerly anticipated Duck � Rice in Soho. Yes, � ne - that's a restaurant story.

But what interested us, dear drinker, was the four Pilsner Urquell Tankovnas

(that's tanks) installed in the bar. The fresh, unpasteurised beer comes straight

from the Czech brewery to the restaurant in a tank, where it stays until you

drink it. Like all unpasteurised products it doesn't last long - about seven

days - but extra, unpasteurised

Πavour means that won't be a

problem because we're sure it'll

Œ y out. In fact, Duck � Rice isn't

the only place to o‘ er Tankovna.

The chaps at Draft House were

won over by its quality and

stocked it last year. And this is a

trend that is clearly growing: if

you � nd yourself in The Big Easy

in Covent Garden or The Crown

� Shuttle in Shoreditch, check

out Meantime's Brewery Fresh

London Lager; while Budvar

has a beautiful tank installed in

Hoxton's Zigfrid von Underbelly

that counts down the days to

the next delivery.

the only place to o‘ er Tankovna.

Fashion in a bottle

Never has the water bottle on your table

looked so stylish. s.pellegrino has launched

a limited-edition bottle in partnership

with Vogue Italia to celebrate their new

collaboration: the s.pellegrino Young

Chef competition, an event that will see

some of the most talented young chefs

from across the globe battle it out in a

challenge that will mix taste, art and

fashion. The final will take place in

Milan in June. These smart bottles

can be found in bars and restaurants

already serving the sparkling Italian

water, so keep your sunglasses

at the ready in case one should

appear at your table.

Feeling vine

Vintage Cognac specialist Hine has released a

new expression made entirely from its estate

in the tiny parish of Bonneuil, in the Grande

Champagne region. Eighteen casks -

producing 9,000 bottles - were selected

for Domaines Hine Bonneuil 2005 and it

was matured in French oak. According

to the house, the weather pattern of

2005 was very similar to 1953, which

was one of the best vintages of the

last century. On the nose, tropical

notes of pineapple mix with hints of

gingerbread, liquorice and oriental

spice, giving way to a jammy palate.

Feeling vine

Vintage Cognac specialist Hine has released a

new expression made entirely from its estate

in the tiny parish of Bonneuil, in the Grande