Wine and Spirits Travel

When it comes to making the most of the last day of a trip, I’ve never had such a nice balance as the Pernod Ricard team (and Meghan Kelleher from Access PR) put into our “Tale of Two Cities” itinerary. They gave us the best of two worlds – and the best of English gin. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bit until 8:00, but it was then time to rise for a light breakfast at St. Elizabeth's House and our last tour of Plymouth. We went to Burrator Reservoir, a beautiful location with waterfalls over the dam. We then traveled down to the river, where the Plymouth Gin team had some surprises for us. We first sampled Classic Pink Gin, which is a combination of Angostino bitters, Plymouth Gin and water. It was very good, though I’m not sure I’d make it my standard morning drink. We did have food, though, to share it with – deliciously fresh English scones with cream and black current jam. we finished eating we had duck races in the river. I’m proud to say my purple...

One of the things I was really looking forward to on this trip was getting a view of Olympic Stadium in London. Unfortunately, I was having sinus problems and the weather (for a boat ride) was not cooperating. I instead spent the morning resting up at the Duke’s Hotel , which left me with more energy for a full afternoon and evening. When I finally left the hotel, I walked down to St. James park and then on to Buckingham Palace. My last two trips to London had been filled with no time for sightseeing so I hadn’t seen the palace since I was a teenager. It is more regal than I remembered, and the gardens (displaying tulips when I was there) were immaculate. I walked around the grounds so I could see it all from all angles. As I started walking away through St. James Park’s Birdcage Walk, I noticed that there was a clearing an area of the road. I saw the guards at attention in front of a crowd at St. James Palace just before a car with Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla Parker ...

My first full day in London was a gin lover’s dream, as I tasted my way around the world of Beefeater , as only a “super taster” should. I was up early and greeted the day with some yoga and my typical European breakfast – pan au chocolate, fruit, yogurt, and English Breakfast tea. I needed to make sure I was ready for a day filled with everything Beefeater. We were picked up in the official Beefeater cars and took a short drive to the distillery. We were greeted by Master Distiller Desmond Payne, as well as Beefeater Ambassadors – mixologists extraordinaire – Sebastian (Seb) Hamilton-Mudge and Tim Jones. The latter two had “snappers” waiting for us,  a red that was basically a bloody Mary with gin (using sundried tomato paste for a very fresh flavor); green, with pineapple juice, coriander, mint, green tabasco sauce and lime juice; and purple, with beet, orange, carrot and lemon juice. They were all good, with a slight favor for me to the green. Desmond took ...

I have traveled to many places in the world checking out wine and spirits, but when the invitation to go to England with Beefeater and Plymouth came, I was more excited than you can imagine. Gin is my go to spirit and the thought of spending a week drinking it as part of the job was a good one. I’ve worked with Pernod Ricard on a number of trips, including Jacob’s Creek in Australia and Perrier Jouët in Paris . They always do things top notch and this trip was no different. They sent a limo to take me to the airport for the short flight to Chicago, where I was flying British Airways . Since I had a business class ticket and had a few hours, I went straight to the BA lounge. I hadn’t had lunch so I was hoping to catch a snack. I found a lot more in a large buffet with many choices. I settled on a little spinach lasagna, which was excellent, and a small, fudgy brownie. When it was time to board, I saw my first airplane “pod.” It was a bit odd at first and took a while fo...