REVIEW: Eteaket Tea

Drinks blogger James Robertson pours himself a cup of Eteaket tea. I AM a self-confessed tea junkie and have been lucky enough to have visited the tea plantations in Dayuling, Taiwan, and both China’s Wuyi Mountains in Fujian and Heng Mountain in Hunan. So when Eteaket, the leaf tea company based in Edinburgh, sent me…

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Greywacke Wild Sauvignon

Drinks blogger James Robertson enjoys a vertical tasting of Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc. THE other day I had the privilege of attending a vertical tasting of wines from Greywacke, a winery found in Marlborough, New Zealand. Marlborough is the home for some of the best New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs around. The climate and soil structure has…

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Gin Extremes: From Shetland to Scilly

Drinks blogger James Robertson reviews gin from either end of the UK. WHO would have thought that you would find a gin distillery on the southern tip of the UK on the island of St Mary’s, part of the Isles of Scilly, and then 776 miles as the crow flies there is another one on…

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REVIEW: Lagg Distillery’s maiden single malt

James Robertson reviews the maiden whisky from Lagg Distillery on Arran. LAGG Distillery, the sister distillery owned by Isle of Arran Distillers, has launched its inaugural limited release single malt. A heavily-peated whisky matured in ex bourbon barrels, batch one has been highly anticipated and it does not disappoint. Lagg is located on the southern…

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English sparkling wine for the Lionesses

Drinks blogger James Robertson picks two English sparkling wines to toast “the auld enemy’s” victory in the fitba. TIMING, they say, is everything and – along with 17 million other viewers – I watched the England women win the European Cup. The question therefore is what to drink to celebrate the win? Well here are…

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Bookmark the Big Scottish Book Club again

A line-up to bookmark is coming up for the latest series of the Big Scottish Book Club, hosted by author Damian Barr. An array of authors from the worlds of politics, acting, rock music as well as literary lions are booked for the new series, which is due to start later this month. Among the…

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The Reiver Rat is a good Scots read for children

If The Reiver Rat sounds familiar, then the chances are you may well have either read it, or heard of it before. Translated by James Robertson and featuring Axel Scheffler’s engaging illustrations, this brilliant Scots version of The Highway Rat serves as a great, entertaining introduction to the ‘mither’ tongue for youngsters. With the flow…

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Scottish fable given new life in the 21st century

Originally a Scottish fable written in 1440 by Richard Holland, The Book of the Howlat is re-imagining of one of the poetic gems of medieval Scotland. It tells the moral story of being true to one’s own nature. Similar to the Ugly Duckling tale, this children’s book introduces the Howlat, a body-conscious young owl who…

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Picture perfect book that’s all write

Over thirty years on, photographer Angela Catlin has updated her first collection of striking black and white portraits  of Scotland’s finest writers, each accompanied by examples of their work. Among the 49 snapped for posterity are writers Alasdair Gray, A L Kennedy, Ian Rankin, James Robertson and Ali Smith, poets Ron Butlin, Jen Hadfield and…

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Can they guess what their 60 Second Dram is?

Blair Bowman and James Robertson know their whisky. The pair are two of Scotland’s most in the know men when it comes to all things whisky, and they are putting their palates – and noses – to the text once again, for our fifth 60 Second Dram. Each week, we give them a dram to…

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