The annual Top 50 UK Beer Awards have returned, with thousands of drinkers, hospitality professionals and more than 150 beer experts casting their votes to decide the country's best brews.

This year's winner is Steady Rolling Man from Gloucestershire brewery DEYA, which climbs back to the top after taking third place last year. The hazy New England pale ale previously claimed the number one spot when the awards launched in 2024, and its mix of juicy tropical flavours and soft, pillowy finish has clearly lost none of its appeal.

Taking second place is Five Points Best from London's own Five Points Brewing Co, while Thornbridge Jaipur, one of Britain's most influential craft IPAs, rounds out the podium in third.

The awards also shine a spotlight on the industry's biggest talking points, and this year's judges reckon three trends are defining British beer right now: London's brewery boom, increasingly flavour-forward styles and a renewed appreciation for traditional cask ales.

London, in particular, is enjoying a strong showing, and we know it has some cracking taprooms. Five breweries from the capital landed inside the top 10, including Five Points, Pretty Decent, Pillars, Saint Monday and Anspach & Hobday, suggesting the city's craft beer scene is in rude health ahead of the London Craft Beer Festival later this month.

Elsewhere, the innovation award went to Hertfordshire's Beyond Belief Brewing Company for its Payload pale ale, which is brewed using surplus pasta offcuts from sister company Ugo Foods. It's an unusual idea, but one that cuts waste, reduces carbon emissions and proves there's still plenty of room for experimentation in Britain's beer scene.

With the London Craft Beer Festival returning to Southwark Park on the 17th and 18th of July, expect plenty of these award-winning pints to be flowing. If you needed an excuse for a brewery crawl this summer, you've just found one.

• Warner Bros just launched two Game of Thrones inspired whiskies bringing Westeros to your malt

English whisky is experiencing something of a renaissance, or you might simply call it a resurgence. Either way, distilleries dotted around England are putting the country on the whisky map with awards, destination experiences and more.

Scotland, Ireland, or even Japan might spring to mind first when it comes to whisky, but England is no stranger to making the golden nectar. It had commercial distilleries in the 17th and 18th centuries, but until fairly recently, it had been all but dead for around 100 years.

Fortunately, we get to revel in its revival and it’s clear English distilleries aren’t trying to mimic the big players. We’ve picked our favourite English whisky distilleries, the ones you should be drinking and visiting, along with a selection of expert picks from Billy Abbott from The Whisky Exchange.

Each distillery is accompanied by tasting notes for a recent or core range expression, so you can see which tipple takes your fancy.

Shortlist's picks

The English Distillery, Roudham, Norfolk

Born in 2006, The English Distillery arguably kicked off the revival of English whisky when it became the first registered, operational whisky distillery in the country for over 100 years. Fast forward 20 years and it has won multiple golds at the World Whiskies Awards. It specialises in whisky and offers a wide range of styles, grains, casks and a selection of liqueurs. That headstart means The English has whiskies much older than rivals, including an 11-year-old, a 16-year-old, and an 18-year-old blend.

The taste test: We’re tasting the Gently Smoked Sherry Hogshead (£75) from The English’s small batch series. It’s one of the aforementioned gold medal winners and easily the deepest, richest English whisky we’ve ever tasted. The auburn mahogany colour is spectacular and it offers intertwining flavours of burnt toffee, apple, spice, dried fruits and the smoke is present without overpowering.

White Peak Distillery, Ambergate, Derbyshire

White Peak makes a range of spirits but is best known for its Wire Works whisky. The beautifully meticulous bottles are filled with some enticing and unusual drams, made with different grains and aged in a range of various casks, from bourbon to port to imperial stout. The first release only left the distillery a few years ago in 2022, but it has quickly won both fans and awards alike.

The taste test: One for the beer fans out there, we’re tasting the imperial stout finish (£69), which uses casks which previously held Thornbridge’s Necessary Evil (the distillery also uses the brewery’s spent yeast for all fermentation) and before that began life ageing Wire Works whisky in something of a cask exchange program. If you like chocolate-covered nuts, this is the whisky for you, with strong aromas and flavours of hazelnut and chocolate malt. There are also background notes of light smokiness, too.

The Lakes Distillery, Bassenthwaite, Cumbria

Just a stone’s throw from the Lake District’s only actual lake, the aptly named Lakes Distillery sits in a former dairy farm where the barns boast high enough roofs to fit copper stills. It’s a stunning site powered by a biomass boiler, and there are even some friendly llamas in the neighbouring field. The quatrefoil you see throughout the branding is because it was found 26 times around the farm during renovation - it's a Celtic symbol representing faith, hope, luck and love. Sadly, its bistro and shop are no longer open, but the whisky lives on and the distillery’s slow mash, long fermentation and slow distillation - with a generous amount of sherry casks - result in a smooth, creamy, robust and fruity whisky.

The taste test: It’s perhaps no surprise then that the Signature whisky we’re tasting here (£75) represents those qualities mentioned above. It’s a hugely smooth and sweet whisky, like drinking a boozy Christmas cake. It’s bursting with maple, treacle, dried fruits, marzipan, light spice with a thick body and a long, sweet finish.

Cotswolds Distillery, Stourton, Warwickshire

Almost a decade ago, in 2017, Cotswold Distillery launched the first-ever whisky to be distilled in the Cotswolds. It uses locally grown floor-malted barley and has since launched a sizeable library of whiskies to suit a wide range of tastes. The distillery also makes excellent gin and other spirits such as Summer Cup, an alternative to Pimm’s, and Wild Spritz, an English aperitivo.

The taste test: We’re tasting the Cotswolds’ Signature Single Malt Whisky, which is the flagship expression, made in limited batches. It’s intense and boozy like a Scotch, with plenty of toasty spice to it - partly thanks to the STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) ex-red wine barriques it’s matured in - but there’s also aromas and flavours of stone fruits and pineapple to balance things out. At £46 RRP but typically found for £35, it’s arguably the best value English whisky out there.

Forest Distillery, Buxton, Derbyshire

Drive from Macclesfield and Buxton and you’ll pass The Cat & Fiddle. It looks like a coaching inn because that’s exactly what it was for over 200 years, but it’s now home to Forest Distillery. It is the UK's highest altitude distillery and although a pub seems a bit small for this purpose, a network of cellars is perfect for aging spirits. At 1,600 feet above sea level, the process is also affected; a lower-than-normal temperature distillation allows for a smoother new make spirit. The final touch is the stunning bespoke handmade porcelain bottles every Forset whisky comes in, which are reusable.

The taste test: Forest’s Blend Number Twenty Six (£59) pours very pale yellow and drinks with a smooth creamy body. It’s one for fans of delicate whisky, but we don’t mean it’s lacking in flavour with lovely notes of oat biscuits, apples, apricots and a hint of lightly dusted doughnut sweetness. As a bonus, we’ve also tried a dram of the distillery’s 5-year-old single malt, which is rich, oaky, nutty and sweet.

Adnams, Southwold, Suffolk

You might know Adnams for its beers like Ghost Ship, but did you know it’s had a distillery since 2010, making it the first brewery in the UK to be legally distilling spirits on the same site. It makes a variety of spirits, but the whisky truly stands out as the best, with a range of single malts, rye, wheat and more.

The taste test: We’re tasting Adnams’ offering for Master of Malt’s new football-inspired range for the World Cup 2026. Playing at striker for England in the 9 shirt is this rye whisky aged for 9-years in French oak wine casks. It’s big, boozy, spicy, rich, sweet, woody and we can confirm it makes a great Rye Old Fashioned. A bargain for a single cask rye of this age at just £39.95.

Expert picks

Retribution Distillery, Frome, Somerset

When it comes to hands-on whisky making, you don’t get much more so than this. Self-described head cleaner Richard Lock started out in his garden shed in Somerset and has since moved to a slightly larger building on a nearby farm. His whisky is still fairly new, but the early releases are already showing that you don’t need a huge distillery to make great spirits.

The taste test: Only the distillery’s third release, PR003 (£77), is limited to 370 bottles from a single cask. It’s made with Marris Otter malt and has been matured in an Oloroso hogshead for three years. While it’s similar to The Lakes Signature, it offers a lighter dram with a fresh grain flavour and more spice and red berry notes.

Filey Bay, North Yorkshire

Filey Bay (aka Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery) is particularly interesting on the UK whisky-making scene thanks to its control of the production process, literally from field to bottle. Growing barley next to the Wold Top brewery, where it not only makes beer but also the wash that goes on to make whisky, distilling by the coast and then maturing nearby means you have a truly local spirit. And having fresh beer casks doesn't hurt when it comes to making tasty special editions either.

The taste test: We’re tasting the Filey Bay Flagship (£59), which pours extremely pale and, as a sipper of a dram, is a great entry point for English whisky. It offers sherbet lemon on the nose with a smooth, light body with flavours of vanilla, fruit and salty sea air.

Circumstance Distillery, Bristol

Bristol’s Circumstance is very much a rule breaker, looking for ways to do things differently since it was founded fairly recently in 2018. The distillery is organic, carbon neutral and pushes the distillation process beyond its peers to create new and interesting flavours. With long fermentations using low-yielding brewing yeasts and interesting grain recipes, Circumstance focuses on flavour, and its whiskies deliver.

The taste test: We’re tasting Circumstance’s first release with an age statement, which is 6 years (£55). It’s fermented with saison beer yeast and aged in Oloroso sherry-conditioned cask. It pours a gorgeous honey colour with a spicy and nutty flavour as well as notes of vanilla fudge and candied orange.

Reader's picks

East London Liquor Company, chosen by Tom from London

London might be best known for gin, but East London Liquor Company has been shaking things up in the capital from its base in Hackney. This particularly applies to the branding with its modern and fun style. You can visit its London Fields-based lab for a guided tasting or even learn how to blend your own whisky, with a 300ml bottle of this unique liquid to take home.

The taste test: We’re tasting the flagship blended whisky from ELLC (£42), which primarily blends the distillery’s London Rye with peated and unpeated single malts (though does contain some Scotch, too) to create something with layers of flavour. There’s plenty of chocolate on the nose and some fruit too and it somehow drinks smoothly but with a nice bite. We get flavours of vanilla, spice, caramelised apple and subtle smoke, followed by a long warming finish.

Fielden, chosen by Ryan from Hertfordshire

You can’t visit the Fielden distillery as there isn’t one. Instead, much like a cuckoo brewery, it distills using the Adnams distillery and only makes rye whisky using heritage grains from regenerative farming projects across England. As a young company, the range is currently small but tasty, aged in a combination of American oak and various wine casks such as Moscatel.

The taste test: We’re tasting the classic Fielden Rye (£49.95), which has a grain-forward flavour. It’s honey and maple sweet start with a nice nutty, warming spice to the finish. It’s versatile, so you can sip it neat or on the rocks or use it in a wide range of cocktails.

• Warner Bros just launched two Game of Thrones inspired whiskies bringing Westeros to your malt

Winter Whisky is coming. As is the final season of House of the Dragon. As is the 15th anniversary of Game of Thrones. To celebrate all of this , Warner Bros is raising a glass with a very special blend: the media house has teamed up with the award-winning Finnish Kyrö Distillery for a pair of Game of Thrones inspires tipples.

Inspired by House Targaryen, the whiskies have been named Fire and Blood after the house’s motto. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you can definitely be influenced by a whisky’s box which is probably why the whiskies come is some serious special packaging, inspired by Westeros cartography, the whole thing has a suitably theatrical flair to it, with maps, landlines, and even drops of scorched paper / blood across the who respective bottle boxes.

It’s not a slap-a-franchise-label-on kind of release. Kyrö Distillery already hads a pretty impressive range, and is known for its focus on 100% rye spirits. Whisky of Fire, the first of the two bottles is crafted with 100% smoked malted rye, in a nod to its name, It has been matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in rum casks with smoke, toasted rye, blackberry and a light whisper of menthol. Whisky of Blood is similarly themed but luckily not as evocative as its fiery counterpart (read: no human blood involved in distilling). Instead, Whisky of Blood is a lighter flavour, using 100% malted rye matured in ex-bourbon and French oak with apple, apricot, tonka bean, and crème brûlee.

For Whisky of Fire, you’ll get light wafts of smoke with toasted rye, and price apple jam which develops into complex smoke and sweetness on the palate. Contrastingly, Whisky of Blood has notes of apple and apricot with a bright cereal note on the nose. On the palate, it’s a fruity sweetness balanced with its underlying rye spice, finishing with notes of chestnut.

“From the beginning, we wanted to create something that felt authentic to HBO’s Game of Thrones,” said Kalle Valkonen, co-founder and master distiller at Kyrö Distillery Company. “Inspired by House Targaryen and its defining association with dragons, fire, bloodline and power, we created two distinct whisky expressions that interpret different facets of the same iconic world.”

Both are priced at £74.95 and launch on Monday 22nd alongside the UK release of House of the Dragon season 3, exclusively through Master of Malt. Whether you’re a whisky lover or a GoT guy, it’s always nice to have an excuse to raise a wee dram. And probably the closet you’ll get to replicating any kind of action from Game of Thrones from your kitchen.

• Drinks by the Dram just launched a Whisky Library – and it’s a book lover’s (boozy) dream

Having a wee dram of whisky is delightful in its own right, with a good bottle making you feel as though you’re seated in a wingback chair by a roaring fire whilst wearing some kind of tweed jacket with leather arm patches, rather than the reality of being in an overpriced London bedsit. Drinks by the Dram however has just raised the game, offering up whisky miniatures in possibly the most sophisticated format ever.

Usually, the novelty of a mini wears off after approximately five minutes and stays in your cupboard approximately five years. Drinks by the Dram do things differently, offering up sample style miniatures which have just as premium a feel as their full sized frères. Its latest innovation is a bookworm inspired offering, that brings 36 world-class drams enveloped in a classic novel inspired jackets.

The Whisky Library is a beautifully constructed bookshelf with 36 wax-sealed drams housed across six special volumes. It’s not just a style thing with each ‘book’ having plenty of expert information about the history, craft, and character of some of the world’s greatest whiskies. The six volumes progress across the global production, with one on Japanese Whisky, Irish Whisky, Scottish Whisky, Sherry casks, Single Malts, and Bourbons. There are six 30 ml drams tucked in each book so you can taste as you read. If anything is going to help you crack a dense read, it’s a little liquid companion. I think I recall doing something similar with my A Level biology textbook, although that was more sambuca at a frat party than single malt on a Friday.

Your tasting and literary journey will begin with the titans of the Old World before venturing to the dynamic expressions of the New World, designed for whisky lovers who want to take their knowledge to the next level. A seventh volume houses a pair of Glencairn crystal tasting glasses, because the author Worthington is not the sort of man to let you drink good whisky from the wrong vessel. Or straight from the bottle. Even if it makes you feel like a giant which is always fun.

Just because it’s a pretty stunning bit of gear doesn’t mean there aren't some seriously tasty drams included. (Warning, spoilers ahead…) Some of the stand out drams include a Lagavulin 16 year old, a Redbreast 12 year old, and a Yoichi Single Malt.

The library is currently retailing at £195 and is available only from Masters of Malt.

• Best pub in London crowned - and it serves a beef wellington feast

Whiskey lovers, start your engines — Jack Daniel's has revealed what may be the most striking bottle in its 160-year history, launching the ultra-premium Halo MK1 Tennessee Whiskey in collaboration with the McLaren Formula 1 Team. And we’ve been along to the iconic distiller’s London HQ to give it a UK-first tasting.

Priced at $599.99 / £500 (and launching in-store at Selfridges on June 18th before hitting other retailers on July 1st), the limited-edition release is being billed as the most premium global bottling ever produced by the Lynchburg distillery, combining a bespoke Tennessee whiskey with a packaging design inspired by one of Formula 1's most recognisable safety innovations.

The centrepiece is the bottle's dramatic sculptural housing, modelled on the Halo structure found on modern McLaren Formula 1 cars. The custom-engineered display case incorporates materials inspired by McLaren's motors, including alloy metal finishes, carbon fibre detailing and micro-suede touches, while papaya-orange accents nod to the team's famous livery.

Inside sits a whiskey designed to nab pole position.

• The best whisky taste tested: 36 bottles our experts recommend

Halo MK1 starts with Jack Daniel's classic mash bill of 80% corn, 8% rye and 12% malted barley before undergoing the brand's signature charcoal mellowing process. The whiskey is then matured in specially constructed American white oak barrels made from staves that have been seasoned outdoors for an extended period before barrel construction. According to the distillery, the additional weathering helps soften tannins in the wood, resulting in a richer and smoother spirit.

Bottled at a throat-waking 58.7% ABV (117.4 proof), the strength carries a subtle motorsport reference. The proof point pays tribute to McLaren founder Bruce McLaren, whose first race car carried the number 58. That .7%? JD would like to think that’s a reference to Old No. 7, of course, its iconic regular offering.

Jack Daniel's x McLaren Halo M1 Tasting notes

Despite its high proof, the Halo M1 liquid is a worryingly-drinkable dram — there’s a bit of a kick as it goes down, but its almost-sweet-shop level sweetness means you could tackle this one straight and find it still very pleasant:

• Nose: Maple pecan pie, banana, vanilla fudge, orange peel
• Palate: Salted caramel, dark chocolate, clove
• Finish: Brown sugar, charred oak, black pepper, nutmeg

The release represents the latest chapter in the ongoing partnership between Jack Daniel's and McLaren Racing, but it is easily the most ambitious collaboration the two brands have produced to date. For collectors, the appeal may be as much about the display piece as the liquid itself. Yet unlike many luxury releases that rely solely on extravagant packaging, Halo MK1 appears to have received genuine attention in the blending and maturation process — this is excellent liquid, more than just Old No. 7 in a McLaren jumpsuit.

Whether it ends up being opened or displayed behind glass (just imagine it being sprayed at the winner’s podium!) Halo MK1 will pique the interest of the growing crossover audience of whiskey enthusiasts, luxury collectors and Formula 1 fans. Don't expect bottles to remain on shelves for long, so if you’ve got the cash, get off the starting grid.

• The best pub in London crowned - and it serves a beef wellington feast

Landing a rare 20-plus-year-old single malt usually means moving faster than everyone else, tapping up your local distillery buddies, or having a significantly larger budget than the average dram fan.

But a new release from Scottish independent bottler Thompson Brothers wants to change that.

The latest edition of its cult-favourite Mystery Malt series has arrived, putting nearly 10,000 bottles of Scotch into circulation, all carrying exactly the same £65 price tag, regardless of what's actually inside.

• The best whisky taste tested: 36 bottles our experts recommend

That's because buyers won't discover which whisky they've bought until they open it. Every bottle in Mystery Malt Series 6 looks identical on the outside. Hidden beneath a tamper-proof capsule is one of 38 different single malts sourced from distilleries across Scotland, ranging from six to 29 years old. The reveal only comes when the seal is broken.

Luck be a Lochlea tonight

It's a whisky release built around luck rather than spending power.

One drinker could uncover a youthful six-year-old dram from Lochlea. Another could strike gold with a 29-year-old Ben Nevis matured in a refill sherry butt, one of just 15 bottles in the entire release. Usually a whisky of that age and rarity would likely command a price many times higher than £65. And that's what makes Mystery Malt so compelling. Instead of rewarding whoever can spend the most, it gives every buyer the same chance of taking home something exceptional.

The odds are surprisingly generous, too. Thompson Brothers says one in five bottles contains whisky aged 18 years or older, while the full collection spans 38 different expressions from across Scotland's whisky landscape.

Importantly, the release isn't completely blind. Every bottle includes a QR code linking to a full batch manifest that details every whisky included, alongside age statements, cask information and the probability of receiving each expression. Buyers know exactly what could be inside, they just don't know which bottle fate has handed them.

The unusual format also helps explain the breadth of the line-up. Because distillery names remain concealed until bottles are opened, producers can participate without directly competing against their own core ranges or limited-edition releases.

Previous Mystery Malt releases have developed a loyal following among whisky fans, with the first three series reportedly selling out within 48 hours. Across the first five editions, more than 25,000 bottles have been sold worldwide.

Series 6 is the biggest release yet, with 9,960 bottles heading to retailers across 18 countries.

For whisky enthusiasts, it's effectively a raffle where everyone wins a bottle of single malt. The difference is that some lucky drinkers might end up uncorking something they could never normally afford.And at £65 a ticket, that's a gamble many whisky fans will be happy to take.

Grab a bottle direct here, or check your local whisky specialists for in-store stock.

• Cult creamy faves Hackney Gelato have teamed up with this London bar for boozy milkshake style cocktails

Summer brings a shedload of goodness – weather (at least 50% of the time),. barbecues, the return of the summer wardrobe. One thing you can rely on is someone suggesting getting a pint at roughly 11am. And if you're anything like us, if by four pm you've forgotten that Pimms has alcohol in it and want to switch to something non-alcoholic but water doesn't seem exciting enough, then having a few good non-alcoholic bottles to hand.

Luckily, there have been exponential amounts of innovation in the no and low sector, and this summer a brilliant bounty of new releases are heading to every bit of green space in London, probably.

Nirvana Brewery Hazy Grapefruit Lager

Hands down one of the best brews we've tried in sipping memory, the Nirvana Hazy Grapefruit Lager is a fresh and zingy twist on a classic lager but without any of the booze. It doesn't have that almost stripped tartness that you get with some lagers; instead, it's nuanced and light with just the right mix of fruitiness.

Lucky Saint Lime and Sea salt larger

Ever gone for a cheeky pint and mid-way through realised you were planning a gym sesh / run? You end up looking at the glass half full with regret and half full with relief that you have an out. Enter: the alcohol free beer. Then look at the doorway again as another diva makes its entrance, totally overshadowing it. And that is the Lime and Sea salt Lucky Saint Lager. It's a first-of-its-kind electrolyte lager, where flavour meets function with added sodium, magnesium and potassium. And it's pretty delicious. Win-win-win.

Sigalas Rabaud x Moderato

Alcohol-free wines, for the most part, really ain't it. Like, really, really ain't it. Usually, I'd recommend you grab a Ribena and call it a day. However, Moderato happily proves this pre-conception wrong – if anyone is going to do alcohol free wine right, it's the French. The Sigalas Rabaud x Moderato Rose release is a step up even from the norm, crafted with Sémillon grapes grown in the South West of France, using Moderato's de-alcoholisation techniques.

Grapefruit Picante

Sometimes the alcohol free world gets accused of being a little boring – and it's a fair critique. Sometimes there's only so many alcohol-free beers you can pound before you feel a little meh. However, this Grapefruit Picante firmly puts this argument to bed, proving that just because it's sans sauce doesn't mean it's not a stunning and special tipple. It's sharp yet spicy without being overly sweet, which a lot of 0% beers can be guilty of. A lovely cocktail alternative that won't leave you missing the real thing.

The Pathfinder ready-to-drink cocktails

If you happen to dabble in the non-alcoholic world, you'll probably be familiar with The Pathfinder already. It's a name up there with Mother Root and Botivo, all synonymous with actually interesting and delicious 0% options. The Pathfinder has unveiled new tinnies which take its signature complex, herbaceous notes, and mixes them up into something seriously special.

• 99p shots that want to be the next BuzzBallz are coming to the UK

London is full of incredible places to drink beer, whether a historic pub or a funky craft focused bar with a vast selection. But little can beat the pleasure of drinking amazing beer at source, next to the vessels it was brewed in. Sitting in view of the brewing tanks, on a wooden bench with the brewery’s latest special, has become a favourite way to while away a Saturday afternoon for many. Whether you’re a fan of juice-bomb New England style IPAs, crispy lagers or massive imperial stouts, the brewery tap rooms of London have something for you. For this list, we teamed up with London-based beer expert and writer Will Hawkes. He is the author of London Beer City, a newsletter devoted to the city’s pubs and breweries. You can sign up here.

Will Hawkes Selects:

The Kernel

The Kernel is London’s most important independent brewery, having kickstarted the city’s craft-beer movement back in 2009. One of the reasons why they’ve been so successful is they’ve always done things their own way. Founder Evin O’Riordain is a singular figure, apparently unmoved by the vagaries of fashion, but with a commitment to quality and equality that contrasts sharply with some of his erstwhile competitors.

It’s no surprise then, that the Kernel’s taproom is so unique. It’s a modern, almost Scandinavian space where Japanese comfort food (Gyoza, Udon, etc) shares top billing with The Kernel’s beers. There’s exposed pipework, a concrete floor, pine furniture and plenty of space. Taproom general manager Mauritz Borg is amongst the best in the business too.

Find it at 32 Spa Road, Dockley Estate, SE16 3AG

Eko

Copeland Park, Peckham’s self-described ‘cultural quarter’, has got a lot going on. There are film production companies, rooftop bars, artists of many persuasions, vegan cafes, Balkan food and a hugely popular annual hot sauce festival – to name just a few.

Perhaps my favourite spot though, is Eko Brewery’s taproom. Founded in 2018 by husband and wife duo Anthony and Helena Adedipe, Eko is a modern brewery with a difference: there’s a focus here on African ingredients and techniques which makes for a refreshing change. Appropriate, too, in this most West African of London neighbourhoods.

Find it at Unit 2A-2, 133 Copeland Park, Copeland Road, SE15 3SN.

Five Points

Five Points has become a fixture of East London life, most notably here and at the pub they run, the magnificent Pembury Tavern. It’s a brewery that has a number of pots on the boil, from a craft-defying (and very popular) Best Bitter to more mod-ish styles. The key unifying factor, as with all the best breweries, is drinkability. This approachability defines their taproom too. It is an expansive space, taking in a cosy front room next to Mare Street, a mezzanine area, a large partially covered yard and BBQ food.

Find it at 61 Mare Street, Hackney, London, E8 4RG.

Saint Monday

Andreas Akerlund and Anselm Chatwin, the duo behind pub group Graceland, are steeped in London hospitality. They’ve clocked up decades of experience at the rockface, running pubs as renowned as Stoke Newington’s Axe and the Black Heart in Camden. It’s the latter that feels most akin to this brewpub in London Fields. Both gents are metal fanatics, and this place is as much about music as beer. Opened in 2023 when Graceland acquired the site and the brewing equipment from Carlsberg (for a relative song), it’s a delightful space. The pale ales and IPAs are particularly good.

Find it at 4 Warburton Road, E8 3RR.

Pillars Brewery

The best lager brewery in London? It could well be. Walthamstow’s Pillars was founded in 2016 and since then they’ve gradually established a reputation for quality, all the while expanding their range. My favourite is the delightfully crisp Pilsner, but you can’t really go wrong.

When it comes to taproom options – you’ve got two choices. There’s the official taproom and Malt Haus, a space dedicated to not only high-quality beer but whiskey too, a few doors down. The latter maybe has the edge since it’s open an extra two days a week.

Find it at Unit 2, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall St, London E17 9HQ

Shortlist selects

Howling Hops Brewery and Tank Bar

After starting out brewing in the basement of legendary Mare Street pub the Cock Tavern, Howling Hops moved to its current site in 2015, becoming London’s first and only tank bar. As you enter their stripped back and industrial space, you’re greeted by a line of shiny stainless steel fermentation tanks where the beer is finished, right behind the bar – it doesn’t get fresher than that! The beer line-up is regularly changing and offers something for most tastes.

Find it at Unit 9A Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN

Bullfinch Brewery

Started from the kitchen of former travelling sound engineer and enthusiastic home brewer Ryan Mclean – Bullfinch Brewery now operates from a railway arch in Herne Hill. The tap room is a sociable space, rooted in the local community, offering up the brewery’s bang fresh beer, including favourites such as their 4.2% session pale Rascal. With a line-up completed by specials and a rotating selection of guest beers – there’s much to recommend this south London spot.

Find it at Arch 886, Rosendale Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 9EH

Signature Brew

Located on the Black Horse Beer Mile, Signature Brew was founded by a brewer and a musician and has always been about bringing together the two worlds. The core beers have names like Studio Lager and Roadie IPA, while artists often collaborate on specials. The tap room is a spacious affair and often has punters spilling outside on nice days. They of course run regular live music events and also play host to some amazing street food vendors.

Find it at Unit 15, Blackhorse Lane, E17 5QJ.

Gipsy Hill Brewing

Session IPA Hepcat, from South London brewing stalwarts Gipsy Hill has become a firm favourite among discerning London drinkers and the rest of their range is excellent too. Their tap room, which is located opposite their main production brewery, opens from Wednesday to Sunday and is a bustling and lively space for enjoying top quality beer. They don’t have an in-house kitchen, but they partner with Yard Sale Pizza, who will deliver directly to your table.

Find it at Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road, Norwood. SE27 9SF

Pretty Decent

Originally founded in Forest Gate, where they maintain a taproom, Pretty Decent moved their main production to the current site in 2022. Located conveniently around the corner from Signature Brew on the Black Horse Beer Mile, their tap room is a lively space offering their core beers and specials. You will also find one of the most hilarious beer names in London at Pretty Decent, in the form of their session IPA ‘I Could Get Better At T*sco For A Quid’. Expect top-notch beer and a fine atmosphere at this excellent addition to the London beer scene.

Find it at Unit 10, Uplands Business Park, Blackhorse Lane, E17 5QJ

• Natural wines, old school vinyl, and Eastern European influences: Inside Notting Hill’s newest wine bar

Aperol. Marg. Cosmo. Each cocktail has been the it girl equivalent of the drinks world in its own year, gracing the Instagram boomerangs of every girl's night throughout summer. The margarita is sort of like every girl group duo – one classic, and one slightly spicer: the Barbenheimer of the bar menu, one whose food is too cold and one who will send it back to the kitchen. Now, Cointreau has made it even easier to create a delicious spicy marg at home meaning you no longer have to resort to flamboyantly adding in out-of-date chilli flakes from the back of the cupboard to try and replicate the bar-worthy serves.

For us, the marg is goated not through its taste but for its ease. Specifically its ease to make at home – your Tommy’s marg takes three ingredients: tequila, lime juice, and agave (all of which can be brought from Tesco express fyi) and you don’t even need to measure properly, just eyeball a 2:1:1 ratio, chuck in some ice and you’ll pretty much have something resembling a marg. Or at least resembling hazy memories of the last night out / birthday / Friday night. However, using Cointreau for a proper marg is a level up, and the latest release – a spicy iteration – might just be the addition needed to take your cocktails from ‘bah, this’ll do’ to ‘bar level’.

Cointreau spicy is, well, a spicy take on the classic orange liqueur bringing a natural chili kick through using Bird’s Eye Chili. The liqueur is macerated with natural Bird’s Eye Chili and jalapeños, with a touch of cucumber for a fresh, balancing note. If you’ve ever attempted to make a spicy marg at home and had your cocktail shaker look more like some kind of concoction from year seven breaktimes (random bottles of hot sauce, out of date chili flakes, and the scragends of chilli jam all thrown in) then this might be worth checking out. It basically means you can make a pretty perfect spicy balanced concoction without having to brave the out of date shelf in your cupboard. Also, if you’ve graduated past corner shop vodka and Jagerbombs as a shot, apparently the Cointreau Spicy has been designed so its enjoyable on its own as well as mixed up. Just grab some lime and salt and go to town, literally.

In the UK, Cointreau Spicy is available via retailers like Sainsbury’s and Amazon, with an IRL launch celebration later this summer via a dedicated Cointreau Spicy Margarita Bar at BST Hyde Park and Taste of London. Currently it’s selling for around £26.50 across most outlets, with a 30% ABV.

Our go-to ingredients for a Margarita

Or try a Mescalita

• Fortnum & Mason is launching luxury picnic boat rides on the Thames this summer

Fortnum & Mason has found a new way to class up the British summer.

The luxury department store is taking its famous picnics onto the River Thames for the very first time, launching a series of private vintage boat charters during the Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Festival this July.

Called Fortnum’s on Thames, the experience will see guests climb aboard a beautifully restored vintage vessel for a two-hour floating picnic complete with Champagne, riverside views and Fortnum’s famous Red Coat service.

It’s about as gloriously posh as you’d expect from the people who turned picnic hampers into status symbols.

Hosted aboard a vintage boat called Christobel, which has been decked out in Fortnum’s signature Eau de Nil green alongside bespoke stripes by design studio Colours of Arley, the experience promises an extremely polished version of the classic British picnic.

Each charter includes one of Fortnum’s signature picnic hampers served in a keepsake picnic bag, with menus featuring Coronation Cauliflower Tacos, Fortnum’s Classic Scotch Egg, cheese platters and Elderflower Jelly with Fresh Berries. Guests can also upgrade the whole thing with Fortnum’s Brut Réserve Champagne or English Sparkling Rosé because, naturally, this is Henley and so the dented can of warm cider you usually don in Victoria Park will simply not suffice.

The experience will run between the 1st of July and the 12th of July to coincide with both the Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Festival, two events already synonymous with an aggressively British summer. Private charters are available for groups of four, six or eight people, with prices starting from £1,000 for a two-hour trip. So yes, it costs roughly the same as a holiday, but this one comes with Red Coat service and curated river views.

Fortnum’s says the trips are designed for summer reunions, birthday celebrations and leisurely afternoons with friends, though it’s easy to imagine plenty of people booking purely for the Instagram carousel. The whole thing sounds engineered to become the sort of experience that floods your feed every July alongside strawberries, linen shirts and blurry photos of people holding Aperol spritzes near water.

Fortnum’s has taken every cliché of an ideal British summer and squeezed it onto one floating vintage boat: Champagne, picnics, rowing, countryside views and pastel green branding everywhere you look. If the weather holds out, it could end up being one of the most absurdly luxurious ways to spend an afternoon near London this summer.

Bookings are being handled directly through Fortnum’s concierge team, and availability is limited across the July run, so expect spots to disappear quickly among people determined to spend at least one weekend this summer pretending they live in a Richard Curtis film.

• Two London hotels have been named among the best in the world in a new prestigious list

Martinis are a funny old drink, they’re like rowing of the drinks world – you either don’t really dabble or you take it **very** seriously. It’s almost a whole subcategory of bars as institutions, to five-star hotels all try to perfect the ice-cold concoction. From Bob Bob Ricard serving up the world’s coldest martini to Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour, which opened up a whole dedicated martini room, it’s fair to say Londoners are slightly martini mad. Maybe it’s not entirely surprising that East London is getting its own martini map charting six of the top spots to get the lovely libation.

Part of the celebrations of World Martini Day, Boatyard Distillery have teamed up with Cocchi Martinis to create a walking Martini Map around East London. Dubbed The East London Martini Map, it’s running from 12th - 20th June and six East London spots have been shortlisted as dishing out spectacular serves.

The activation invites Londoners to explore a curated walkable (essential) martini track centred around Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, with each participating venue serving up a bespoke £7 martini all week.

Participating bars include: Equal Parts, Mad Cats, The Sun Tavern, Rain Dogs, and Without Papers. Each bar is offering a curated serve including a Preserved Lemon Martini, a Cucumber & Elderflower Vesper, and a Dry Mango Martini at Equal Parts. Mad Cats as a So Fresh So Clean cocktail made with Nasturtium-infused Boatyard Gin, Pink Pepper Syrup, and Vermouth, a Dirty Harry, and an In The Groove made with mango vodka, mango syrup, sake, and mango Vermouth. There will be plenty of classics on offer too, like a vodka martini and a Gin Martini, or the more historic predecessor, the Chinotto Martinez.

As well as the signature £7 serves, there will be a couple of events taking place across the week. Equal Parts will be partnering with Irish Bar Cask Cork for a bar takeover on 18th, with The Sun Tavern serving up free Oysters with its martinis on 20th June, with live music from Georgie Hume.

Whether you are a die-hard Martini expert, or you just enjoy a good discount and inebriated wander around a sunny London (who doesn’t?) then you can check out the map and get involved with the trail online. Guests can see the map on Google and explore the trail across East London throughout the week of 12-20 June 2026.

• 14 genuinely good “third places” in London to work, read, or meet mates (without getting fleeced)

Sometimes a quiet pint in a cozy pub will hit the spot – but there are other occasions that call for something a bit different!

For years a plethora of experience bars has mushroomed across the capital. Some offer full immersion, transporting punters to another time or a fictional location, with actors adding to the theatricality. Then there are of course the city’s broad array of activity and game-based bars.

Here we're picking 10 of the best venues offering amazing experiences while you drink and eat – whether it’s donning a jump suit and sitting in a cell or taking on your friends for a round of crazy golf. If you’re organising a work social, a birthday gathering or you’re just wanting to change things up from sitting in the pub, this list has got you covered.

1. Cahoots Underground

• 13 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, W1B 5PW

One of a group of three 1940s themed bars, Cahoots Underground, as the name suggests, is housed in an abandoned tube station where you’ll find yourself sitting in a highly convincing replica of a 1940s underground train carriage. The bar offers up some mighty fine cocktails in this detailed, fun and unique setting. Why not combine it with its sister bar in the old ticket hall of the same station, which is accessed from Kingly Street, just around the corner? The group’s third location is Cahoots Postal Office in London Bridge, and is just as fun.

2. Alcotraz: Cell Block Two-One-Two

• Unit 3B, 127 Hackney Road, E2 8GY

Alcotraz offers an utterly unique theatrical prison experience. Punters (or ‘inmates’ as you become on entering) are furnished with a fetching orange jump suit and locked in a cell. The aim is to smuggle a bottle of spirits in, which is then used to craft personalised cocktails by the corrupt prison guards/mixologists. Your booking lasts an hour and three quarters and every detail from the cells to the actions of the guards is on point. This is perfect for a special occasion, stag or hen do. It’s not cheap, costing £51 per person, but it’s an experience that will never be forgotten.

3. Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration

• 1A Bedford Street, WC2E 9HH

Part of a group of themed bars that draw inspiration from the classic Jules Verne novel Around The World In Eighty Days, this venue is bound to delight with its attention to detail, quirky artefacts and amazing cocktails. Visitors can marvel at the bar’s weird and wonderful mechanical cocktail maker, and there’s also a full-size Victorian train carriage, which plays host to tabletop murder mystery events.

4. Electric Shuffle

• 10 Bermondsey Street, SE1 2ER

Housed in the red brick arches under London bridge station, this game-focussed venue offers shuffleboard, drinks, pizza and small plates. One of the many activity bars to open in recent years, it fills up with groups enjoying a classic pub game in a modern setting, with a decent selection of drinks. What’s not to love? There’s also a sister venue located at Canary Wharf.

5. 58th Street

• 33 Rye Lane, SE15 3SN

Created by The Lost Estate experience company, 58^th Street offers an immersive evening that takes punters to 1930s New York. Modelled on the venues of the jazz age, the creators have gone to huge lengths to get the details right, from the swinging jazz to the drinks on offer and the six course menu. Technically running for a limited time as a pop-up, it is scheduled to be part of the London scene until at least the end of 2027.

6. Swingers

• John Prince's Street, W1G 0AB

As bars and venues offering activities seemed to be popping up everywhere in London, a game of crazy golf with colleagues or friends became an almost ubiquitous social activity. Swingers is one of the best to do it – offering a fun and well thought out course. The bar serves up a decent range of wine, beer and cocktails, while the food offering comes courtesy of street food vendors.

7. Four Quarters Arcade Bar — Peckham

• 187 Rye Lane, SE15 4TW

Enjoy classic arcade games, while drinking craft beer at this laid-back Peckham based arcade bar. Perfect for those wanting to indulge in a bit of nostalgia, courtesy of the fantastic array of retro games on offer. The food offering is ‘American diner classics’, which fits perfectly with the vibe of the place. Sister sites can be found in Hackney Wick, London Bridge and Elephant and Castle.

8. Evans and Peel Detective Agency

• 310c Earls Court Road, SW5 9BA

Running since 2012, Evans and Peel Detective Agency is a 1920s prohibition themed speak-easy cocktail bar. Punters enter a “detective office”, where they must present a case to get access to the bar through a hidden bookcase. Known for its attention to detail, staff in character and fine drinks selection, visitors can also expect music from swing to blues on several nights per week.

9. Hexmoor Wizarding Prison

• Unit 11, 127 Hackney Rd, E2 8GY

Created by Inventive Productions, Hexmoor Wizarding Prison requires punters to don jump suits and sit in cells. Lasting an hour and forty-five minutes, this deeply immersive experience involves live-action storytelling courtesy of the venue’s cast of actors, plus a range of “magical cocktails”. A good one for Harry Potter heads.

10. Flight Club

• 6 Sir Simon Milton Square, SW1E 5DJ

Part of a chain that has four venues in London and a number in other locations around the country, Flight Club offers social darts in a lively, booze-fuelled setting. Like the pubs of old then, before bars like this stole their thunder! The Victoria venue is one of their best, with its individually themed oches and fairground theme. The bar area is also beautifully designed and features a strong drinks list. Punters can expect a series of mini games using the dart board, rather than just the conventional game, though that's on offer, too.

• The 11 best craft beer bars and pubs in London

In less than a month, Soho will get a brand new mega wine bar, with the opening date for the latest Vagabond Wines venue announced.

Vagabond Wines in Soho will open its doors on 18th June according to the Vagabond website, while Hot-Dinners writes the bar will hold a special opening celebration on Wednesday 24th June, with 50 per cent off food and drink.

You can book a slot now, from its opening date up until mid-December 2026.

The big sell on this place is you can order wine by the glass, with upwards of 120 to choose from. We’ve been following the story of the Vagabond Wines Soho branch for a while now, and it’s far from the only Vagabond spot in the capital.

It’s been a London mainstay since 2010, when the first Vagabond Wines opened in Fulham. And last year it opened what it called the “UK’s largest urban winery” in Canada Water. Yep, the wine is made and served in the same spot.

These days Vagabond Wines is owned by Majestic Wines, having bought the business out of a tight financial spot in 2024.

The new site will live at 14-16 Ganton Street, and it’s dubbed the Carnaby branch, not least because there’s already a Vagabond in nearby Charlotte Street contending for the “Soho” branch title.

This new Carnaby brand is the “biggest Vagabond yet” according to the Vagabond website, commanding an estimated 6000 square feet of prime Central London space.

“At the Ganton Street location, you can explore over 120 wines at your own pace, try things you would never normally order, and build your own experience, whether that is a single glass or a full flight. It is about removing the barriers and putting the guest back in control,” Vagabond Wines managing director Christobell Giles said last month.

We’re yet to see the full menu for the Carnaby location, but in the other London spots, Vagabond offers sharing plates, small plates, cheese and charcuterie boards plus lunch options like aubergine parmigiana to help soak up the booze.

• Natural wines, old school vinyl, and Eastern European influences: Inside Notting Hill’s newest wine bar

Noticed the rise of BuzzBallz over the last few years? The company that jammed UK supermarket shelves and off-licenses with the things is trying to so the same thing with booze shots called 99.

99 shots will infiltrate a UK University later this month to spread the news of these new low-cost drinks.

They pack a punchy 15% ABV, and come in 50ml mini bottles as well as 700ml biggie bottles — these are already available from Amazon. But the large version misses out one of the USPs, that the drinks retail for just 99p.

You don’t actually lose a huge amount of money by buying the shot version either. A big bottle is equivalent to 14 of the double shot measures — meaning you’ll end up paying £13.86 for 700ml’s worth, compared to £10.99 for a standard 70cl bottle.

The flavours of 99 on offer are likely to seem pretty familiar to those who have already had their time indulging in low-rent, low-price, student-first booze. There’s blue raspberry, apple and cherry, all of which have a lip-smacking sour bent to get you wincing after downing a 50ml measure.

It’s an unashamed attempt to bring to Gen Z what the 2000s crowd had with the launch of drinks like Apple Sourz, which arrived in 1999 and is still available today.

Buzzing in Birmingham

To get the ball rolling, an ice cream van doling out free 99 shot-infused soft serve will arrive in Birmingham on 19th May. It can be found around the University of Birmingham, Guild of Students from 2-3pm and near Birmingham City University from 5-7pm, opposite the Eagle & Ball Pub.

We’re yet to hear when the ice cream van, dubbed the 99 Liquor Whip, will arrive in London.

The parent company making all this happen is Sazerac, which own hundreds of drinks brands including more refined fare like Buffalo Trace and Van Winkle, right down to the luminous stuff of BuzzBallz and 99.

We’re promised more too. 99 shots have been around in the US since 1997 and are available in absolutely loads of flavours. The original was 99 Banana. But back then the concept was about the drinks being 99 per cent proof rather than 99 cents.

The US version of the 99 shots sit at around 40 per cent ABV, far stronger than the 15 per cent we’re getting in the UK. However, some stores in the US do sell the weaker version.

• The best whisky taste tested: 33 bottles our experts recommend

In late 2025, the fine wine world was sent into a spin when Aldi’s humble own-brand Champagne bagged the top spot at the prestigious World Champagne Awards. This supermarket sparkler outperformed storied houses like Veuve Clicquot and Bollinger, proving that a high price tag isn't always a prerequisite for high quality.

This seismic shift in the industry serves as definitive proof that you no longer have to splash the cash or hunt for a luxury label to sip some seriously moreish, award-winning fizz. Whether you are prepping for a large celebration or simply fancy a mid-week tipple, the high street is now a legitimate destination for connoisseurs.

To help you navigate the aisles and find the true gems among the duds, we've put together this comprehensive guide to the best supermarket own-brand Champagnes currently on the market — and some expert tips on how to find the bargain bottles.

Four tips to help spot the best bottles

1. All champagnes are not equal

Yes, Champagnes are all produced in one region, but it’s a region with seven different grape varieties and two quality-related classifications: Grand Cru refers to ones produced on vineyards ranked the highest on the AOC scale (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, the designation given to Champagnes, which must be made in the Champagne region while also meeting certain criteria) and Premier Cru is the second-highest tier.

There’s also a huge range of soils featuring different amounts of clay and chalk. All of this affects the finished product, as do processes such as ageing, and the amount of time the bottle spends on its “lees”, which refers to the amount of contact the wine has with the dead yeast cells (sediment), post-fermentation. Tweaking this step can affect texture, aroma and depth.

2. Does bigger always mean better?

There are several advantages enjoyed by the larger Champagne houses. To start with, their cellars are often much larger (sign up for tours of Moët & Chandon’s cellars, for example, and you’ll learn that they extend to a staggering 28 kilometres). This allows for longer ageing periods but it also enables Champagne houses in Riem, Epernay and other areas of the province to build up more reserve stock. 2021, for example, was a bad year for Champagne due to poor weather, and this had a much bigger impact on smaller Champagne houses. Moët & Chandon’s master blenders, meanwhile, could dig into their reserves to ensure Champagnes made during 2021 tasted just as good as the ones made during previous years.

3. The age factor

The most well-known Champagne houses will often age their Champagnes for several years, while supermarket brands will often age them for the minimum period of time (15 months).

The good news? While we wouldn’t go so far as to celebrate climate change, warmer temperatures have made it easier for supermarkets to produce top quality fizz.

“Rising temperatures and improved techniques in vineyards and wineries help supermarkets obtain higher quality wine with less need for longer ageing, and at better prices,” says Dawn Davies, wine expert at the Whisky Exchange.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean the big brands are overcharging, but it does mean good Champagne can be found at a wider range of prices.”

4. Bottoms up

Our top tip? Remember that you don’t need to be a wine expert to find your favourite Champagne. Simply get drinking – it’s the only way to work out which Champagnes tickle your tastebuds and which don’t. And make notes – especially if the label references a specific vineyard, village or producer. “

If a bottle names a village or vineyard, it usually means more care and intention has gone into it, often resulting in better quality and a more distinctive drinking experience,” says Peter King, head sommelier at the Michelin-starred The Yan at Broadrayne in Grasmere, the Lake District.

“Once you find a village style you like, it’s easy to explore similar wines from other producers in the same area.”

The best supermarket Champagnes

Majestic Wines Nicolas Courtin Brut Champagne

Expect plenty of fizz from this corker from Majestic Wines, produced in collaboration with a Champagne house founded in 1993. Its founder, Nicolas Gueusquin, relied heavily on his long-term relationships with some of the region’s oldest growers to produce this easy-drinking sparkler, which uses Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Notes of green apple and citrus which, paired with its abundance of bubbles, makes this a brilliant choice for celebrating special occasions. There’s a hefty dose of sweetness, but it’s also incredibly easily drinkable, and we’re awarding bonus points for the fact that the label’s top serving suggestion is to “pair it with oysters, baked goats’ cheese… or fish and chips.”

Asda Exceptional by ASDA Champagne Benoît Renaud Blanc de Noirs Brut

Made entirely with black grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), this fantastic fizz is incredibly well balanced, with an on-point acidity which doesn’t overshadow its gorgeous richness. We loved the initial toasty notes of brioche and biscuits, as well as the fruity aftertaste. Wines with more pronounced acidity pair well with seafood (due to the acidity’s ability to cut through any oiliness while enhancing delicate flavour notes) and this is another fantastic partner for fish dishes.

Morrisons The Best Signature Collection Vintage Champagne

"This Champagne, crafted from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, has undergone extended ageing in the cellar to develop pronounced floral aromas,” says Emma Jenkinson, wine sourcing manager at Morrisons. But don’t just take her word for it – in recent years, Morrison’s has earned major brownie points from the wine world for its range of sparkling wines (including its various award-winning crémants). This particular Champagne might not be the cheapest supermarket offering, but it’s a seriously moreish sparkler, with a delicate blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. We loved its dryness, as well as the floral and biscuity notes – a combination which added a freshness perfectly suited to hot summer days. A side note – we’re suckers for Moët & Chandon, and we struggled to tell the difference between the two in a blind test.

Co-Op Les Pionniers Champagne Non-Vintage

Co-Op has form when it comes to top quality sparkling wines, and awards bagged by its own-brand Champagnes include gold at previous Decanter World Wine Awards. Co-Op didn’t mess around when they launched this own-brand fizz – they joined forces with renowned Champagne house Piper Heidsieck. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay provide a top quality hat trick of grapes which infuse this wallet-friendly, golden fizz with a buttery creaminess alongside a subtle sweetness. Pair it with charcuterie or drink it as an aperitif.

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Blanc De Noirs Champagne

Another Champagne made entirely with black grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), this tipple is all about balance – the initial blast of fresh fruit soon gives way to delicious toasted notes, while the richness and well-balanced acidity add an unexpected complexity which ensuring it’s a Champagne which is still fabulously drinkable. The perfect partner for aperitifs and smoked salmon, it’s another Champagne with a gorgeous label and a bottle you’ll want to display loud and proud. Move over Moët…

Aldi Nicolas de Montbart Champagne Brut 

There’s something rather regal about this bottle, with its pure white label framed in gold. And without blowing our own trumpet, if you were wondering what this Champagne tastes like, you’ll be grateful for our review, because the website’s description is absolutely rubbish (read: non-existent). Perhaps Aldi is resting on its laurels – after all, in December 2025 the supermarket had to impose a four-bottle limit per customer on this Champagne due to its popularity. It’s another fizz which uses a combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, resulting in a wine which bursts with floral notes, but which is still wonderfully fresh, thanks to its distinct fruitiness. The abundance of soft, creamy bubbles makes this a great option for toasting special occasions.

Aldi Veuve Monsigny Champagne

Expect notes of apples, red fruits, citrus and strawberry when sipping this sparkler, which bagged World's Best Champagne at the World Champagne Awards 2025. Not so keen on cramming your five-a-day into a single bottle? Don’t panic, because toasty brioche notes ensure it’s wonderfully well-balanced, while subtle florals enhance its smoothness and delicacy, albeit with a crisp acidity which ramps up its drinkability.

Marks and Spencer Delacourt Champagne Brut

This M&S champagne uses the same combo of grapes as Coop’s offering (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) although in this case, selected reserve wines were added to ramp up the richness. We were wowed by its creamy smoothness, enhanced by notes of brioche and vanilla, although sparkling notes of apple and peach kept it fresh, lively and very, very moreish. It’s another bottle which bags extra points on account of its tasting notes – in this case, the recommendation that it pairs best with salmon, chicken….and triple-cooked chips.

Waitrose Brut NV Champagne

Waitrose teamed up with top Champagne producer Alexandre Bonnet to create this stone fruit-themed fizz. It’s a house famous for its pinot noir Champagnes, and we loved the way this one’s minerality perfectly complemented its subtle fruitiness. Its cuvée status is another reminder that this is a top quality tipple – cuvée refers to a Champagne made with the first pressing, designed to extract the purest, highest quality juice from the grapes. Oh, and if you’ve always wondered what type of glasses are best for champagne? We got the lowdown from Nicola Hattersley, buying manager at John Lewis. “A tulip shape with its slightly wider flute is best for champagne, as it allows the aroma to build in the glass,” says Nicola. “A traditional flute is perfect for both Champagne and Prosecco – the glass's narrower profile helps maintain the drink's bubbles longer and keeps it cool.”

Waitrose Rosé Champagne Brut NV

We’ll admit it – we were Rosé snobs until now, but Waitrose’s offering has prompted us to ditch the derision. It’s a deliciously fruity Champagne packed with a ripeness stemming from the use of Pinot Noir grapes from the Les Riceys area of Champagne – an area where monks (including Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, no less) have been producing sparkling wine for centuries. “Grower-producers make small batches from specific sites, so their wines tend to express a real sense of place,” says Peter King at The Yan at Broadrayne, Grasmere. When it comes to the wine pairing? Sip this one with aperitifs, and keep a few extra bottles close to hand for the main course. And dessert….

Tesco Finest Premier Cru Brut Champagne

Tesco claims that a longer ageing process is the secret of this Champagne’s success, which was an instant hit. Everything about it screams elegance – from the fine mousse (bubbles, to you and me) and the wine’s dainty lemon hue, to the way the notes of fresh apple, citrus and brioche all play their part, but never overwhelm. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of this easily-drinkable delight, produced by the region’s Union Champagne, one of the biggest producers of premier and grand cru grapes. A final bit of advice for fans of brut (dry) Champagne? “It’s hard to know how ‘brut’ a brut is when it comes to Champagne,” admits Dawn Davies, wine expert at The Whisky Exchange. “What you do know is that it will be less than 12 grams per litre, but unless this is written on the bottle or website (and it’s not usually) you won’t know. If you prefer drier styles, look for the word “extra” on the label. This means it will have less than six grams per litre.”

Harvey Nichols Premier Cru Brut Champagne NV

Granted, Harvey Nichols might not be a supermarket, but this fabulous bottle of fizz is still significantly cheaper than a bottle of Veuve, Ruinart or Bollinger. This deliciously dry blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes was assembled for Harvey Nichols by Lombard & Medot, a Champagne house founded in 1925 and based in the Champagne region’s town of Épernay, where its neighbours include Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger and Moët & Chandon. The tasting notes referenced notes of brioche (confirmed) and hazelnut (debatable), but the gorgeous hints of red fruits and florals were our favourite elements, making it another brilliant option for hot summer days. We recommend pairing it with seafood canapés.

• Laphroaig's latest limited edition whisky, Willem By Willem, comes with a taste of Hollywood

Travelling to a new country is always exciting, and whilst you're obviously there for the culture – the galleries, the museums, the architecture, if most people are being totally honest, it's just as much about going to a supermarket, hunting down a restaurant in a cave you saw on TikTok, and mostly, drinking your way through each new stop. Luckily for anyone planning a trip to Belgium, there’s a new Guidebook from CAMRA which will help plan your journey, purely based on the best of the country’s beers.

Spending the night with a nice Belgian blonde is probably quite an idyllic way to spend an evening abroad for most men, and CAMRA’s fully revised version of the Good Beer Guide Belgium showcases over 1,500 beers and 400 brewers for you to explore.

As well as beers, brewers, and blenders, most importantly the book shares the top 650 places to actually sit down and enjoy them. The book explores all regions of Belgium, including Brussels, Antwerp, Flanders, Brabant (Flemish and Wallonian), Luxembourg and Liege, with useful travel tips and recommendations on what to eat and where to stay. All this really means is that you can be one of the few people who can confidentially claim you didn’t use ChatGPT to plan your trip.

Beer is as historic and culturally important as the somewhat more traditional tourist activities, which is probably one of the reasons the guidebook is in its ninth iteration, this time with two forewords. The first has been written by Tim Webb, original creator and long-time curator of the guide, and the other by Yvan De Baets, co-founder of the famous De La Senne Brewery in Brussels.

The ninth edition has been written by beer and travel guide writer Tim Skelton, set to be published on 14th May. On writing the book, Tim explained: "I’ve lived in Benelux for over 30 years, visited Belgium more than 100 times, and thought I knew everything about the country. But researching this new edition of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide Belgium still led me to find undiscovered beer-y gems that I’d never previously been aware of." Sounds like you could almost out-expert a local…

• London is getting a Biscuitorium inside one of the fanciest food halls

When it comes to promoting whisky, we didn't think it could get much better than having Harrison Ford donning a kilt and going behind the scenes of the Glenmorangie distillery for a 12-part YouTube series.

But apparently it does, as the actor has now finished the series with an epilogue where he reveals that he has collaborated with the distillery, helping create the Glenmorangie Harrison Ford Limited Edition bottle.

Shortlist was lucky enough to be sent a bottle and the good news is that this is clearly a whisky that's packed with flavour.

According to Glenmorangie this has been a true co-creation with many a whisky cask being sent across the Atlantic by Director of Whisky Creation Dr Bill Lumsden MBE (cool job title, btw) until there was a pairing that suited Ford's taste.

The result is a whisky that is the traditional bourbon cask-aged Glenmorangie, topped with rare whisky finished in toasted Portuguese red wine casks.

It makes for a rather heady drink. First up on the nose you get a slight oakyness and a tang of zesty citrus, while the taste is packed with rich toffee and that oak is ever present, as if you are tasting a much older 16-18 year old tipple. This is all wrapped in zesty orange and luscious leather notes.

The packaging and bottle are really well done, too, giving everything a sophisticated feel — which is at slight odds to the tongue and cheekiness of Harrison Ford's meta videos throughout the campaign. But it proves that this is collaboration is as serious as it gets for both parties.

If you fancy a bottle yourself, then head to Glenmorangie's official site, where it's on sale for £75 (if and when it comes back in stock).

• This the best whisky you should be drinking

The fantastic Laphroaig x Willem Dafoe collaboration continues apace with the unveiling of a new limited edition whisky release.

Called, somewhat brilliantly, Willem by Willem this limited edition Laphroaig bottle has been created in collaboration with Sarah Dowling, Laphroaig’s Senior Whisky Maker, and the actor.

It is the first release that Dafoe has had an active involvement in since joining up with the whisky brand back in 2025 as a 'Friend of Laphroaig'.

Dafoe joined as brand ambassador in late 2025, starring in the short film Taste that proved he had the perfect blend of offbeat charm to front the whisky.

Shortlist was at the launch of this partnership and Dafoe hinted then that there were more things to come.

This new release is the culmination of this, with Dafoe "selecting from multiple expressions without tasting notes, guidance, or expectation".

The result is a bottle that will be released initially by ballot to those who have signed up to the Friends of Laphroaig membership.

As for the whisky, it comes with 'no notes'. Literally. Instead, Laphroaig and Dafoe want you to fill in the tasting notes yourself.

As for how Dafoe chose what went into the release, he explains in the press release: “I made my final choice based on the whisky that evoked the most curiosity about its taste – something I still can’t put my finger on, but that’s half the fun.”

Shortlist was lucky enough to receive a pesonalised bottle of Willem by Willem (top marks for spelling Marc right!) and it is an impressive and wholly different Laphroaig taste.

On the nose we got softer fruit notes rather than the normal peat associated with Laphroaig. The peat does hit in the taste, though, with spicy orange and dark chocolate notes throughout.

The finish is more of that famous peat, smoked bacon and pockets of pepper.

It's a strong, bold taste — as you would expect from a 14-year-old whisky that's been bottled at 52.7% ABV.

But there is a softness there, too, thanks to the oloroso sherry cask finish.

Willem by Willem is priced at £139. If you are part of the Friends of Laphroaig initiative, you can enter the pre-release ballot on Laphroaig.com now.

The whisky will then hit Selfridges from 1st May, and head to select whisky retailers in June.

• This is the best whisky — all taste tested

We all love London – it’s hard not to love a city packed with almost more pubs than people, stunning scenes, leafy green spaces, terrific theatres and more. The only downside of the city is that it doesn’t come cheap. In fact, it’s notoriously spenny. And there’s no better indication of inflation for an adult than a pint – once you’ve graduated past Freddo prices, naturally. And when it comes to the big smoke, there can be a big old price tag attached to a nice cold pint in your local.

Luckily, a new map has been created which serves as a Guinness Index (a Guinndex if you will), showing the price of a Guinness in different pubs across the UK, so you know exactly how much you’ll be shelling out.

The data has been collected via phone call by an AI bot, which asked each establishment how much a pint of the black stuff would cost at each pub. The prices were then added to the Guinndex map, showing the range of prices the black stuff goes for – starting at a measly £2.50 in a Spoons, and upward of a tenner in some, ahem, bougier establishments. Like any good map, the Guinndex has an equator of sorts, showing the North-South divide where the average pint price in the South (anywhere below Oxford, Cambridge, and Norwich) will set punters back £6.18, which is roughly 73p lower.

London, unexpectedly, is the home of some of the priciest pints, with plenty of red tagged locations showing a higher price than average for a pint. The Morpeth Arms in Westminster for example serves up a Guinness pint for £7.75, with The Windmill in Mayfair charging £7.80, and The Argyll Arms in Westminster setting drinkers back £8.25. The general rules apply that the further into central London and the closer in proximity you are to the bougier boroughs (Mayfair, Westminster), the more you’ll be shelling out. The Crown Tavern in Islington wins the prize for the cheapest London pint at the moment, reportedly costing just £3, restoring the faith and bank balances of London locals everywhere.

The map was made by software engineer Matt Cortland, after a Dublin bartender told him his pint would cost him €7.80 (£6.80). He initially rolled out an Ireland-exclusive version of the same Guinness map before creating its UK counterpart, highlighting the difference between how much it can cost across different establishments. He also explained he felt compelled to make the Guinndex after releasing officials stopped charting the price of a Guinness pint back in 2011, when the price was meant to be €3.93, and it was important for people to realise how much the prices change.

You can check out the map and have a good old browse at which pub you might want to head to next at guinndex.co.uk

• Add an extra-terrestrial tipple to your cocktails with a gin that's been to space

It can feel as though the only form whiskies come in are the ultra rare and expensive sometime, given how often news about them tends to include words like “auction” and “rare”. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with your Johnnie Walker Black Label, sometimes a collection of bottles come along that you just have to gawp at.

That’s certainly the case when it comes to a new acquisition from Hackstons, the London based whisky investment firm who specialise in premium whisky. The latest acquisition is a highly exclusive collection of American unicorn whiskies, bringing together some of the rarest, most sought-after bottles in the world, with some names you’ll definitely recognise.

You hear American whiskies, and you’ll probably think of Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is where most of the collection derives from. The cheapest bottles in the collection start at £210 for a W.L Weller eight year old bourbon, with the priciest at £2,400 for a Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old. The bourbons themselves are a mix of ages, ranging from an eight year old, to a 12 year old, with a couple of 20 year olds thrown in the mix too. Each bottle is not your average age statement, though, with each being a unique and rare release in itself, where the distillers were more experimental, producing a very limited number.

The full collection is:

• W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B. (Craft Your Perfect Bourbon) £210 - A rare people’s choice bourbon shaped by consumer demand and now a modern collector’s trophy. Wheated, eight years old, top-floor warehouse ageing, 95 proof.
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye £420 - A bold, uncut and unfiltered rye from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, celebrated for its intensity and complexity.
• Weller Full Proof £210 – Bottled at original barrel entry proof, delivering a purist’s experience of one of the world’s most famous wheated mashbills.
• Pappy Van Winkle 12-Year-Old ‘Lot B’ £450 - Widely regarded as the perfect balance within the Van Winkle range, combining prestige with exceptional drinkability.
• Van Winkle Family Reserve 13-Year-Old Rye £800 - A rare outlier in the Van Winkle portfolio and one of the hardest bottles for collectors to secure.
• William Larue Weller (Barrel Proof) £850 - Frequently named Whiskey of the Year and considered by many to surpass even the famed Pappy line.
• Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old £1,100 - An icon of the bourbon world, delivering extraordinary depth and complexity after two decades of ageing. The #1 rated bourbon in the world. At 20 years, the wheated bourbon has sat in wood long enough to develop a legendary complexity - think leather, tobacco, and dried fruits.
• Old Rip Van Winkle 10-Year-Old £350 - A vibrant, high-proof introduction to the Van Winkle legacy, prized for both flavour and accessibility. Bottled at 107 proof, it’s The 107!
• Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year-Old £2,400 - The ultimate expression of rarity and prestige, representing the absolute pinnacle of the bourbon market. This is the oldest and rarest expression. The barrels are meticulously selected from the heart of the warehouse to ensure they haven't become "too woody" after over two decades of ageing. This is a bucket list item. Most people will never see this bottle in person, let alone taste it. It represents the absolute ceiling of the bourbon market.

If you do happen to have whiskey money burning a hole in your bank balance and think it would be a useful investment or just a fun thing to get your own taste of, you can head to Hackstons to learn more, and even try and get your hands on one.

• Add an extra-terrestrial tipple to your cocktails with a gin that's been to space

As kids we’re all taught to reach for the stars — and it’s not just the Artemis II crew who took that literally, as distillers over at That Boutique-y Gin Company have been getting in on some interstellar action too.

The gin company is no stranger to creating the kind of bottles that sound like they've been thought up by a group of guys on a fun stag do coming down from an acid trip. Previous releases include an Alamedapocalypse Gin, which according to them “prepares [you] for that fateful day when sharks grow legs and try to take over the planet with their futuristic weaponry, razor-sharp teeth and cut-off jeans.”

The latest release is Moonshot Gin, and the liquid has been made entirely from botanicals that have been sent to space. Specifically, they were sent into the stratosphere at an altitude of at least 20km. This height means each ingredient would have been exposed to extremely low pressures – so low in fact that water and fluids in the body usually boil at body temperature, meaning that some interesting flavours will likely have been prised out of them. If that wasn’t astrological-tastic enough, they threw in some moon rock from a lunar meteorite just to spice it up a little more.

According to the tasting notes, on the nose you’ll get candied peels, starfruit, warming juniper, and lemon thyme. This deepens to cassia and black pepper and a rounded citrus sweetness balanced with a subtle savoury edge on the palate. The finish is rounded with a light touch of lemon sherbet and coriander seed.

Whilst you could drink it neat, the suggestion serving is to mix it up into a Gravatini… AKA a martini. With gravity defying ingredients, naturally.

You may think any thing related with inter galactic, NASA-esque merch would have an astronomical cost attached, but the gin is currently retailing for £21.95 via Master of Malt. So if you do happen to know someone who is obsessed with space and your budget doesn’t stretch to a telescope, then this might not be a bad second choice.

• This London pub is offering free World Cup pints every time England or Germany scores — But there's a MAJOR catch

The countdown is on — whether you’re running the race or cheering from the sidelines, the city will be taken over this weekend by the 2026 London Marathon.

Almost 60,000 runners will be lacing up on Sunday to tackle the 26.2 mile route from Blackheath to the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.

And if you’ve built up a killer thirst to go with the blisters, or just need to lubricate your throat after shouting yourself hoarse for all the charity runners, you’ll be looking for a spot to neck a pint or two during and after the race.

Who better to steer you to the right spots than the folks behind Eat Drink Meet? The site and app is designed to help people find great bars, restaurants and pubs near them, and the team behind it have been scouring its user’s contributions to see the most-loved pubs for marathon day.

So whether you’re looking for a pint along the route during the race itself, or are looking to celebrate with the hardy runners after the medals have been collected, these top recommendations from the Eat Drink Meet crew should have you covered.

Best for: stopping along the London Marathon route

1. The Railway Lee, Blackheath

The Railway, which is in the heart of Blackheath Village, combines great customer service with quirky charm making it the ideal place to stop off after the race gets underway. Anyone who brings their medal in after finishing will also be treated to a free pint of Camden.

2. Princess of Wales, Blackheath

Not far from the iconic marathon start line the Princess of Wales is the ideal spot to visit for a Sunday roast after seeing off friends and family. This is another venue where runners can get a pint of Camden on the house after completing the race.

3. Royal Standard, Blackheath

A stone’s throw from the Trafalgar Road section of the course, The Royal Standard is the perfect setting for a relaxing drink or a bite to eat as you spectate.

4. Gipsy Moth, Greenwich

The Gipsy Moth sits within view of the famous Cutty Sark and not far from the Creek Road section (mile 6 to 7) of the course. This pub is an ideal place to stop off while waiting for runners to pass by – or, bring your medal in after the race for a free Camden Hells.

5. The Mitre, Greenwich

After cheering on loved ones, The Mitre is ideal for a nice relaxing pint and something to eat. Guests can choose from a range of delicious burgers, a Sunday roast, or even a spot of brunch.

6. The Henry Addington, Canary Wharf

The Henry Addington is right in the heart of the iconic Canary Wharf and just a three-minute walk from the underground station, the bar is a brisk walk from the Canary Wharf section of the route making it ideal for cheering on friends and family.

7. The Southwark Tavern, Southwark

The Southwark Tavern is within view of London’s iconic Tower Bridge, and another prime spot on the route to relax with a pint or cocktail in hand after cheering on this year’s runners.

8. The White Hart, Waterloo

A few minutes’ walk from Waterloo train station, The White Hart in Waterloo is the perfect pub to visit during the marathon while you wait for loved ones to cross the finish line.

9. All Bar One Butlers Wharf, Bermondsey

With enviable views of Tower Bridge and the Thames, All Bar One Butlers Wharf is a great spot to wait for the runners who you may even see from the patio area, while enjoying a spot of brunch. If you’re a runner headed there after finishing, All Bar One are offering a free Limoncello Spritz if you show your medal. Book ahead here.

10. The Blackfriar, Blackfriars

The Blackfriars is only a few minutes from the Blackfriars section of the route and this Grade II Art Nouveau masterpiece is hard to miss when you journey through the crowds looking for a place to sit and catch your breath.

11. The Coal Hole, Strand

Another iconic venue, The Coal Hole is also Grade II listed and is part of the Savoy Court extension of the famous Savoy Hotel complex. With the finish line almost in site The Coal Hole is just a few minutes from the Victoria Embankment section of the route.

12. The Clarence, Mayfair

The Clarence is a 12-minute walk from Buckingham Palace, making it the perfect location to enjoy a quick pint or two while waiting for friends and family to cross the finish line.

13. All Bar One Tower of London

Another great spot to watch the runners go by is All Bar One Tower of London which is only a few minutes from Tower Hill, Fenchurch and Monument Underground stations. Runners can also claim their free Limoncello Spritz here too – so don’t miss out!

Best for: celebrating with friends and family after the race

14. The Sun, Clapham

Recently refurbished, The Sun in Clapham will be hosting a brass band to celebrate runners, and is an ideal setting for a laid-back drinking and dining experience as you recover from those gruelling miles.

15. White Horse, Fulham

After running the London Marathon, it’s time to to rehydrate and refuel with carbs. What better place to stop off than at the White Horse in Parson Green, Fulham which is just moments from Parsons Green Underground Station.

16. The Falcon, Clapham

The Falcon in Clapham is known for its quirky charm, gorgeous beer garden, and painted bright blue it’s hard to miss even the most tired runner. It’s also conveniently located next to Clapham North tube station to help save those tired feet.

17. The Hope, Wandsworth

Located on the edge of Wandsworth Common, The Hope is a firm favourite in Wandsworth thanks to its classic British pub food menu and its well-stocked bar making it ideal for some post-race hydration. This is another Castle pub that’ll be hosting a brass band – meaning a lively atmosphere is guaranteed.

18. The Railway Tavern, Clapham

The Railway Tavern is also a short walk from Clapham North Underground and Clapham High Street stations. With its cosy corners it’s the perfect place to relax, catch up, and share your memories of this year’s race with loved ones.

19. Hawkins Forge, Battersea

Hawkins Forge is nestled in the vibrant heart of Battersea and is just a short walk from Clapham Junction. For any runners living in or near Wandsworth Common or Clapham Common, it’s the ideal spot for your post-race recovery – a pint is on the house here, too.

20. Crown & Greyhound, Dulwich

The Crown & Greyhound is a recently refurbished pub in the heart of Dulwich and only a few minutes’ walk from North Dulwich station is the perfect spot to stop off post-race for runners making their way home to South London.

21. The Lamb, Chiswick

Full of character, The Lamb in Chiswick offers plenty of carb and protein-based food options to help with post recovery including the Sirloin steak sandwich, mushrooms on toasted sourdough, or a Devonshire cheddar and pancetta burger.

22. Lyttelton Arms, Camden

Another pub that boasts a great location is the Lyttleton Arms on Camden High Street and directly opposite Mornington Crescent underground station. With an irresistible fusion of tasty food, awesome drinks and an upbeat atmosphere it’s the perfect spot to enjoy that well-earned post-race pint.

23. The Washington, Hampstead

Just north of Primrose Hill, The Washington is a great venue for those runners making their way home to North London. This iconic location is a great way to end a memorable day of running.

24. Spaniards, Hampstead

This iconic Grade II listed pub sits close to Hampstead Village and Parliament Hill and after this year’s race you may see a celebrity or two enjoying a post-race pint at the Spaniards. Show your medal at this pub and there’s a free pint of Camden with your name on it.

25. Edinboro Castle, Camden

Nestled between Camden Markets and Regent’s Park the Edinboro Castle is well known for its cosy atmosphere and welcoming hospitality offering runners a diverse menu with a wide selection of craft beers and cocktails.

26. White Hart, Crystal Palace

The White Hart is well known for its charming beer garden making it perfect for enjoying some post-race refreshment in the sun.

After spending hours on your feet, whether running or cheering loved ones on, these 26 hand-picked pubs offer great food and drink and are ideal for helping you recover in style this weekend.

• The 11 best craft beer bars and pubs in London

Peroni made literal dreams come true in December when its fountain popped up on London’s Southbank, pouring free pints to passersby. Now, it’s back with a new and boozy instalment all inspired by beautiful Italian Renaissance art.

Usually, any couple going to see artwork comprises one person who is there for the culture, and the other who has been bribed with the promise of a gift shop and cafe visit. Peroni's latest free instalment will be uniting both parties in a very delicious way.

The installation is a full-on fresco - titled Il Fresco di Peroni, an optical illusion, mural-style piece which invites guests to step inside the only artistic masterpiece you can actually get a taste of.

It’s popping up in Covent Garden across the early May bank holiday, kicking off the long weekend celebrations from 30th April until Saturday 2nd May from midday to 8pm. It’s all about celebrating Italy’s cherished aperitivo ritual, which gets people snacking and socialising before dinner. So what better way to honour it than by a free (half) pint dispensed to you by a stunning artwork? Although it will be limited to one pour each, and you’ll have to be over 18.

The fresco, blending classical art with modern Italian style, is a large-scale artwork inspired by iconic Renaissance scenes, seen through a modern lens. It has been created by the artist collective Joy Collective, who have blended the traditional artistic style of Renaissance paintings you see around museums and galleries, with the more modern influences of, well, Peroni.

It will be nestled under three archways, giving passersby an architectural reminder of beautiful European cities, with the mural shining out from behind it, depicting an appertibo style ritual.

Similar to the Peroni dispensing fountain in December, the mural is a fun way to blend the historic with the refreshing, giving us a more novel experience than the typical bar pump.

• This London wine bar is serving up £5 glasses of Rosé every time the temperature hits 16 degrees

If you think about American bourbon, you’ll immediately - if inevitably - be thinking about Buffalo Trace and its delicious offshoots: Old Rip Van Winkle, E.H. Taylor, George T Stagg, amongst others. One of the stars in its rye crown is Eagle Rare, usually known for the 10 and 12 year old expressions. However, over at London's Bonhams Auction House on Bond Street, the brand is offering up something a little more unique: two bottles of its oldest ever expressions: Eagle Rare 30.

Celebrating the unveiling of the 30 year old bottles, Buffalo Trace Distillery is presenting a highly curated online auction of some of its rarest and highly coveted American whiskeys, meaning you could get your hands on it yourself, if you have a couple spare grand burning a hole in your wallet.

Running from 24th April to 8th May 2026, the sale will feature the first and second bottles ever produced of Eagle Rare 30 alongside a range of individual lots and curated collections from across the Eagle Rare portfolio - including 10, 12, 17, 20, and 25 Years Old - and we got to taste a dram of each.

Eagle Rare 17

First debuted in Buffalo Trace’s 2025 Antique Collection, the 17 is a phenomenal whiskey, and (until we tried the 30) our favourite from the brand. It's softer on the nose than its 10 and 12 counterparts, with a deeper and richer caramel oakiness. It offers a more open nose and a sort of sweet spot between the intensity from a longer maturation, and the gorgeous deep flavour.

The 17 is the best entry point into really stunning whiskey without wanting to add anything to help open up the liquid. Even if you don't typically drink whiskey neat, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy the 17 straight up. If you were going to cherry-pick just one bottle from the range to swipe a sip from, this would be ours.

Eagle Rare 20

The 20, which goes for around £3k, doesn't spend any time ageing within Eagle Rare’s temperature-controlled warehouse, unlike most of the other expressions, leading to something a little more unusual. It opens with a smooth tobacco flavour that’s quick to dry on the palate, giving a spicier taste. It has quite a bit of bite on the palate; it’s more intense and darker than the 17 with less sweetness.

Eagle Rare 25

The 25 was released in 2023 and has a much fruitier nose than the rest of the range. Hailing back to the beloved soft, almost Christmas cake reminiscent fruits that you’ll find in a lot of Scotch whiskies, the 25 is a surprisingly softer and almost fresher complement to the range.

Eagle Rare 30

The fairytale-esque rarest of them all, the Eagle Rare 30 is just exquisite. We almost didn’t want it to be as good as it is, being one of those cautionary tales about distilleries chasing age over quality, but alas, it is not. It tastes like a meal, being beautifully rich and soft whilst adding spice and leather to a light smoke. It almost reminded us of mezcal in the way it layers smoke with flavour, with neither overwhelming nor fighting the other.

The lots on offer are:

• Lot #1: The first bottle ever produced of Eagle Rare 30 Year Old, in addition to a private single barrel tasting experience featuring up to five Buffalo Trace bourbons hosted at either Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY or Buffalo Trace Distillery London, its tasting room located in Covent Garden. Estimate: £7,500-10,000.
• Lot #2: One bottle each from the entire Eagle Rare collection: 10, 12, 17-Year-Old (3 x 700ml bottles), a Double Eagle Very Rare, 25 and the second bottle produced of 30-Year-Old (3 x 750ml presented in their signature display cases). Also includes one-night luxury accommodations at Stagg Lodge, the Distillery’s VIP, invite-only lodge overlooking the historic campus. Estimate: £20,000-30,000.
• Lot #3: One 700ml bottle each of Eagle Rare 17-, 12- and 10-Year-Old as well as an Eagle Rare 10 single barrel pick experience hosted at either Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY or Buffalo Trace Distillery London. Estimate: £7,000-10,000.
• Lot #4 - #5: One 700ml bottle of Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old from the 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Estimate: £800-1,300.
• Lots #6 - #10: Each offering a six-bottle case of Eagle Rare 12-Year-Old (6 x 700ml bottles). Estimate: £700-1,000.
• Lots #11- #15: Each offering a six-bottle case of Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old (6 x 700ml, bottles). Estimate: £200-400.

The auction: Eagle Rare 30-Year-Old Bourbon Takes Flight: The Ultimate Eagle Rare Release is running at bonhams.com from 24 April – 8 May 2026.

• The 9 best jazz bars in London

One thing that pretty much unites all Brits is a love for the pub. Whether it’s your friendly local, or a riverside beer garden destination with stunning countryside views, pubs are the calling card of community and ultimately a bit of a favourite national pastime. However, for a growing number of people, the alcohol isn’t actually the main part of it, choosing alcohol-free options instead.

Sober Points is a brand new map that puts sober-friendly hospitality on the map. Driven by its community, Sober Points is a live map that keeps a fresh eye on the alcohol free scene across the UK, sharing the best restaurants and events that offer thoughtful and high-quality alcohol free options, so you’re not stuck sipping a lime and soda every time you hit the pub.

As it points out, choosing not to drink shouldn’t mean settling. There’s a wide range of places on the list, with innovative cocktail bars like The Alchemist in Battersea to Kentish Town’s Raven Records and Coffee. As well as chains like All Bar One, The Ivy, and Dishoom, you’ve also got more individual spots like Hawksmoor, The Mayfair Townhouse, and Cafe Murano.

Top cocktail bars like Dirty Bones in Soho have been added to the map, with users sharing a snippet of the kind of mocktails on offer and sharing some of their own favourites.

If you’re after a specific location, the map’s layout is super easy to navigate so you can find somewhere that works for whoever you’re meeting up with, without losing hours to going through your TikTok saved spots. It also allows users to review the venues in-app, so each guest can share real-time reactions to each spot, advising others about what’s on offer, and if it’s worthy of a place on the map. Rather than shifting through the numerous reviews on various other sites looking out for any that mention "alcohol free", the reviews uploaded on Sober Points will be specifically tailored to evaluating the options on offer.

It’s not just London that’s getting put on the map, with users uploading their favourite places across Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and further afield, proving once and for all that alcohol free is a central part of the foodie scene, not just an afterthought.

In its own words, the creation of the map is a long time in the making, as "For far too long, socialising has revolved around alcohol, not people. But now, the conversation is shifting, and we're here for it. Whether it's skipping a round or living sober, we're better than sugary mocktails and carton-to-flute juice. We want bold, grown-up, alcohol-free drinks. We want variety in sobriety. We expect choice.”

The site has been co-founded by web designer Sara Shipley and creative director Safiyyah Abu-Hulayel (formerly of Apple).

You can find the map here.

• Old St Records are giving away free drinks this month to celebrate old school vinyl

The Rolling Stones are pretty much synonymous with pure rock n roll, and a big part of that has to be the boozing lifestyle. Although scaling back on the hard stuff themselves, the band has released their first rum, called Crossfire Hurricane Rum, inspired by one of their most iconic songs.

Fans expected The Stones’ next release to be new music, thanks to the teasing of a new band, ‘The Cockroaches’, across London, which is similar to a tease the band did before the release of their most recent album, Hackney Diamonds. However, it looks as though the latest release is a little less lyrical and a little more liquid.

The spirit is a blend of rums, bringing together small-batch blends from some of Jamaica’s most respected distilleries. The process includes layering pot and column distillates and using diverse fermentation styles to create a rum defined by balance, depth, and "unmistakable Jamaican character".

Apparently, it has been inspired by the lyrics from their hit 1968 song Jumpin’ Jack Flash – “I was born in a crossfire hurricane / And I howled at the morning drivin' rain” for those who don't remember. The band also has links to Jamaica, having recorded their album Goats Head Soup in Kingston in 1972, with a couple of tracks on their Hackney Diamonds album having been recorded in Barbados.

The rum itself comes in two variations: Crossfire Hurricane Gold and Crossfire Hurricane Reserve. The former is a vibrant and versatile blend designed for mixing as well as sipping, with the latter being a more complex expression built around older pot-still rums for depth and high-ester character. From both, you can expect notes of caramelised bananas, tropical fruit and wood, with a sweet but subtle finish. And as you’d hope for with a rum, it’s a gorgeous golden colour, reminiscent of the sunshine on the Caribbean coast.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards co-created the rum alongside Ian Burrell, a Global Rum Ambassador, and well recognised as one of the leading figures on rum within the spirits industry. The release has been launched by Kite Drinks, a London-based spirits company. The bottles themselves are easily recognisable as Stones-related merchandise, with each bearing their iconic logo.

According to The Rolling Stones, they are “delighted to share [their] unique cultural bond with Jamaica through Crossfire Hurricane.”

They continued: “Our connection with the island goes back more than fifty years and remains an important part of our story. This new venture creates another way to connect with fans of all generations around the world.”

Speaking about the release, Burrell said: “With Crossfire Hurricane, the goal was to create a blend that truly reflects the island’s identity, combining rums from some of Jamaica’s most respected distilleries, balancing pot and column still distillates, and embracing the bold fruit, funk, and high-ester character that defines the category. The result is a rum with real depth and authenticity that honours Jamaica’s heritage while introducing a new generation of drinkers to the true character of Jamaican rum.”

Both rums are currently available to preorder in the UK, retailing at £37 for the Gold blend and £45 for the Reserve bottle.

• Old St Records are giving away free drinks this month to celebrate old school vinyl

There are some bottles of bourbon that you just know you can rely on for a cracking good dram – and one of the bottles probably springing to mind right about now will be a certain red wax sealed bottle that’s a stalwart of any decent drinks cupboard. Maker’s Mark has been gracing gatherings and adding flair to Old Fashioneds for decades, basically being a brilliant bourbon that pretty much everyone can enjoy.

Now, Maker’s Mark has unveiled the latest release in its Wood Finishing Series, a collection of bourbons that have been finished with a unique combination of wood staves. The featured wood staves have all been cooked or toasted to release unusual flavours and notes within the liquid. Sort of like a turbo-charged version of mixing different wood barrels.

You're probably familiar with wood barrels, which are used for traditional ageing and storage, as they offer slow oxygenation and build complex flavours. Wood staves, on the other hand, are the individual planks that make up a barrel, often used as inserts for faster, more controlled oak extraction compared to a full barrel.

The latest instalment in the series is the Stewards Release, reportedly a tribute to the distillery’s operations team, who guide the whiskey all the way from fermentation to bottling. Each bottle in the series so far has been named after a certain person or on a particular theme, celebrating everything whiskey.

The Stewards Release marks the midpoint of the second chapter of the Wood Finishing Series, which is set to wrap up in 2028. It follows the Heart Release in 2024 and the Keeper’s Release in 2025.

The liquid itself is a non-age-stated whiskey, distilled from the brand’s signature mashbill, consisting of 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley. After its initial maturation, the liquid is finished with 10 virgin toasted American oak staves. One of the things that makes this release unique is that the final product is bottled at two different proof points – one at 109.6 (54.8% ABV), the other slightly higher at 113.3 (56.65% ABV).

According to Dr Blake Layfield, master distiller at Maker’s Mark: "Consumers today want exceptional whisky, but they're also interested in the values behind the brand and the people who make it."

“Bartenders feel the same way. They want to know more about the process, the ingredients and the craftsmanship in what they pour. The Stewards Release brings that philosophy to life, inspired by the operational leaders at Star Hill Farm and the care that goes into every step of production,” he added.

It's hard to get your hands on a bottle here in the UK, thanks to the release being highly limited. It's retailing for around $70 in the US. There is one US-based site selling the bottle to the UK, though, so if you're a collector or connoisseur, you may want to check out Frootbat, which is selling it for £139.99.

• Scarfes Bar, Holborn: New Heroes & Villains cocktail menu tasted — including an ‘Iron Lady’ tipple that almost made us forgive Margaret Thatcher

The past few months have seen some fantastic releases in the world of whisky. We recently brought you some favourite Scottish Isles sippers for Burns Night and now we’re rounding up a much broader range of whiskies from around the world, just in time for International Whiskey Day (today).

Each is a new expression, some limited releases, others new core range additions, while one is unlike any whisky we’ve ever tried before. Despite all being very different in their own ways, they all share a common theme - sherry ageing.

The technique has become increasingly popular, producing well-rounded whiskies with a decadent, sweet body and finish. Whisky doesn’t have to be overpoweringly smoky and harsh, but peat-heads should probably look away now.

Redbreast Iberian Series - Moscatel Wine Cask

• 46%
• £85
• Buy it here

This is the fifth expression in the Iberian Series from Redbreast and the first since 2023, when we were among the first to try the Tawny Port Cask edition. Continuing the celebration of the distillery’s connection to the Iberian Peninsula, specifically the bodegas where casks are seasoned and selected, this whiskey adds a new dimension.

As usual, the single pot still spirit is aged in a combination of American bourbon and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, but this time spends its final months in Moscatel sherry wine casks from Málaga. In these, it rests for no less than 16 months, giving it a unique character with that quintessential Redbreast profile underneath.

Compared to the ‘sherry bomb’ editions of Redbreast like PX (Pedro Ximénez), the Moscatel bring a brighter, fresher vibe rather than rich dark fruits. Perhaps think of it as a summer sipper. In our tasting session, we found it zinging with fresh citrus peel and juice along with a floral tone, all supported by that silky sweet base nectar we love Redbreast for.

The Dalmore - Aged 17 Years

• 42%
• £175
• Buy it here

If you know Scotch, you know that the folks at The Dalmore are no strangers to sherry-aged whisky. It is part of the distillery’s core house style and its most recent release is neither limited nor annual, but a new part of the Principal Collection. This new whisky is particularly interesting on two levels.

Firstly, it’s aged 17 years, far more than a lot of other sherry-aged alternatives. Secondly, it’s aged in not one, not two, but three different sherry casks, all of which are sourced from The Dalmore’s longstanding partner, González Byass. The trilogy, following American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels, consists of Amoroso, rare Apostoles and Matusalem Oloroso, each affecting the spirit in a different way, including structure, depth and sweetness.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that this Scotch is weighty, with an excellently smooth and silky body. It’s not excessively sweet, but it’s hard not to liken the profile of the 17 Year Old to a tarte tatin, with juicy cooked apples dusted in warming spices and covered in luxurious boozy caramel. A rich, complex dessert whisky if ever we did taste one.

The Macallan - Night on Earth, The First Light

• 43%
• £99
• Buy it here

Alas, we couldn’t get our hands on The Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak (2026 Edition), but this alternative option from late 2025 earns a suitable place on any bar as we head into the warmer months - and costs less than a third of its stablemate. A little like the Redbreast, its profile has a brighter character, making it a great bottle to reach for on long summer evenings. A Night on Earth, The First Light is the fourth release in the annual series and pays tribute to New Zealand’s New Year traditions.

It’s aged in a combination of sherry-seasoned American and European oak casks with a small addition of American oak bourbon casks, too. It pours a pale straw colour and has a light body, making it an easy sipper. While there’s a good punch of boozy grain you’d expect from a Scotch of this calibre, the sherry cask ageing rounds the edges.

Rife with delicate notes, it’s a delightful journey of honeyed vanilla followed by floral notes and zingy hits of sweet shop classics like pineapple cubes and sherbet lemons. A mellow finish will lead you back for another sip and we’d wager The First Light would work rather well in a whisky sour, should you not consider using a single malt in a cocktail barbaric.

Compass Box - Hedonism 2026

• 46%
• £90
• Buy it here

The popular Hedonism series from Compass Box is back with a 2026 expression and, for the first time, has introduced sherry ageing into the making process. Hedonism made a statement when it first launched in 2000, being the first whisky to feature a woman at the centre of its label. This year’s edition features Scottish actress and filmmaker Karen Gillan, with artwork created by Emma Hack.

This is a blended grain Scotch whisky and this time includes whiskies as old as 30-years from Strathclyde Distillery, as well as 20-24 year olds from Port Dundas and Cameronbridge Distillery. The result is that while it has the recognisable character of previous Compass Box releases - a light, creamy whisky with a prominent coconut flavour - the anique sherry butt ageing adds a new quality to the expression.

To our taste, it’s more rounded, but the sherry influence remains restrained. This is no sherry bomb then, but the process adds depth of flavour with fruit and spices, plus the sweetness you’d expect. Fans of the Compass Box Hedonism series will no doubt want to add this edition to their collections.

The Orientalist - Dragon 12 Year Old

• 43%
• £56.95
• Buy it here

We’ve not come across anything quite like The Orientalist, Dragon 12 Year Old before and this whisky will be an intriguing purchase for anyone more inclined towards Asian spirits. The Dragon is made from a blend of whiskies from Japan, Taiwan and India. Yes, you read that right, not a thistle or highland cow in sight.

Each has been aged for 12 years before being finished in oloroso sherry casks. The Japanese whisky takes centre stage, making up most of the blend and this bottle comes in at a surprisingly good value price considering the age.

It pours the colour of golden syrup and is boozy on the nose with a strong punch of vanilla. The body is light, as you’d expect from a Japanese spirit, but the flavour has rich punches of spice, fruitcake and chocolate-coated nuts. It’s an unusual combination which makes for an interesting alternative to the usual players.

• Torabhaig Taigh single-malt whisky taste-tested: First core release from Isle of Skye’s smokey star distillery

‘Smoke with taste’ is the Torabhaig distillery’s mantra, but it’s only now defining the approach with a core, ongoing whisky expression. After wowing us with its Legacy Series small batch runs, it’s finally revealed its long-term bottling, Torabhaig Taigh.

And it’s been well worth the wait. Having a dram (or two. Maybe three…) at an exclusive launch event for Torabhaig Taigh in London, Torabhaig’s landed on an inviting single malt liquid that will attract peat lovers without scaring off those looking for a more delicate sip.

Torabhaig Taigh: In short…

• First core, ongoing expression from Isle of Skye distillery
• Peated single malt
• Lightly smoked
• Oak cask aged (bourbon, refilled bourbon)
• Madeira cask finishing adds sweetness
• A blend of Torabhaig liquids aged between five and seven years
• Bottled at 46% ABV
• Available now, priced £47

“What we've done with Taigh is we've taken nine years of our distilling history, and we've taken elements of the core that we produce — a profile that I designed in order to give you the best from the copper still to the palate that I wanted it to match,” Neil MacLeod Mathieson, Torbhaig’s master whisky maker, told Shortlist.

“If we're going to produce our first flavor profile that will stay with us for a while, we need it to be the same when people buy consecutive bottles. So it's very important to have an element of control.”

Taigh translates from the Scottish Gaelic for ‘house’, or ‘home’. And it’s obvious that this is a release that’s very special to the distilling team at Torabhaig.

“Taigh is the heart of Torabhaig. It captures everything we’ve been working towards since we first started distilling – a whisky with elegance, balance and character, where smoke enhances the flavour rather than dominating it,” Mathieson describes.

“First-fill bourbon barrels have always been the signature of Torabhaig and allow our Smoke with Taste philosophy to shine. But, the addition of Madeira in this expression brings a softening roundness to the spirit that we think makes this whisky especially welcoming.”

Neatly peaty

Those that love a heavily peated whisky — the Laphroaig’s of the world — may be surprised by Taigh’s delicacy, Mathieson says. That’s because, at least in terms of pure chemistry, Torabhaig’s expression is more heavily peated, despite the nose suggesting otherwise.

“We use Scottish peat to dry some of our barley, and we peat it to an element of parts per million — for the geeks amongst us, around about 80 to 85 parts per million, which is quite high,” he reveals.

“And you might think on the first nosing that you're not sensing this is really peaty, and it's not as strongly peaty as you might have anticipated, or it doesn't smell like Laphroaig.

“We can all agree that Laphroaig is a heavily peated whiskey. But here we have more parts per million than the Laphroaig. So chemical analysis shows the way ours is layered is that the actual cresols and phenols of the families do not come out of the glass the same way that Laphroaig does, but we have more of them in our glass.”

Tasting notes

Torabhaig Taigh proves to be a very hospitable dram, smooth with a lingering sweetness that makes it very approachable to those otherwise afraid of a peaty palate.

On the nose, there’s a hint of that smokiness suggested by the high peat content, but far from overwhelming, with a more woodland vibe present.

At first sip on the palate, the sweetness is very forward, reminiscent of crème brûlée, cinnamon and raisins. The finish remains smooth, with vanilla sticking around to the very end, with the red fruits of the Madeira aging rounding off the delightful dram. An evening spent in Taigh’s company is one to be remembered.

“We hope that you'll enjoy Taigh for years to come, because it illustrates to us what our home, our house, can achieve,” said a beaming Mathieson at the end of our tasting session.

“And that's harmony, balance, and a little bit of finesse.”

• The best whisky taste tested: 33 bottles our experts recommend

The UK is well versed in the seesaw temperatures that make up our weather forecasts – it’s not unusual around the March/April period to have snow warnings in the same week as you’re enjoying a mini heatwave. Case in point, last week. One strip of sunshine and London's pubs are packed.

Now, one lovely London wine bar is celebrating those small sunny wins by serving up discounted glasses of wine when it gets to 16 degrees. – sort of like a happy hour equivalent for warm weather. The deal is already up and running, and will be live until the end of April – mainly because if they did continue it throughout May, June, July (okay, any of the summer months), they’d definitely bankrupt themselves.

Half Cut Market has long been one of those in-the-know neighbourhood spots that feels like proper local London. A wine bar and bottle shop, it focuses on delicious natural wines of proper quality but that you can actually afford. As well as serving up wines by the glass, Head Chef Aidan Richardson (formerly of Brat) dishes up cracking plates, changing the menu up regularly to keep up with the seasonal shifts. Now the North London spot has decided to help Brits celebrate the sunny weather when it intermittently pops up with their £5 vino offer.

Rest assured that this isn’t just any glass of plonk, as top sommelier Holly Willcocks has chosen a vibrant and refreshing Reserve de Gassac Rosé from the South of France - best enjoyed on the sun-filled terrace and accompanied by Chef Aidan Richardson’s signature flatbreads and skewers cooked over flames.

Not that you needed an excuse to head out for a drink, but if you’re a North London local or just fancy exploring more hidden spots around Islington and Camden, then keep an eye on the forecast.

You can find Half Cut Market at 396 York Wy, London N7 9LW.

• London is getting a new restaurant where absolutely nothing is wasted

Bourbon and batteries aren't traditionally a natural pairing. One’s for slow sipping, the other’s for powering your phone, ideally not at the same time. Yet, scientists have found a way to bring the two together, and it’s actually pretty clever.

First reported by Popular Science, researchers at the University of Kentucky have worked out how to turn one of bourbon’s most useless byproducts, a thick, grainy sludge known as stillage, into a key component for energy storage, and luckily, there’s quite a bit of it.

For every batch of bourbon produced, you end up with six to ten times that volume in waste. In Kentucky alone, which produces around 95% of the world’s bourbon, that adds up quickly. Most of it is repurposed as animal feed or fertiliser, but it’s not easy to handle; it’s wet, heavy, and expensive to process.

Instead of trying to eliminate it, the researchers asked a better question: what if it could actually be useful? Their answer involves turning those leftovers into carbon materials that can be used in supercapacitors, devices that store and release energy quickly, used in everything from electronics to cars and power grids.

The process isn’t exactly kitchen-friendly, chances are, you won’t be doing it in an RV in the desert. The team subjected the stillage to intense heat and pressure, eventually transforming it into a fine carbon powder. From there, they created two materials: hard carbon, which helps store energy, and activated carbon, which holds charge thanks to its structure.

Put the two together, and you’ve got something genuinely useful. In lab tests, the bourbon-based electrodes performed about as well as existing commercial versions. In some cases, they even performed better. With hybrid versions outperforming current options by around 25%.

That’s the bit that matters. Plenty of experimental materials work in theory; fewer actually hold up when compared to what’s already out there. There’s still work to do before you’re charging anything with whiskey waste, but the early signs are promising. If it scales, it could offer a more sustainable way to produce energy storage devices, while also solving a pretty messy byproduct problem at the same time.

Not bad for something that usually ends up as soggy grain leftovers to feed farm animals. If nothing else, it’s a decent reminder that the most interesting breakthroughs don’t always come from brand-new materials, sometimes they’re just sitting there already, waiting to be chucked out.

• The 11 best craft beer bars and pubs in London

Do Brits ever need an excuse for a wee drink? Hell no. We manage to squeeze it into literally any occasion: a birth, a death, a bible story – literally any day of the week. “Oh, it’s a Thursday!” translating to "yes please, another round". Regardless, Spring means warmer weather which is definitely cause for celebration.

As well as some great new releases, with our mixology-making friends at MOTH delivering another corker, there are five old favourites and box-fresh offerings that we’re currently loving.

1. Rosaluna mezcal

If you are someone who regularly orders a Margarita, I implore you to broaden your horizons and try a Mezcalita. Smoky, layered, and still delivering that strong tequila punch that keeps you coming back, mezcal is a ridiculously slept on spirit that does not get enough clout. If a mezcal could be good for you, Rosaluna is – it’s the first Additive-Free Mezcal, Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, Vegan, Kosher, 0 Carb, & USDA Organic. But, more importantly, it tastes phenomenal. Imagine bottled sunshine with well balanced smokiness, and just a hint of sweetness.

2 . MOTH: Strawberry Daiquiri and Mango Margarita

MOTH managed to do the almost unheard of, taking an already semi-saturated market (tinnies) and redefined it. Although, once you taste their sleek-packaged black cans, you can easily understand why. Bar-quality cocktails that aren’t over-sweetened — no matter whether you reach for an Old Fashioned, a Pina Colada, or a Mojito, you will have a great-tasting tipple.

Now, they’ve just released two more crowd-pleasing flavours with a Strawberry Daiquiri and Mango Margarita. Given my ode to mezcal above, you can probably imagine that my favourite has to be the latter of the two. Keeping in tradition with MOTH’s MO for good-strength, banging-tasting cocktail that feels like you have a suspenders-wearing, moustachioed mixologist tucked in the back of your kitchen cupboard.

3. Ammos Vodka

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't buy a wine just based on how pretty the label is, but you can try out AMMOS vodka because of its bottle. I mean, if you've ever wanted a hint of cosplaying as a Grecian God without having to don a toga and flower crown or drop ££ on a flight to Santorini, then just pick up a bottle of this.

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, Ammos is crafted with two signature ingredients: naturally dry-cured black olives, and fresh Vakhalou lemons, bringing the Agean to your Monday Martini. It's a sharp, fresh flavour balanced with a delicate salinity.

4. Peroni 0.0%

Peroni isn't a stranger to a good 0% beer, being a firm fave of sober sippers (myself included) worldwide. Clearly though, the brewers are not stopping at giving the public just one option (thank God ) offering up two new twists on their 0% beer: Limone di Sicilia (Sicilian lemon) and Arancia Rossa (Italian blood orange).

They're the first flavoured offerings in the Peroni 0% range, and if you used to love (or still do) a good San Pellegrino but wished there was a more grown up version... Tadah! The pair are definitely not as hopsy and a little more juice-adjacent than what you'd normally expect from a 0% beer, but a nice one to know about before summer kicks off.

5. Harp of Darkness

If you love Guinness, you're going to either love or hate this new release: Harp of Darkness is a Black Irish Whiskey which isn't a gimmicky attempt to hop on Guinness' coattails but a delicious, layered whiskey in its own right. On the nose it's deep with treacle toffee notes, a hint of boozy chocolate and an earthy oak and coffee underneath. On the palate it opens out to a gorgeous dark malt flavour, with a hint of molasses and ginger snap richness. It has a creme caramel finish balanced with a woody clove and oak. Basically it's the best of Irish whiskey and Irish Stout in one – clearly, we didn't want to forget our memories of St Patrick's Day.

6. Soba Circus

For any non-drinkers or anyone looking for an option which will add a healthier twist on their springtime drinks, Soba Circus is a new alcohol free offering which is just as decadent as it looks. It's a blend of Nootropics, Green Tea, and Natural Caffeine which is supposed to help with focus, mood, and energy. It's definitely a unique tasting drink which won't remind you of anything you've tried before – it's a bit like kombucha in that it can really split people on whether they like it or not.

DJ & producer Nic Fanciulli – the leading man behind it tried out numerous recipes over three years before agreeing on the ‘one’, proving the alcohol free world is developing its offerings with as much intention and innovation as its boozy counterpart. If you're into alcohol-free options, it's one to try out.

7. Four Roses Bourbon

For anyone scratching their heads at the already very beloved Four Roses Bourbon being included in the list, in my defense, it's a classic for a reason. Currently, we're loving the bourbon mixed up in a couple of easy at-home cocktails. In particular a Four Roses bourbon Sidecar which is just 1.7 oz Bourbon, 0.7 oz Fresh Lemon Juice, and 1 oz Cointreau, all mixed up in a cocktail shaker with ice, then poured straight. Try it, and you'll see why it's on the list.

• The best whisky taste tested: 33 bottles our experts recommend

With St Patrick’s Day fast approaching, pub goers are preparing for their once-annual pint of Guinness. Though it’s boomed in popularity in the age of ‘splitting the G’, a pint of Guinness stout is still an acquired taste if you’re more used to a crisp larger.

• The best whisky taste tested: 33 bottles our experts recommend

Want something a bit quirky to chase it with? Try a dram of Harp of Darkness Black Irish Whiskey from Master of Malt.

Distilled to be the “ideal spiritual accompaniment to a perfectly poured pint” of Guinness, the cola-coloured Irish whiskey is a 41.1% 8-year old single grain, bourbon-like with a slightly charred nature — and a hint of liquorice that may well be a psychosomatic reaction to drinking a near-black whiskey.

What to expect

Master of Malt list the tasting notes as follows:

• Nose: Treacle toffee, brandy snaps, and boozy chocolate truffles, with polished oak, poached pear, spicy grain, and earthy coffee grounds beneath.

• Palate: Dark malt, chocolate-drizzled flapjack, salted caramel, with hints of molasses and ginger snap biscuits in tow.

• Finish: Crème caramel balances drying oak, with a touch of woody clove and bittersweet espresso.

It’s another playful bottle from the Master of Malt team, whose previous wares have included the chocolatey ‘Dalry Milk 16 year old’ — now discontinued, but well worth tracking down a taste of.

• 8 things to do in London this St Patrick's Day

Blackheath’s The Green Goddess is just one of four pubs to be nominated for a SIBA Business Awards 2026 pub of the year award.

The award in question is the UK’s Best Independent Beer Pub or Bar in a city location. The Green Goddess describes itself as a Beer Cafe and Microbrewery, and serves a whole heap of beers and ciders at any one time from an army’s worth of taps arrayed across its tiled bar.

It’s a pub from the Common Rioters Brewery, but it serves drinks from all sorts of breweries, including Siren, Lost and Grounded, Queer Brewing and Verdant. The selection is awesome.

SIBA’s other contenders are the Fell Northern Quarter in Manchester, York’s Old Grey Mare and The Coach in Bridgend.

We’ll find out if The Green Goddess snags the award when the ceremony itself takes place on March 18th at Liverpool’s BeerX.

“The businesses revealed as finalists in the SIBA Business Awards 2026 have shown judges just how exciting, vibrant and important the independent brewing industry really is in the UK,” says SIE’s Andy Slee.

The Best Independent Beer Pub or Bar is just one of the many gongs up for grabs at the SIBA Business Awards, but it’s the only one that offers us a target for our next pub outing in the capital. You’ll find The Green Goddess nearby Greenwich Park. It’s closest station is Westcombe Park, which is roughly a 15-minute walk away from the pub.

Here are the other awards categories and nominations in this year’s SIBA Business Awards. Some are largely only of industry focus, but there's plenty here for the average beer fan too:

Marketing Implementation

• Charnwood
• Fyne Ales
• Indie Rabble
• Ossett

Sustainable Business

• Adnams
• Fell
• Good Chemistry
• Muntons

Community Engagement

• Bristol Beer Factory
• Gan Yam
• The Coach
• Three Brothers

Individual Design

• Fell, St Sunday Lager
• Fyne Ales, Rook
• Jennings, Lorton Ale
• Moonwake, Dolcita
• Twice Brewed, All Out of Bubblegum

Concept Design

• Fyne Ales, Origins Project
• Jennings, Re-brand
• Ossett, Rat Range
• Queer Brewing, Re-brand
• Tap Social, Core Range

Business Innovation

• Fable
• Three Brothers
• NOA Bakehouse

Commercial Achievement

• 40ft
• Anspach & Hobday
• Bollington
• Tap Social

Diversity Champion of the Year

• Indie Rabble
• Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
• Queer Brewing

Employer of the Year

• Fell
• Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
• Tap Social

Best Collaboration

• Ampersand x Norwich University of the Arts
• Attic x Cross Country Trains
• Full Circle x Greggs
• Fyne Ales x Co-op 

UK’s Best New Independent Brewery

• Howe Beer Project
• Jennings
• Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing 

UK’s Best Independent Brewery Taproom

• Bellfield
• Fyne Ales
• SALT
• The Indian Brewery 

UK’s Best Independent brewery Webshop

• Anspach & Hobday
• Hackney Church
• Indie Rabble

UK’s Best Independent  Beer Retailer

• Pivovar
• Stirchley Wine & Spirits

UK’s Best Independent  Beer Bar or Pub – City

• Fell Northern Quarter, Manchester
• Green Goddess, Blackheath
• Old Grey Mare, York
• The Coach, Bridgend

UK’s Best Independent Beer Bar or Pub – Rural

• Northstowe Tap & Social, Northstowe
• The Crafty Dragon, Whitchurch
• The Bailey Head, Oswestry
• The Brewers 1841, Ossett 

Brewers’ Brewer of the Year (Brewer nominated)

• Dan Gooderham, Adnams
• Fiona MacEachern, Loch Lomond
• Harry Gwilliam, Attic Brew Co

Supplier Associate of the Year (Brewer nominated)

• Brand Weaver
• BREWW
• Inspiration
• LemonTop

• The 20 best first date restaurants in London

Shortlist found itself in Banking Hall this week, a prestigious venue in the heart of London’s financial district renowned for its historic grandeur.

Nearly 100 years ago, the art deco building was built to house the headquarters of Lloyds bank, but we weren’t in its lofty halls to beg for a loan but to sample something that was bang on the money taste wise.

Our drink of choice for the evening was Diplomático Chancellor, the rarest rum from the famous Venezuelan distillery’s reserves. Just 900 bottles of the rum have been produced, making this an incredibly special limited release.

It’s an ultra-rare expression that is part of the brand’s Prestige Range — other liquids in this range are the Ambassador and Single Vintage.

Given this is a drink to be savoured, taste testing the Diplomático Chancellor came with its own incredible accompaniment — a piece of music composed, and played on the night, by Venezuelan composer Clara Rodriguez.

This wasn't just background music to our sips but something that has been composed using the tasting notes of the rum as a guide.

Aptly, the piece has been titled ‘The Chancellor’s Treasured Notes’ and has been created in association with Oxford University which has been researching ‘sonic seasoning’, the act of adding music to food and drink to enhance the experience.

“We divided the music in three parts, like the way you experience the tasting of the rum,” said Rodriguez.

Each note used in the piece specifies a particular part of the tasting. The low bass notes hint at the tobacco-like finish, a 3/4 waltz tempo for the sweeter vanilla notes and a fantastic rhythm section that brings in the spice and dried fruitiness of the whole thing.

You can listen to the track below to get an understanding:

Speaking about the rum itself, Elena Petrov, Global Brand Director at Diplomático noted: “We are inviting the world’s most discerning collectors to experience our most complex and refined expression yet.

"It is a rare, unhurried masterpiece designed for those who understand that true luxury is found in the depth of the story behind the spirit.”

As for our thoughts on the tasting, with or without the music, this is a special drink.

We got hits of butterscotch and vanilla, raisins and that tobacco hit lingers long after the last sip. There’s a real complex earthiness to Diplomático Chancellor that slowly makes way for a sweet treat.

If you fancy treating yourself, then you can buy a bottle of the Diplomático Chancellor exclusively from The Whiskey Exchange for £1,900. Just don’t forget to put the track on while you take a sip.

• The best rums to try — all taste tested

• The 20 best first date restaurants in London

If there is one drink that screams sophistication, it’s the martini. The drink that launched a thousand cool city-women in sitcoms, James Bond’s tipple, and Stanley Tucci’s go-to, it’s a cocktail that takes ahem, some getting used to, but will give you that sense of je ne sais quoi for the rest of your life. If a power suit was a drink, it would be a martini. And whilst London serves up enough cracking cocktails to fuel a (rather tipsy) army, one spot is now officially home to the world’s coldest martini.

Bob Bob Ricard in Soho has had no shortage of iconic drink-based moments, being the home of the famed ‘press for champagne’ button. Now, they’re serving up the world’s coldest martini at a shocking -22*C.

Presumably by having some seriously strong freezers, the swanky Soho joint doesn’t use any ice, trickery, or dilution to achieve the alcoholic equivalent of Antarctica. The team takes the liquid as low as it can go without freezing, as it generally freezes around 25-27 degrees, so they take it to the max without causing icicles to form. Plus, to maintain the whole chilled vibe, the waiters serve the drink (tableside) in frozen martini glasses. You can choose either gin or vodka as your base as usual, but everything else is minimal – no fancy garnishes, twists, or tricks, as the quality of the liquid and the process speaks for itself.

If you’re someone who is serious about their martinis this will be music to your ears, and if you’re not that fussed about martinis, well, why did you click on this article? Kidding. If you’re trying to get into martinis which can be a part-time job in itself, then this might not be a bad one to try, as the colder alcohol is, the less overwhelming the strength and bitterness, meaning you can appreciate the flavour better.

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You can always rely on the Scots to dish up a cracking whisky – whether it’s a single malt, a blended bottle, or a peated offering, there is literally no end to the different drams on offer. Glen Scotia has added to the lineup with a new limited edition single malt whisky.

The release comes in celebration of the annual Campbell Malts Festival which puts Scotland’s smallest whisky region in the spotlight, drawing whisky lovers from far and wide.

This particular whisky is a seven-year-old single malt which has matured in a mix of bourbon and port barrels. The first maturation is an extended period in first-fill bourbon barrels, with the second being a six month stint to finish the whisky in the ruby port barrels. The liquid itself is a vibrant, layered dram that marries the ripe red fruit sweetness with a gentle peat smoke and warming spice for a rich but light taste. Each sip contains that distinctive maritime note which is distinctly Glen Scotian. Think of a mix of bonfire woodsmoke with that tonic-fresh coastal air that whips away a hangover in seconds – it’s that mix of intense richness with a smooth, light feel.

The whisky itself is available online and at specialist retailers, priced at £59, and is bottled at cask strength (53.9%). The festival itself runs across 19th and 20th May, a couple of days after World Whisky Day which takes place on 16th May. Guests at this year’s festival will get a taste of Glen Scotia’s character through a range of workshops including ‘Big Campbeltown Character’, which will explore the tropical fruit, coastal notes and oily texture of the new Glen Scotia 12 Year Old with Loch Lomond Group’s master blender.

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Do you have things you end up going to mostly just because your friends want to? Beer festivals have often felt like one of those to me.

Thoroughly undeserving of a CAMRA member's card, flat pints that taste of pissy nettles are not really my bag. I have memories of finding a cider that basically tasted of fruity petrol a relief one year at London’s Great British Beer festival.

Liquid Dreams is nothing like one of those traditional ale festivals, though. It’s held in a pub in Notting Hill, and rather than dealing in tokens or payments per pint, a ticket gets you a wristband that lets you try as many beers as you want. And there are a lot of them.

Despite only taking place in a "normal" pub, Liquid Dreams is laid out like a theme park, or one of those open-world video games where you turn a corner and suddenly find yourself in an entirely different kind of exotic biome.

In the place of the usual taps, where you might typically expect to find your Madris and Stellas, is a generous line-up of sour beers. Around the other side of the bar is a lethal run of some of the most intimidatingly high-ABV drinks of the entire fest.

This may not sound like the friendliest face for a beer festival, but there’s a genius to it. By putting some of the more audience-dividing stuff up front in the main bar area, you’re encouraged not just to camp out there, but to explore.

Down in the bowels of the pub is where you’ll find the main IPA, DIPA, TIPA, NEIPA — and so on — selection, set up beside seating that makes this underground area feel a bit like a miniature Bavarian beer hall.

Up the stairs is a hole-in-the-wall through which you can take part in a triple tipple tasting menu of barley wine, an 11% chocolate stout and 15% rye wine. Before washing it down with a far more approachable glass of Toppling Goliath IPA from Pseudo Sue. It's the rare sub-5%ABV beer at Liquid Dreams.

On top of it is a —new for this year — Czech area home to some excellent and relatively easygoing pilsners as well as more unusual fare.

And out in a garden patio area is a miscellany that covers everything from a table beer and a 3.4% Ginger Beer to tangy Saisons and Lambics.

Liquid Dreams shows what a rainbow of flavour beer can actually be. And far from an event for craft-heads who consider boring on about their plans to create their own small batch hobby beer, there’s a totally unpretentious and welcoming feel to the whole thing.

Oh, and no big queues, no groups of drunken idiots, despite being awash in double-digit-strength beers.

A lot of the drinks at Liquid Dreams are the sort of higher-end bottle shop fare many — myself included — would be too apprehensive to order for fear of spending a small fortune on a can or bottle that is borderline undrinkable.

There was very little of that at Liquid Dreams, although I sure was glad we took the barman’s advice and only tried a little of the Pohjala Roggenwholf 13% Rye Wine. It sells for £13 a 330ml bottle online, but that might well take you a whole evening to finish.

Liquid Dreams only lasts two days, and three five-hour sessions, each year — and it's now over for 2026. Keep an eye out for 2027 plans, as the festival was, if anything, even better this year than last. But for now, here are some of the beers we recommend checking out that we tried at the festival:

1. Vault City You Won’t Believe It’s not Crumble

6%

Apparently, this is a sour, but you could well mistake it for a fruit smoothie. It takes a short eternity to pour thanks to its sheer thickness, but is well worth experiencing. It's is far more welcoming than most sours despite its solid 6% ABV. Sweet but not cloying, and lacking much of that distinct twang of a standard sour, this is just a delight. Tasting notes talk of cherries, strawberries, plum, pear, apple and cinnamon, with a pastry crust. But it’s the rounded-off berries that run things here.

2. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine 

9.6%

Dangerous, this one. Its high strength means this beer is classed as a barley wine, but it is ridiculously drinkable given its alcohol content. The main flavour hit is, like the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, a super hoppy profile, while the malty body of the beer just trucks along under all that spotlight-stealing hoppiness, using Chinook, Centennial and Cascade hops.

3. Arpus x Outer Range Watermelon Smoothie

4.5%

This watermelon sour would be a great entry point for those somewhat unfamiliar with this beery subgenre. Up front, there’s that unmistakable hit of watermelon, with an undertone of lime to bring a complexity and citrus body to the flavour. But as it slopes off the palate, there’s a minty echo, like finishing off a meal with a refreshing mint as the bill arrives at a restaurant. Except this time it’s with each mouthful.

4. WarPigs Elite Human 

6.5%

Like your IPAs absolutely packed with flavour? Check out WarPigs’s Elite Human, which can be picked up for around a fiver a can. There’s multi-layered fruitiness here, loads of hoppy punch and a creaminess to the backend that made it a contender for the most memorable IPA of the festival, at least among those we tried. It’s a New England IPA-style beer.

5. Kees X Omnipollo Stroopwaffel

10%

OK, so a stroopfwaffel is a snack where two wafer-y biscuit layers are held together with a shallow pond of syrupy caramel. But we concluded Kees X Omnipollo Stroopwaffel, an Imperial Stout, was as much like a beer take on the espresso martini. Initially provocative to some palates, it’s a lovely sipper, apparently brewed with actual stroopwaffel and cinnamon. The tap had this one at 10%, but online listings suggest it’s actually a 14.8% beer. Yikes.

6. Pressure Drop Vienna Lager

5.2%

A lager with a bit more, this one. More flavour, more body and — well — a bit more alcohol content than some too. And yet there’s also nothing so specific to the flavour it’s likely to turn off the kind of person who mostly just enjoys a fairly straightforward lager. There’s a “subtle toasty note” mentioned in the tasting notes that might be what helps this Vienna Lager subtly stand out.

7. Baron Sea Legs

8.2%

Liquid Dreams is an absolute dream for lovers of IPAs of all types. Stacks of great ones. But we finished the evening off, with the last orders bell ringing, with Baron’s Sea Legs. It’s a west coast double IPA with a flavour profile that matches complexity with quaffability. Citrus, hops and a pleasant edge of tropical fruits. You’d never guess it was 8.2% — not until you felt the alcohol kicking in anyway.

8. Bohemia Regent pilsner

4.7%

This is the kind of beer you might not expect to see a) at a beer festival or b) on the list of recommendations from one. It’s a 4.7% pilsner, what would have been a normal stat profile for cans you might buy for home before the big brewers started chipping away at ABVs so aggressively. But it’s something special, a Czech pilsner you perhaps should hunt down a 6-pack of for the fridge. It has that pilsner clean sharpness and slight floral notes.

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A North London brewery has picked up CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer of the Year Award.

London Brewing’s Beer Street won the accolade, which will see it go on to compete for the title of Supreme Champion 2026.

The beer is London Brewing’s “take on a traditional English bitter” and is a 4% ABV drink, while the tasting notes mention “well-balanced bitterness, brewed with Goldings and Fuggles hops, with hints of toffee, dried fruits, dark chocolate and a nutty rye finish.”

London Brewing is based in North London, and runs The Bohemia pub in North Finchley, where Beer Street is one of the site’s “house-brewed craft beer” options.

Brewing a winner

Here’s how judging panel co-ordinator Christine Cryne described the winner. “A sparkling golden amber bitter, with spicy rye and a roasty nose, sweet biscuit on the flavour, where the spicy rye notes increase and linger in the dry and slightly bitter finish. Very easy drinking.”

Very nice.

Other runner-up winners at of the awards were Cairngorm Black Gold, a 4.4% stout, which won the silver award. And Green Jack’s punchy 10.5% Baltic Trader Export Stout took the Bronze award.

These winners were crowned during the Liverpool Beer Festival, following “blind tasting” regional heats.

“We’re absolutely delighted that our best bitter, Beer Street, has been named Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2026 by CAMRA. We’ve been brewing Beer Street since we founded the brewery in 2011, and it’s a real testament to the skill and dedication of our head brewer, Alex, that he has continued to refine and elevate the recipe over the years,” says London Brewing director Senan Sexton.

We’ve been unable to find a crate of Beer Street online, but according to The Bohemia’s website you can try a pint of the stuff at the brewer's pub for a mere £4.95.

Its other cask beers include the 3.4% London Lush pale ale, the 3.4% Flying the Mags ruby mild and Top Pocket, a 5.2% English IPA. The Bohemia sits a few minutes’ walk from the Woodside Park tube station, which is on the Northern line of the Underground.

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There are few things a margarita can’t cure. The calling card of a Friday night or a holiday, the simple tequila based cocktail has soared in popularity in the last few years, with the post pandemic years being for margs what Covid was for banana bread. Now, El Tequileno’s famed - and award-winning - Margarita Mile is returning to London. Get your maracas at the ready…

In honour of Margarita Month, the Margarita Mile runs from 16th February to 16th March, where London bars and restaurants will be serving up an exclusive El Tequileno margarita, with each venue putting its own twist on the classic cocktail.

Although it started in Manchester, the London Mile has been running across East London since 2024. This year, for the first time ever, there will be a second mile which runs across central London, so no matter where you are, there will be a marg close by. Which coincidentally is pretty much my life mantra.

Venues taking part include the great and the modern – from the UK’s first tequila bar Café Pacifico, Clerkenwell Mexican pub The Gunmakers, to NYC-inspired Dirty Bones, to the vibe-packed Ellie’s in Dalston. You can go to Margarita Mile’s website to map your own marg route using their official digital maps. No tickets, email sign-ups, or secret passwords are needed, just grab a map - and preferably a mate too - and join in. This is the kind of venturing I can get on board with – where was this in DoE?

The idea is to take on the challenge and complete one of the miles. It’s all about celebrating the culture and legacy behind the classic margarita. And it’s not all about boozing either, as there are a couple of official non-alcoholic partners supporting the margarita mile, dishing up 0% cocktails so everyone can raise a glass.

Central London venues

• Side Hustle
• Café Pacifico
• The Vault
• Henson's Bar and Social
• Chotto Matte Soho
• TANGRA
• Amathus Soho
• El Camion & The Pink Chihuahua
• Bantof
• Sophie's
• Jack Solomons
• Dirty Bones Soho
• Karma Sanctum
• Dirty Bones Carnaby
• Kamara
• Black Horse
• Shochu Lounge

East London locations

• Corrochio's
• CINCO
• Ellie's
• Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes
• Odyssey Bar & Lounge
• Amathus Shoreditch
• Callooh Callay
• The Hoxton Shoreditch
• The Light Bar
• Star of Bethnal Green
• Brat x Climpson's Arch
• La Camionera

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London is packed with brilliant boozers – from old man locals or underground speakeasies, one thing you can rely in the capital for is a good old knees up. One thing constantly all over the Soho streets and Tiktok feeds is a display of the big smoke’s cracking cocktail bars, and now the Top 50 cocktail bars for 2026 have officially been named, with plenty of London entries.

Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green was the highest ranking London spot on the list, securing third place overall. This is actually a bit of a slip down the list since the previous years, having clinched the top spot in 2025 (and 2023, and 2019), but was pipped this year by spots in Liverpool and Birmingham. It’s known as London’s “bartender’s bar”, swapping the hoity-toity heights of, ahem, some London cocktail bars for character, uniqueness and warmth. You’ll be served up some seriously impressive tipples, and despite its laid back attire serves up a rotating carousel of around and up to 400 cocktails.

A further four London cocktail bars made it into the top ten, meaning a solid 50% average. This is bang on consistent with the ratio on the rest of the list, as London spots have bagged 25 out of the top 50.

Waltz in Shoreditch made 5th place, followed by Amaro Bar in Kensinhton and Bar Termini in Soho which came in 7th and 8th spot. The last London local to make the list was Tayer + Elementary in Shoreditch.

Topjaw favourite (aka one of the most given answers) Three Sheets in Soho made the list, taking spot 11, with its Dalston sister site also making the list at number 32. Hot on its heels was Side Hustle in Covent Garden in 12th place, and Swift, Soho which ranked number 15.

Outside of London, Couch and Bar Glue took 1st and 2nd place, with Hull’s evocatively named The Brain Jar in 4th. The only other two non-London spots in the top 10 were Schofield’s Bar in Manchester, and Panda and Sons in Edinburgh.

The full London list was:

• 3. Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green
• 5. Waltz, Shoreditch
• 7. Amaro Bar, Kensington
• 8. Bar Termini, Soho
• 10. Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch
• 11. Three Sheets, Soho
• 12. Side Hustle, Covent Garden
• 15. Swift, Soho
• 18. Archive & Myth,
• 19. Kwãnt, Mayfair
• 21. Murder Inc, Soho
• 25. Lyaness, South Bank
• 26. Equal Parts, Bethnal Green
• 31. The Connaught Bar, Mayfair
• 32. Three Sheets, Dalston
• 33. Viajante87, Notting Hill
• 35. Scarfes Bar, Holborn
• 36. 🔶🟥🔵, Hackney
• 37. Bar Kinky, Fitzrovia
• 39. Dram, Soho
• 43. The Spy Bar
• 44. Happiness Forgets, Hoxton
• 45. Disrepute, Soho
• 46. Opium Cocktail and Dim Sum Parlour, Chinatown
• 48. SOMA, Soho

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Whisky can have a bit of a reputation problem. For every friendly dram shared at the pub, there’s still that lingering image of hushed tasting rooms, complicated jargon and people arguing about peat like it’s a personality trait. Thankfully, Welcome to Whisky is back in London with one very clear mission: make whisky fun again, and maybe even approachable.

Returning after a strong debut last year, the event is once again landing at Glaziers Hall on the Southbank, running across two sessions on 27 and 28 February. More than 250 whiskies from over 40 global producers will be poured across the weekend, giving newcomers and seasoned fans alike plenty of excuses to expand their palate without feeling like they’ve accidentally walked into an exam.

We popped along to last year’s show and can confirm it delivered. We learned a surprising amount about how whisky is made and how to actually taste it properly, while getting stuck into some genuinely exciting pours you don’t usually stumble across at your local. Also worth a very specific shout-out to the frankly enormous Scotch eggs on offer, proof that whisky events understand that good drams deserve serious snack support.

Last year’s event drew over 700 visitors and quietly helped shake up expectations around whisky audiences, with women making up nearly a third of attendees. The idea is simple: swap intimidation for curiosity and give people a chance to discover what they actually like, rather than what they feel they’re supposed to like.

The 2026 line-up mixes heavyweight whisky names with emerging distillers and independent bottlers. Familiar Scottish icons, including Lagavulin, Talisker and Highland Park, will sit alongside producers closer to home like The English Whisky Co., while brands including Douglas Laing & Co, Glenallachie and The Heart Cut will showcase upcoming and exclusive releases.

Education remains a major focus across the weekend, with talks, demonstrations and masterclasses led by industry experts, including Bushmills UK ambassador Janice Snowden. There’s also the return of The Heart Cut’s Half + Heart pairing experience, which matches whisky with low-ABV beer, an unconventional but surprisingly accessible way to explore flavour.

For anyone still feeling unsure where to start, dedicated 101 stands and an ‘Ask Us’ counter will be dotted throughout the venue, offering advice, recommendations and reassurance that there are no wrong answers when it comes to taste.

Tickets are available now, starting from £50, with talks and demonstrations also available for booking.

What's in our trolly right now

• A new map shows the London pubs which are at the highest risk of closure

London is a city with brewing tradition in its blood and a plethora of great venues to enjoy beer as varied as the city itself. From cosy traditional pubs to brewery tap rooms and bars with almost uncountable taps, there are options to suit everyone.

We pick our favourite locations for a pint alongside Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans, the founders of YouTube’s Craft Beer Channel and authors of The London Craft Beer Guide. We also feature a couple of favourites from Shortlist-reading London pub goers. Cheers!

The best craft beer bars and pubs in London: Brad and Jonny's picks

Jonny Garrett, Craft Beer Channel co-founder, picks:

1. The Hope
48 West Street, Carshalton SM5 2PR

There aren't many reasons to go to Carshalton unless you live there – but the Hope might just be enough. There is simply no other place like it – a huge, mock Tudor building that serves as the unlikely setting for one of the best beer lists in the capital. There's a fantastic line-up for traditional and modern cask ale, the perfect mix of local keg beer and beautiful German imports, and a permanent Imperial Stout line where Guinness would usually be. Pair that with their iconic Hot Pot meals – cooked by a former school dinner lady and served with crusty bread – and a day-long buzz of locals and beer-geek pilgrims and you will never want to leave.

2. Beer Merchants Tap
99 Wallis Rd, London E9 5LN

There is no brewery, bar or pub in London that has a better tap list. Owned by the folks who run Beermerchants.com, the 24 keg lines and two cask lines are complemented by well over 300 beers in the fridges. That means you can find everything from 14% pastry stouts to gluten-free lagers, via hazy IPA from just about every hype brewery you can think of. Better yet is the collection of wild ale and often very rare lambic, a real rarity in bars these days. All of this is hosted in a former book warehouse in Hackney Wick, which makes for a diverse crowd, some of whom are just there for foamy pints of Paulaner and others hosting impromptu bottle shares as they mine the fridges for gold.

3. Ye Olde Mitre
1 Ely Ct, Ely Pl, London EC1N 6SJ

If you're looking for great beer in proper central London, choices are pretty limited. Most people will send you to the Harp, which great if you can get inside the place. When things are liable to get busy, I prefer to take the detour to Hatton Garden and duck down an alley between two of the jewellery shops. There you'll find one of London's oldest surviving pubs in Ye Olde Mitre. Once inside you'll be transported back about 500 years by the gorgeous oak decor, endless trinkets on the walls and almost medieval furniture. It's a Fuller's pub where the Pride and ESB are always on perfect form, but it's one of the few that has license to buy whatever it likes outside of those core beers – so expect some surprising additions to the beer list.

4. The Sutton Arms
6 Carthusian Street, London, EC1M 6EB

Just a short work from Farringdon Station, the Sutton Arms is a beautiful old corner pub that's been a family business for decades, in a place where family businesses are becoming far less common. We're not quite in the East End here, but there are definite echoes of cockney culture. There are tasty pies in a heater on the counter, four hand pulls of delicious mostly-London brewed beer, and a real traditional pub atmosphere. The owners have brought the beer list up to date while leaving the vibe completely as it is. They frequently host tap takeovers with the likes of Other Half, Verdant and DEYA, but also have a real love of great central European lagers, so you'll often find Tegernseer, Augustiner and Ayinger on the bar.

Brad Evans, Craft Beer Channel co-founder, picks:

5. Hop Burns & Black
Arch 1, Deptford Station, Deptford High St, London SE8 4NS

Being a bonafide south Londoner my whole life, beer miles and great pubs are no stranger to me, but if you asked me to pick one street in London that does it all you’ll find me telling endless tales of Deptford High Street. There are some fantastic spots like Villages Brewery and The Lucky Anchor, but my favourite place to be is indie bottle shop legend Hop Burns and Black. It’s where I pick up my take away beers and hot sauces from their well-stocked and amazingly curated beer fridges, but if the sun’s out, I’ll be drinking a crispy Augustiner out front, straight from the bottle while watching street life pass me by.

6. The Dog & Bell
116 Prince Steet, London SE8 3JD

Many people don’t consider cask as craft beer, but for me it is the original example of it. The Dog & Bell was voted CAMRA pub of the year for Lewisham in 2025 and has been my spiritual home of beer for over two decades. It’s the best Irish pub in town, with great roasts, great cask and traditional Irish music sessions every Wednesday. It’s an absolute institution that has been the heart of the community with its festivals throughout the year (cider, pickle and Green Man to name but a few) and of course let’s not forget the impeccable Guinness that would blow the Prime Mutton’s pork pie hat clean off!

Shortlist Selects...

7. Howling Hops Brewery and Tank Bar
Unit 9A Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, London E9 5EN

Originally operating out of Hackney’s Cock Tavern, brewery Howling Hops moved to its current Hackney Wick location in 2015. In the process of setting up a bigger site, they created one of London’s most unique beer experiences. This bar serves the brewery’s extraordinary and ever-changing range of beers direct from the tank, as fresh as you can get. As you walk into the typically industrial feeling unit, you’re greeted by a row of gleaming stainless-steel tanks behind the bar, each of which will be dispensing a beer of immense quality.

8. Signature Brew Blackhorse Road
Unit 15, Blackhorse Ln, London E17 5QJ

Throughout London, drinkers are spoilt for choice when it comes to brewery taprooms, but among a crowded field, Signature Brew’s main site stands out. Nestled on the Blackhorse Beer Mile, the bar serves the brand’s excellent beers, such as Studio Lager and Roadie IPA bang fresh. They also boast pop up food vendors and, true to the brewery’s commitment to link everything with music, they host a stellar range of gigs. For anyone exploring the area’s breweries, Signature Brew is an essential stop.

9. The Rake
Borough Market, 14A Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AG

Operated by the folk behind the beer stall in Borough Market, the Rake will turn 20 in 2026. It’s not hard to see why it has weathered the storms that have done for many other pubs. It’s one of London’s smallest bars, being roughly the size of a show box, but it boasts a huge tap list featuring everything from golden European lagers to hazy pale ales, imperial stouts and fine traditional cask ales. The venue’s size is more than doubled by its enclosed yard and in the summer, drinkers pour out into the market. The Rake is nothing short of a London craft beer institution.

Your Picks...

Leila Al-Baldawi, from Herne Hill, picks:

10. Bullfinch Brewery
Rosendale Road, Herne Hill, SE24 9EH

Bullfinch Brewery in Herne Hill serves their own beers alongside an ever-changing rotation from across the country. The bar staff are knowledgeable, it hosts live music and has an atmosphere filled with kindred spirits. I've tasted incredible beers from all over and have become fiercely loyal to the place. The manager, Phil, really makes it feel like home – not just for me, but for so many of us who live locally. I come here early Friday evenings with my children, their friends, and other parent friends. The kids enjoy board games whilst we enjoy The Bullfinch's menu of those exceptional beers. It's equally popular with the younger, kid-free crowd too, giving the whole pub a welcome and safe atmosphere where everyone can just be themselves.

Gary Rolfe, from Islington, picks:

11. The Robin Ale and Cider House
29 Crouch Hill, Finsbury Park, London N4 4AP

If you’ve had enough of the cavernous, booming halls of the city’s taprooms and it’s a snug, intimate establishment you seek, there’s no better place to sup on a craft beer than The Robin. As you step inside, it immediately feels familiar: the soft crackle of vinyl, the lingering hum of conversation, and walls adorned with murals of the locals.

There’s a steady rotation of interesting craft beers on keg, but the main draw for me is the cask offering. Even for seasoned craft-beer fans, the ubiquity of straw-coloured, slightly effervescent keg pale ales can start to feel tiresome, and sometimes you just want a proper beer. There are usually three or four excellent cask beers available, and you can’t leave without trying The Robin’s collaboration with DEYA: No Champagne, No Bookings, No VIP!

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The Macallan is returning to the world of 007 with a new limited-edition single malt, created to mark 55 years since Diamonds Are Forever first hit cinemas.

Creatively titled The Macallan Diamonds Are Forever 55th Anniversary Release, the whisky continues the brand’s ongoing collaboration with James Bond — back in 2022 it put a bottle out to mark the 60th anniversary of the franchise's first film, Dr No.. This time, the focus is on Bond’s connoisseur streak, specifically his knowledge of sherry and red wine, with the whisky’s make-up drawing direct inspiration from the film.

Crafted by The Macallan Whisky Maker Russell Greig, the expression was distilled in 2007 and matured for 18 years. It’s built around a mix of bespoke hybrid casks, combining sherry-seasoned European and American oak with an unusual addition: American oak casks previously used to mature red wine. The result is designed to reflect the film’s sense of misdirection and duality, where appearances can be deceptive, but detail is everything.

On the nose, expect polished oak, vanilla and dried fruits, while the palate opens with caramel and cocoa-dusted truffles, layered with fruit-led complexity and a subtle hint of nutmeg. It’s bottled at 45.5% ABV, with its natural colour nodding to the red and orange Aztec sandstone of the Nevada desert, a key location in the film.

Design-wise, the bottle and presentation case lean heavily into Bond iconography. Drawing from original production artwork held in the official Bond archives, details reference everything from the laser-beam satellite to the film’s opening title sequence, offering a behind-the-scenes feel rather than a simple logo drop.

Speaking about the release, Greig said the whisky “may appear dark and mysterious, yet on the palate it surprises with elegance and lightness,” describing it as a layered reflection of the film’s twists and turns.

The Macallan Diamonds Are Forever 55th Anniversary Release will be available exclusively via ballot on the website, The Macallan Estate Boutique and Heathrow Airport from 3rd to 17th February 2026, before landing at selected UK retailers including Harrods, Selfridges, The Whisky Shop, Master of Malt and Amazon from 5th March 2026. It’s priced at £600 RRP.

Too rich for your tastes? Check out our best whisky list and enjoy a Shirley Bassey classic while you pine for a dram:

• “People think I’m a con-artist”: The 'water sommeliers' who want you to taste water like wine

Pubs haven’t had an easy time of it recently, with rising costs and yo-yoing support, all of which has left a bit of a massive question mark over their future.

Following widespread backlash from Rachel Reeves’s initial Budget, which proposed an increase in business rates for all businesses, a 15% discount was promised for pubs earlier this week, but despite this, things are still looking uncertain. In the spirit of, erm, being prepared, Ben Guerrin created a handy and to-the-point website ismypubfucked.com – essentially a giant map showing the risk of closure for every pub in the UK.

The site also has a leaderboard highlighting the ‘most fucked’ pubs in Britain, which can be filtered by postcode so you can hone in on your local. The map rates every single pub (a whopping 45,936 spots) on a scale of ‘fine’ to ‘absolutely fucked’ – an excellent scoring system which we’d recommend big companies also implement for your 1:1 progress meetings.

For London, the pubs in the red zone at most danger of closing include Spit and Sawdust in Southwark, The Little Apple in Kennington, The Greyhound, Duke of Wellington in Spitalfields and The Wilton Arms in Knightsbridge, to name a few, all of which rank ‘absolutely fucked.’ The ranking indicates that pubs in that category could see a 200 percent increase in their ratable value – in other words, the death knell is a-ringing.

The website has been created using the official data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the government body responsible for business rates in England and Wales. It then takes this data and compares the current rates with the proposed rates for 2026, calculating the risk of closure for each spot when the rates change in April this year. In its own words, the ‘fucked pub index’ the site has been created by “our world-class data scientists (one guy with a spreadsheet) have developed the Fucked Pub Index — a groundbreaking metric that combines advanced geospatial analysis (Google Maps) with sophisticated fiscal impact modelling (basic maths) to identify the pub near you that most urgently requires your patronage.”

79% of pubs are facing increases, rendering 11% of the UK pubs ‘fucked or worse’, according to the site.

The site also helps you plan your own pub crawl, by whacking in your postcode and tapping on each pub plotted on the map to generate your next Friday night plans. All in the name of supporting the economy and local businesses, of course.

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There has been a lot of Guinness hype in recent years, thanks to a combination of white-shirt wearing young men at The Devonshire, Dua Lipa, splitting the G, and Netflix’s House of Guinness. And the hype isn’t going anywhere other than the pub. With the Six Nations rugby about to kick off for another year, BOX sports bars have introduced their own tribute to the black stuff.

Nothing goes with a couple (8+) pints than a slightly tipsy kebab afterwards, right? BOX has elevated your usual order and created the world's first official Guinness kebab – and yes, it has even been designed to look exactly like a pint.

Served in a black Guinness-resembling outer wrapper and looking scarily similar to the real thing, the official Guinness kebab is a limited edition beef kofta that’s set to be as tasty as it is whacky. The beef which forms the main part of the kebab is marinated in Guinness, not only as a tribute to its style icon, but to give a deep, rich flavour. It’s then wrapped in a handmade flatbread, drizzled with a sticky homemade Guinness chipotle glaze, and topped with fresh mint yoghurt, yup, you guessed it, resembling the signature creamy white head.

In celebration of the Six Nations kick off, the Guinness kebab will be available at BOX venues in: London Piccadilly, Brindley Place, Deansgate, Headingley, Leeds, Nottingham, and Sheffield. It’s available from 5th February until 14th March, and is priced at £12.95.

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Whilst many take their January dry and without fun, we tend to lean on the traditional side, which roughly translates as finding any excuse - sorry, occasion - to raise a glass with our nearest and dearest.

Burns Night, the Scottish holiday celebrating the life of poet Robert Burns, is nigh, taking place on 25th January this year. The day is usually celebrated with all the bells and whistles – or more like bagpipes and whisky that you’d expect from a good Celtic knees up. We’re talking a good serving of haggis (or Scottish ‘nduja, as we now call it), with neeps, tatties, and an address to the Haggis itself, obviously. Cue a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne, and the one person who's been to a Ceilidh shouting instructions over jolly bagpipes being blasted through Alexa. Whether you're doing the whole hog (haggis) or just raising a glass to the tradition, one thing you simply have to have to hand is a good bottle of whisky.

Single malt, blended, Scotch, or not, we’ve rounded up three of our favourite malts which make for the perfect dram this Burns Night.

1. Scapa 10 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Scapa is one of the best tasting 10 year old whiskies around, thanks to its signature fermentation period, an extended 60 hour fermentation, the result of which is a beautifully deep and rich flavour with notes of warm leather cut with light tropical notes. Hailing from the Orkney Islands, the whisky gets its name from the stunning Scapa Flow, the body of water that creates a natural harbour on the island, which the distillery overlooks.

On the palette, you’ll get a charred caramel which brings a smoky sweetness, which is perfectly levelled so you won’t be overwhelmed with extremes, but presented with a balanced, subtle and delicious taste. It rounds out with a slight dried fruit sweetness, which complements that rich undertone. Overall, it’s a whisky which is special without being pretentious, an accessible and enjoyable liquid for whoever is around your table.

2. Torabhaig Legacy series Sound of Sleat

Hopping over to The Isle of Skye, Torabhaig Distillery is one close to our hearts, and our hands, as we tend to always have a bottle close by, you know, just in case. Whilst Torabhaig whisky has only been in full production since 2017, its roots - like many Celtic traditions - go a long way back. The legacy series is a run of limited edition releases that document Torabhaig’s ‘house style’.

Sound of Sleat is the fourth chapter in this series, crafted from a blend of Concerto and Laureate malted barley. Aged in toasted ex-Bourbon oak barrels, the result is a delicate whisky with notes of orange, apricot, and sweet seaweed on the nose. On the palette, it’s a symphony of island expression, with rich bonfire smoke, honey, and sea salt, with an elegant finish reminiscent of the island’s wilderness.

3. Isle of Raasay, The Draam

Hopping over to another island, Raasay is a small outcrop east of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, a hop, skip, and a ferry from Torabhaig. The distillery’s flagship single malt whisky is a winner, cheekily named The Draam (not a typo but a nod to their namesake).

The unique whisky is made up of six casks: a peated rye, chunkapine oak, bordeaux red wine, and their unpeated counterparts. The liquids are married together after maturation, creating a smoky but balanced liquid that’s beautifully complex whilst subtle and light. Capturing the island’s natural flora and fauna, the whisky combines dark fruit with heather smoke on its palette with notes of sweet cinnamon spice, vanilla, and black pepper.

If you’re looking to raise a glass which captures the wildness of Scotland’s landscape in liquid form, this is an underrated bottle to try – and the closest you’ll be able to get to the Island whilst sipping whisky in a London flat.

• I'm a drinks expert who went sober over December: Here's my non-alcoholic advent calendar that's also perfect for Dry January

Heineken has a launched a London Tube ad campaign to big-up its alcohol-free beer. But it happens to have spread a bit of travel misinformation worthy of a drunk fresh out of the pub in the process.

As spotted by the fine folks on Reddit, the Heineken 0.0 ads, which recreate part of the Bakerloo map, actually have two of the line’s stations in the wrong order.

They’ve only gone and gotten Kilburn Park and Maida Vale mixed up.

A quirky in-joke from the Heineken marketing team? It doesn’t look like it — and if you wanted to get a selfie with this little ad blunder, you've missed the boat as TfL staff have now ensured correct signage is back in place.

The ad campaign sees the Bakerloo line renamed the Bakerl0.0, in what is apparently Transport for London’s first ever alcohol-free ad partnership.

Its concept is that while January is a bit miserable — no one’s going out, everyone’s skint and half the people you know are doing Dry January — perhaps a can of refreshing Heineken 0.0 will help break the ice with a stranger.

Yep, it’s a bit naff, but here is one part you may well be interested in. On January 15th and 16th, cans of Heineken 0.0 will be given out at Waterloo — sorry, Waterl0.0 — station to the public, alongside a branded Oyster card holder.

You will need to be over 18 to pick up a can, yes, even if it is alcohol-free. Keep an eye out for a fridge in the shape of a TfL logo. And these marketing stunts are usually setup on Waterloo’s expansive lower concourse.

As part of its push, Heineken has also come up with some stats that we, as Londoners, find entirely unsurprising.

63% of folks surveyed said they’d be “very unlikely” to try to start up a conversation on the Underground, and 16% have even faked sleeping to avoid talking to someone.

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Christmas time, mistletoe and mulled wine, overeating and barely knowing what day it is, and argument-fuelled board games which break familial bonds and scare off new partners. In the same Christmassy spirit, Salt Beer Factory has teamed up with Big Potato Games to release a new IPA inspired by one of its beloved games.

Salt Beer Factory, an independent brewery hailing from Yorkshire, has created a new beer inspired by Big Potato Games’ hugely popular Herd Mentality, brewed with Citra hops, which offers a clean profile with subtle hints of stone fruit and blackcurrant. And what’s a pint without a good game to go alongside it? Well, probably a stalled conversation about the Premier League and Chelsea’s chances this year (spoiler: not good).

So this is likely an improvement. Every can of Salt Beer Factory’s Herd Mentality beer will include a free digital mini version of Herd Mentality, accessed via QR code, so you can crack open a beer, whip out your phone and get straight down to the game.

You can buy the Herd Mentality Indian Pale Ale via SALT’s online shop, and are retailing for £2.50 per can.

What’s next in this type of collab? Maybe 2026 will bring Margs and Monopoly Deal? Pina Coladas and Pass the Pigs? Either way, sounds like a duo to rival Batman and Robin.

• I'm a drinks expert staying sober this Christmas: Here's my non-alcoholic advent calendar that's also perfect for Dry January

Most people’s run ups to Christmas are filled with frantic present buying, being shunted down an overflowing Oxford St like cattle, and then pouring a mulled wine at midday because “it’s Christmas”. It’s quite literally a time to be merry and jolly and nothing gets the goods flowing in Brits like a good old tipple. Mine this year, however, has looked a little different.

Between dozens of (boozy) Christmas events in November and that dreaded end-of-term-itis feeling growing as December 1st rolled around, I decided to do Sober Advent. And, it had the added advantage of giving Dry January a test run. Call it journalistic integrity - I went sober for the advent countdown just so I could truly recommend our readers the drinks that are genuinely worth investing in if you’re attempting Dry Jan, or just looking to cut back.

For me, it’s 50/50 between recreating the taste of my favourite drink, and the other half about something that mimics the occasion.

Like, when you’ve come in from a long day at work, or it’s a Friday night at the end of a big week, you want something that feels like a woosh of relief rather than a specific bev. However, when you find out your older sister just got engaged or you’re celebrating your best friend’s birthday - you want to feel like you’re in on the bubbly with everyone else.

There has been a lot of progress in the whole alcohol-free world, too - gone are the days of choosing between a Becks Blue or a tonic water. As well as the direct replacements like an 0% gin, there’s a whole category of dedicated alcohol free tipples which will give you the buzz without the booze.

From day 1 to the end of the month, these are the bottles I’d recommend:

1. Pathfinder

The Pathfinder is a hemp-based non-alcoholic spirit which delivers all the smoky, herby, citrussy buzz you’d want from a cocktail. It’s much more complex than you’d expect from something alc-free, and if you’re a fan of a negroni this will probably be a good one for you. Have it with bitters, ice, a dash of orange and you’ll have a drink that will rival your regular.

2. G Spot

Gillian Anderson has given us some great things: Scully, Jean Millburn, and now G Spot. A cheeky tongue in cheek in true Gillian style that delivers on taste. There are a couple in the range and each has a refreshingly botanical or zesty flavour without overloading on sugar or being tongue-lashingly strong. If you want something in the evening that feels like a G&T this is a good one to have in your fridge.

3. Free AF

A new launch in the UK, Free AF has made waves in the US, and splashes in our glasses across the pond. It’s also one of the first on our list to be enhanced with a curious little mix of their own making which is said to mimic the exuberance alcohol brings. Personally our favourite of theirs is the Spiced Rumm and Ginger which, whilst it doesn’t pack the same punch as a dark 'n' stormy, is a step up from most other RTDs. Although, if you’re looking for a margarita fix we’d skip their offering which essentially tastes to us like a slightly bougie lime and soda.

4. Moderato Chardonnay

It is notoriously difficult to get a (non-sparkling) alcohol free wine right. And out of all the things coming from the alcohol free world, wine is the only category that’s, erm, lagging a little. Moderato however is a pretty stellar choice if you are looking to recreate that feeling, and their Chardonnay is my favourite of the range.

5. Mother Root

Is this the hundredth time I’ve mentioned Mother Root? Perhaps. It’s like some Pavlovian response — someone says ‘alcohol free’ and I start recommending Mother Root. A spirit + mixer style drink, you add 25ml of Mother Root’s signature herbaceous, fiery, ginger liquid with tonic water and bam, you have a drink good enough to rival a cocktail. After a couple of years of dipping in and out of sober periods, I think Mother Root works so well because the taste itself is rich and full-bodied, without trying to imitate anything else. Because it’s not carbonated, just mixed with tonic water, it isn’t fizzy or sweet, and the spicy kick means that you sip it as you would a regular alcoholic drink, savouring it rather than drinking like you would a soft drink.

6. Wild Idol

This is a special one; if you’re celebrating something during January - a birthday, an engagement, a friday - and want something special to mark the occasion with, you can’t go wrong with Wild Idol. Unlike a couple of other entries on this list, rather than being a sparkling tea (which, is generally the way forward for really good non-alc bubbles) its a naturally alcohol free drink made with grapes. It looks the part, tastes the part – but it does have the price tag to match. It’s probably the most luxury option on the list, but worth it.

7. Three Spirit

Three Spirit was one of those releases that made everyone in the drinks world excited; alchemy is at the heart of its creation, and like the best bottles in this category, it's about what they put in rather than what they strip out. They have - unsurprisingly - three core bottles in their range: Livener, Social, and Nightcap, although thanks to its popularity they've introduced a few new limited edition bottles including The Spicy One and The Party Starter which is exactly what January calls for.

8. Lucky Saint IPA and Lemon Lager

In the same way it wouldn’t be Christmas without some kind of Celebrations tub and a BBC special, it can’t be an alcohol free roundup without Lucky Saint. The OGs of the alcohol free world, they’re still my go-to. Especially during the days of endless (pre) Christmas drinks down the pub with colleagues, catching up with friends before heading back home, and even the odd first date or two here and there, I love knowing I can grab a pint of Lucky Saint on draught, and it really doesn’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. Similar to Mother Root, Lucky Saint nails its 'sippability', never guzzling it down like water, instead feeling smugly quenched and full of good cheer. For me, Lucky Saint is my pub order go-to, but it never hurts to have a couple in the fridge.

9. Botivo

A lot of alcohol free products are high on sugar and additives which end up not being a much better option at all. Botivo is one of the ones that luckily bucks this trend. Similar to Mother Root, Botivo is one of my absolute favourites because of how much it feels like a drink in its own right, rather than a substitute. It uses only real ingredients, crafted with home grown botanicals, and handmade on Lannock Farm. It’s made with apple cider vinegar, orange zest, rosemary and thyme, and finished with gentian, wormwood leaf, and wildflower honey, leaving a botanical but balanced taste. It’s probably most similar to a negroni with its bittersweet notes.

10. Almave

For a flat that does Margarita Mondays (albeit not religiously), not having an easy homemade cocktail on a Friday night can feel a little drab, especially when you’ve got a whole month of it. Enter Almave: the non-alcoholic agave drink (note: not direct tequila alternative, and the better for it), which actually whips up into a fairly decent Tommy’s marg. If you’re after something on the more smokey side (more akin to a mezcal than a tequila) you could try Fluere's Smoked Agave spirit. No, Almave doesn’t taste the same but it *does* provide a fun change from the usual roster of 0% beers and alc-free gins.

11. Tanqueray 0%

Speaking of alcohol free gins, Tanqueray 0% is probably one of your best bets if you are going for this particular tipple. It delivers the clean, juniper, and fresh herby taste of its alcoholic cousin, but with none of the booze. If you enjoy the ritual of a G&T on a weekend (or whenever) this is a handy bottle to have to hand. Apart from beers, I don't generally recommend direct alcohol free replacements, but this one has my seal of approval.

12. Pentire Adrift

Pentire is a name you might be familiar with thanks to how good it actually is, marking out its own territory in the alcohol free world. Made in Cornwall with three variations in its range, Pentire captures a taste of the coast without the drunken sailor connotations or ABV. Personally, the pair I go for is the Adrift (when I'm out) or Seaward (when I'm at home) which is a blend of grapefruit, sea buckthorn, and wild seaweed – best served with tonic, it lands well on my not-too-sweet chart, although it doesn’t quite rank as highly on the sippable chart as Botivo and Mother Root. Also, if you are looking for a margarita alternative, Pentire’s is probably the best you’ll find.

13. Black Lines Shirley Temple 0%

Black Lines is an interesting brand who are probably equally known for their classy (beautifully illustrated) ready-to-drink cocktails-in-a-bottle, and are the creators of the viral Oatnog which I’m yet to try, being deeply suspicious of any drink that’s a descendent of a spiced, heated dairy hodgepodge. I mean Eggnog is basically a chai-esuqe gloopy batter that you drink, right? However, Black Lines’ Shirley Temple is not only the company’s first non-alcoholic serve, but delicious – and oddly decadent. It’s effervescent, indulgent, and weirdly nostalgic. Not one to be overlooked.

14. Amie Non-alc Sparkling Rose

Whilst we’re on the subject of trendy companies that actually live up to the hype, Amie wine is a pink-tinted underdog that serves a seriously good 0% sparkling wine which feels just as exciting as the real thing. Amie’s non-alcoholic rose made from Grenache grapes uses the reverse osmosis process (like Wild Idol), meaning it keeps the wine aromas, and naturally keeps the sugars low. Also, if you *are * looking for a nice spot to have a drink somewhere in London, it’s worth popping into amie’s wine studio in Victoria – vibes guaranteed, non-alc goodness also guaranteed. It's not a bad date spot too although there's no promises that your Hinge date will be as good as the wine...

15. LA Brewery

Another naturally non-alcoholic, L.A Brewery serves up sparkling kombouchas inspired by English sparkling wines. Whilst wines and sparkling wines which use grapes and reverse osmosis are usually a big old gamble, sparkling teas and kombouchas are usually pretty good across the board, and for us, LA Brewery comes out on top. L.A Brewery’s Sparkling Non-Alcoholic White Rose is a personal fave with crisp and tart notes blended with elderflower and rose for a light finish.

16. Guinness 0%

It's almost a well known joke at this point how good Guinness 0% is – if we had to crown one alc-free direct alternative from all your options, this one would be smugly smiling with a gold medal around its neck. If you love a Guinness, you'll be kneeling at the alter of their 0% offering. The Devonshire in Soho has recently become one of the first pubs in the UK to have 0% on draught so you can even enjoy it authentically – namely, standing in the rain on a street in London, amongst hoards of other hipsters.

17. Sentia: Gaba Gold

Sentia spirits is one of the brands leading the charge of "functional drinks" alongside others on the list like G Spot, Pathfinder, and Bovito, where the liquids are enhanced with botanicals, nootropics, and other 'mood-boosting' fruits, herbs, and plants.

Sentia's Gaba range, with Gaba Gold, Gaba Black, and Gaba Red are a trio designed to give you a lift without the alcohol. Gaba Gold is powered by hops, and schisandra for calm, lifted mood, and mental balance. It's made with Ashwaganda, Ginseng, Chamomile, Gingko, and Eleuthero Root to name a few. Mix with ginger beer for a fiery, spicy mocktail-adjacent drink. Sentia is a fairly unique taste so it may take a few tries to find the one that suits your palatte, but when you do, you'll have a new go-to you'll keep coming back to.

18. OddBird: Blanc de Blancs

Oddbird has some of the best alcohol free wines out there, but its Blanc de Blancs is the star of the lineup. Hailing from the land of ABBA, Oddbird is a Swedish brand which champions alcohol free wine. This prosecco has notes of white pear, green apple, elderflower, and mineral. It has a beautiful colour and a fantastic froth that mimics its alcoholic counterpart. It is fresh, crisp without being sickly sweet or roughly acidic which can happen with more kombucha style fizzes.

19. Holly GoLightly Cider

One of my biggest surprises this year other than going from being a lifelong brunette to a redhead (thank you, Dua Lipa) was the discovery of HollyGoLightly non-alc cider. I've been a fan of the Gosnell's low-alc Mead (which, if you're looking for low alc rather than no alc is definitely worth a try) but to find a bona finde good alc-free cider was a lovely treat. Does it taste a little like a grown-up Appletiser? Yes. Is it a delicious little tipple? Also yes.

20. Mashgang Chug

In the low and no world, Mash Gang draws the same level of hype as many full strength beers. Look out for one-off collaborations with various well known breweries, but Chug is an exceptional core range option. An easy drinking Extra Pale Ale is hopped with Galaxy, Citra, El Dorado, Amarillo, Vic Secret and has an inspired touch of chilli to jazz things up.

21. Adnams Ghost Ship Bottle Beer 0.5%

Ghost Ship is a good example of an alcohol free version of a flagship beer. It is great if you want something more on the traditional ale side of the beer spectrum. This is a light and citrusy pale ale that will disappear in a flash. It really doesn’t taste far off the regular 4.5% version, partly thanks to some reverse osmosis kit which avoids the high temperatures often used to remove the alcohol, with flavour being a casualty. The beer is available in 500ml bottles, and now in cans, too.

22. Prano drinks: Non-Alcoholic Ginger Cardamom Aperitif

Did I originally buy this because it has a surfer on the front? Yes, yes I did. Did I regret it? Nope, no I didn't.

Prano is partly inspired by ayurvedic recipes to boost immunity. It is an all-natural, smooth, non-alcoholic ginger based aperitif that is full-bodied, and often compared to a gingered limoncello. It has an aromatic nose of orange peel, ginger, citrus and botanicals and the flavour is primarily of ginger, honey and candied lemon. Imagine a bougie, liquidised Strepsil, but you know, nicer. You can have it over ice but personally it's more of an 'add tonic'.

23. Feragaia: Non-Alcoholic Botanical Spirit

Hailing from Scotland, Fergaia was the first 0.0% ABV distillery, and fitting in with the emerging pattern of this list, is a sophisticated, unique alcohol-free spirit crafted form botanicals. Specifically, it's crafted from 14 Mediterranian land and sea botanicals including Lemon Verbena, Blackcurrant Leaf, Bitter Orange, Ginger and Pink Peppercorn. With bright citrus notes balanced by warming spice and earthy undertones, it delivers a refreshing, clean finish. Only downside is every time I drink it, I get Frère a Jacques stuck in my head.

24. REAL Sec

Rounding off with a bang – or more specifically a pop, Real's Sec Sparkling Wine uses both Darjeeling tea and red grapes, fermenting them to create light blush bubbles which balance sweetness with floral notes. It has notes of rhubarb and peach, so whilst it' s not mimicking the real stuff, it's lovely in its own right if you're looking for something a little different.

Surviving a booze-free Christmas

Ultimately, finding the alcohol free alternatives you like can be a bit of a minefield, especially as the industry swells with even more options. The best place to start is to work out whether you'd prefer to go down the route of direct replacements like a 0% gin, or whether you'd prefer to explore functional drinks which are distinctively distilled to be unique. Once you find a drink you like and have it in the cupboard, it feels much easier to cut down on your alcohol intake without stripping out all the fun.

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