There’s a battle going on for premium position on the digestif trolley, and it’s one that doesn’t favour the little guy. Our panellists strike a blow for the underdog with a flight of 15- to 20-year-old Armagnacs. Clinton Cawood report

Another day, another new absinthe brand...After years of promising to be the next big thing, absinthe’s time may have arrived. Clinton Cawood gathers a high-alcohol-tolerance panel to put a dozen to the test

An extreme matching challenge proves that sherry really is the best food wine on the planet. Surely it’s time restaurants woke up to the fact, says an impressed Chris Losh

Pernod Absinthe has teamed up with The Rebel Dining Society, and the match is a decidedly compatible one.

The chaps at the bijou London Cocktail Club have been experimenting with culinary cocktails paired with a little something to eat on the side.

Matching cocktails with food is a growing trend across the Pond, but it’s a concept that’s still got a way to go over here. Alice Lascelles visits one go-ahead London establishment that’s getting a taste for it, and is pleasantly surprised by the results

From the East they came. Strange. Strong. Threatening. Made of Rice (and some other stuff). Yet were saké and shochu the monsters they first seemed? Clinton Cawood donned his cape and entered their underground lair

All too often an afterthought, syrups have a huge impact on a cocktail’s appearance and its taste. Clinton Cawood joins a team of bartenders for a look at the sweeter side