I am publishing this article today, as it coincides with the Distillers One of One charity auction, which I recently wrote about. Glen Scotia’s contribution is stunning, and I urge you to make a sizable bid. Not only will you receive 4 wonderful bottles, but 100% of the proceeds go to charity.
Flying directly into the tiny airport of Bolzano from Gatwick with SkyAlps makes the journey into South Tyrol unusually simple. Within half an hour of landing you are driving through the Val d’Ega, its meadows and forests framed by the jagged peaks of the Rosengarten and Latemar. Nestled in this landscape is Engel Ayurpura, the first dedicated Ayurveda hotel in the Dolomites and one of only two in Italy.
For a company that trades as much on emotion as engineering, Aston Martin has rarely struggled to make an entrance. Yet the new DB12 S unveiled this week (under embargo from Gaydon) isn’t merely another performance evolution, it’s another incredible statement of intent.
There’s something quietly magnetic about Kahani. Hidden just off Sloane Square, this modern Indian restaurant hums with understated confidence. You descend from street level into a warm, candlelit space where rich woods and jewel tones create a cocoon from the chaos above. There are no windows, yet the high ceilings and clever lighting keep it feeling open and elegant rather than enclosed.
Bladnoch is no stranger to reinvention. Founded in 1817 on the banks of the River Bladnoch in Dumfries and Galloway, the distillery has seen prosperity, closures, sales and revivals across more than two centuries. Today it stands as the oldest privately owned Scotch whisky distillery, often referred to as the Queen of the Lowlands. Under the stewardship of owner David Prior and master distiller Dr Nick Savage, Bladnoch has been brought back into focus, producing single malts that carry both the weight of history and the promise of modernity.
Set the scene
Before Bora Bora, before overwater villas became shorthand for South Pacific luxury, there was the InterContinental Tahiti. Opened in 1974 and refreshed multiple times since, this sprawling resort sits just 10 minutes from Papeete’s airport and is often used as a stopover before or after a cruise of Polynesia, but it deserves more than a cursory glance. The rambling buildings sit in lush tropical planting and the seafront position provides views of Moorea on the horizon.
I have been to Lucky Cat at the summit of 22 Bishopsgate, London’s tallest building, a number of times now. It has always been bustling, busy and with a great vibe. Located Sixty floors up, with Tower Bridge and the Gherkin stretched beneath you, Gordon Ramsay has created something unlike anything else in his empire. But within this restaurant/bar, there is a hideaway Chefs Table called Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High.
Arriving at Goodwood Revival this year felt like stepping into a real-life throwback filter—but one that actually smells of petrol, popcorn, and excitement, and sounds like pure engine chaos. From classic cars to people who look like they’ve time-travelled from the 1940s, it’s basically a full-sensory nostalgia overload, and I was here for every second of it.
I was in Edinburgh earlier this week to taste Glen Scotia’s Four Quarters set that is heading to the Distillers One of One charity auction. It is rare that a single tasting manages to cover history, technique, design and philanthropy with the same clarity. This did. Four single malts from the same month in 1999, each a quarter of a century old, and each showing a different facet of Campbeltown’s character through its choice of cask.
