International Excellence

Cinnamon Sleigh Whisky Cocktail
A deliciously warming drink that uses cinnamon
to underline the blend's fruity depths.
SERVE IN:
A mug.
INGREDIENTS:
50ml Ballantine's Christmas ReseNe
25ml cinnamon and pear syrup
1 bar spoon/5ml lemon juice
1 bar spoon/5ml cranberry juice
Peel of~ an orange
2 cloves and 10-12 raisins
~a pear chopped into small pieces
METHOD:
Add all the ingredients to a sauce pan and heat.
Make sure the mix doesn't boil. Strain and seNe
with a Cinnamon stick.

Classic Number 1 Cocktail
This simple mix brings out the flavour of moist
raisin fruitcake in Ballantine's Christmas Reserve
and adds rich hints of chocolate and orange.
SERVE IN :
A coupette.
INGREDIENTS:
40ml Ballantine's Christmas Reserve
201m Antica Formula (sweet vermouth)
lOml raisin syrup
2 dashes of chocolate bitters
Orange zest
METHOD:
Stir ingredients together. Garnish with orange zest.
RAISIN SYRUP
Add 1 cup of caster sugar and 1 cup of water to

Breguet developed the tourbillion and the self winding watch and they continue to innovate with the Classique Chronometrie. This watch use a newly patented magnetic pivot to offset the negative effects of magnetism in watch movements and improve the precision and reliability of the mechanical watch. The magnetic pivot consists of a carbon-steel balance staff and a ‘rare-earth’ magnet behind each endstone. It is a beautiful piece with fluted caseband, welded lugs, engine turned dial and open-tipped Breguet hands.

Creative agency Mother and The Kaleidoscope Trust are sticking two fingers up at homophobia in Russia this Christmas.
The Russian LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community is facing increasingly harsh treatment at the hands of authorities. Attacks on gay people are rising, in a country where homosexuality has been classified as a mental illness since 1999. So, this Christmas, Mother is sending something To Russia With Love.

Heathrow Airport is now using driverless pods transporting passengers in Terminal 5.
These pods can carry up to four people between the business car park and the main building, and their batteries recharge themselves between rides.
It is estimated they will cut the number of bus journeys around Heathrow by 50,000 per year, BAA added.
They use laser sensors to navigate their way around and have safety features that enable them to stop immediately in case of danger.
The University of Bristol research engineers came up with these colourful slug like vehicles.

Food unites us during the Christmas period as we indulge and bond with others in its presence. Levanah Reyes-Wainwright shares her picks for the ultimate Christmas soiree.

To give or not to give?
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The new tour de force from the Hydro Mechanical Horologists.
This watch employs liquids, the traditional enemy of horology, using bellows that pump transparent oil and water around. Where the two immiscible liquids meet in a tube tells you the time. Hydro mechanical horology at its most excellent.
$129,000
http://www.hytwatches.com/Collection/Watch/Item/h2-5.sls

The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid that brings together the advantages of electromobility and innovative engine technology. The result is an extraordinarily dynamic driving experience, combining impressive efficiency with extremely low CO2 emissions. The BMW i8 is a sports car, reinvented. It’s more efficient, through intelligent lightweight carbon construction and an aerodynamic design. It’s also more sustainable, featuring highly-efficient BMW eDrive technology and the use of recyclable interior materials.

Unearthing masterpieces.
If a work of art is never seen, then what is its inherent value? Can something be judged as priceless, if nobody has examined it to ascertain how much it should cost?