Joe Rogers

December is upon us – the month where our national sandwich chains nobly attempting to condense Christmas dinner into a portable format. This year has seen some particularly strong attempts to crowbar festive cheer into our working lunches and a few notable misses. This guide will help you sort this year’s unmissable sandwiches from those best left on the shelf. Marks & Spencer – Turkey Feast (£3.30) The perfect example of the route one festive sarnie; two triangles of turkey, bacon, stuffing, and cranberry sauce that promise a taste of Christmas. The bacon is slightly granular, in the way that sandwich bacon is, but it’s a minor quibble as everything else is fantastic.

The bittersweet conclusion the Daniel Craig era in No Time to Die has led many of us to revisit the 007 canon – from the cars, to the suits, to the cocktails. One particular item on James’ longstanding bar tab continues to fascinate more than any other, his signature drink, the Vesper. 'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.' 'Oui, monsieur.' 'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel. Got it?' 'Certainly, monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea. In the 1953 novel Casino Royale, author Ian Fleming has our favourite secret agent order this super-sized sharpener to steel himself before a high-stakes card game.

Once a staple of clubs and bars, the whisky and soda spent the latter-half of the 20th century on the wrong side of fashion. The popularity of clear spirits coupled with a curious belief that mixing whisky is a near-criminal act saw the serve relegated to the back bench. At least that was the case in Britain – in Japan, the humble highball became a religion. The bracing combination of fruity, flavoursome whisky combined with lots of ice and freezing cold soda water is served up and down the country. It’s meticulously assembled by bartenders in high-end cocktail bars, it’s served on draught in rowdy Izakaya, and sold in vending machines in train stations.

The last 18 months saw the closure of many old favourites from the London dining scene, which makes the efforts of those willing to roll the dice on a new opening all the more admirable. Here's where you should snap up a table in the coming months: Kudu Grill – Nunhead Kudu Collective, the small group helmed by Amy Corbin and chef Patrick Williams, has moved into a former pub near Peckham Rye. In addition to giving the old boozer a new look, they’ve installed an impressive wood burning grill in the kitchen in an effort to bring South African braai to South London. Put simply, braai is South African barbecuing informed by the various food cultures that have swept through that part of the world over the years.

Ten years ago, the United Kingdom was largely unaware of the Spritz and its bittersweet charms. The Negroni was gaining popularity in our bars, a European import that dovetailed nicely with a general levelling-up of our national cocktail programme. But most of the Aperol in these parts was gathering dust in last generation’s Italian restaurants. This all changed when some canny marketing spend by Aperol’s owner, the drinks titan Gruppo Campari, put bright orange deckchairs and branded glassware in cities up-and-down the country. In just a few years, we became a nation of Spritz drinkers – captivated by the light, appetite stimulating, low-ABV afternooner to such an extent that it’s come to overshadow homegrown favourites like Pimm’s.

Well it looks like none of us had the chance to jet off to Tokyo for the Olympics this year. But if you Deliveroo some sushi and get the right kind of drinks in you can still have a pretty good time watching on the telly. Japan has a great culture of craftsmanship and a love of drinking that’s almost British in dimension. Which means it’s a country that produces some truly excellent booze. Here are some of the best ways to get a taste of Japan while you cheer on team GB up to the closing ceremony on Sunday. Kanpai! Nikka Coffey Grain, 45% (£54.95; The Whisky Exchange) The coffey still is generally used to create light, clean spirits. But the good people at Miyagikyo distillery prove that it can be used to create a variety of different styles.

In Tokyo the 32nd Olympic games are well underway and unless you’re trying for a medal chances are you’re watching from home. Not to worry though, as London is full of ways to get a taste of Japan while travel restrictions remain in place. Here are some of the best places to eat and drink like you’re in Tokyo this summer. Sakaya at Pantechnicon, Belgravia Now up and running after lockdown delays, the ambitious Pantechnicon development offers Japanese and Nordic dining across multiple stories. Sakaya bar and bottle shop, occupies a little corner on the ground floor. The four-seater venue is inspired by Japanese Izakaya – traditional drinking spots that range in size from something like a pub to tiny counters folded into alleyways and subway stations.

Dust off the novelty apron, dig out the rust-flecked spatula, and get the golf umbrella on stand-by –barbecue season has arrived. As a nation, we’ve come a long way from the carbonised sausages and long-life rolls that defined the Great British Barbecue™ in years gone by. However, it’s no good cooking like a Texan pitmaster if your drinks offering lets the side down. Butcher Lyle Wheeler of South East London institution Flock and Herd has seen first-hand the way our cooking habits have changed in recent years and he has some great advice on what to drink when your grilling. These are some of the best barbecue and booze pairings to impress your mates with this summer.

Put down the shaker, screw the cap back on the Campari, stop trying to figure out how to make those big clear ice cubes in your little home freezer; it’s time to give cocktail duties back to the professionals. After a tough year-or-so for the industry it’s basically the duty of every self-respecting cocktailian to head out and support our favourite spots by getting a few rounds in. Just as well then, that London’s bartenders are offering new menus, honed over months of lockdown, and filed with new drinks to get acquainted with. These are some of the best new cocktails on offer in the capital right now. Cheers.

The Gin Gimlet was an unlikely hero of our socially distanced year. With their venues shuttered, bartenders were forced to get creative in order to ply their trade to a homebound audience. In a rush to create cocktails that could withstand bottling and postage, many turned to shelf-stable cordials in place of more temperamental citrus juices. After decades as a classic cocktail deep cut, the Gimlet was back on the menu. The original calls only for London Dry, Rose’s Lime Cordial, and a little ice to chill it down – but like many old favourites it affords ample room for experimentation. The Classic Scottish merchant Lauchlan Rose devised his namesake cordial in 1867 as a long-lived alternative to fresh citrus juice.

After long months of social distancing, the scramble is on to book those all-important first meals out. You can almost taste it, can’t you. Someone else’s cooking, served on someone else’s plates. It’s a universal truth that the best tips on where to eat come from within the industry. Here, some of Britain’s best chefs share the spots they’re heading to as soon as the lockdown lifts. James Cochran After stints at the Ledbury, the Harwood arms, various pop ups, James Cochran opened 12:51 in Islington. After the restaurant industry was brought to a standstill last year he pivoted to making his signature fried chicken available under the name Around the Cluck.

It’s finally time. After long months walking in the park and pounding coffees in the street you can have a small number of pals over as long as they stay in the garden. Will you have a few drinks when then come by? For the first time in months? Just a couple…? Yes, you absolutely will. Here are some of the best things to serve while you to remember how to have a conversation with more than two people. There are a few cocktails among the bottles and cans but they’re kept pretty straightforward to make sure you’ve got plenty of time for overdue chat. Gin/Whiskey Smash A laidback relation of the julep and the cobbler, the smash is one of the original cocktails, traceable to the mid-19th century.

The gin and tonic is a beautiful thing. Refreshing, anti-malarial, and fixable by even the least confident home bartenders. However, malaria rates are at an all-time low in the UK and over-reliance on old favourites is a sure-fire route to monotony and disenchantment. There’s a whole wide world of ways to knock back gin so why not give the tonic water a rest and try something different when 5pm rolls around? Gin Rickey American lobbyist ‘Colonel’ Joseph Rickey liked his rye whiskey and soda with a squeeze of lime for extra zip. He was an influential man in Washington DC and in the 1880s his signature drink became something of a phenomenon in the city’s bars. At the time, it wasn’t unusual to see variations made with brandy and Bourbon.

St Patrick’s Day is coming. Which means people all over the world will be repeating that thing they’ve heard about the pints being better in Dublin, claiming that they’ve read Portrait of the Artist, and championing Irish family connections through some obscure branch of the family tree. When it comes to refreshments on the day you could do a lot worse than a few cans of stout or cider. Bushmills Black Bush (£22; Waitrose) and ginger ale - 1:2 ratio, lots of ice, wedge of lime - is one of the all-time great highballs and would also do the job nicely. However, the old classics are by no means the only choices for Patrick’s day merriment. Whiplash Cream on Chrome DIPA, 8% (£5.

This eponymous cocktail comprising tequila, triple sec, fresh lime juice, and a little salt is descended from a family of 19th century drinks called Daisies. They are essentially sours with some liqueur thrown in for luxury. One popular origin story has a Texan socialite coming up with the Margarita during a jolly south of the border in the late ‘40s but that’s about as believable as her showing up in Acapulco and inventing guacamole. In reality, prototypical Margaritas were being mixed up by bartenders around Mexico as early as the 1930s. The drink's adaptability and sheer brilliance has seen it remain popular through nine decades of changing tastes.

As we’re all doing Valentine’s Day at home this year it’s well worth breaking out the cocktail shaker to make the occasion feel special. This selection of drinks, each more romantic than the last, should do the job nicely. Air Mail A glamorous little cocktail that harks back to the 1940s, when the fastest way to send a love note around the world was by plane. This has a lot in common with the classic French 75, but brings a sense of holidays and warm weather with it that’s quite charming. The combination of rum and sparkling wine might sound like a reach but grassy Havana Club (£21.45 – The Whiskey Exchange) makes great friends with a nice dry fizz. 35ml Havanna 3yo Anejo Blanco 15ml honey syrup.

The Burns Supper is not so much a dinner as it is a celebration of Scotland’s great contributions to poetry, distilling, and sausage making. Even though this year’s celebrations are set to be smaller scale than usual, the 25th of January still represents an opportunity to defy the winter gloom and raise a few glasses of guid auld Scotch drink. A dram or two, taken neat or with water, is traditional for toasting – but this is by no means the only way to enjoy your whisky on Burns night.  Scotch represents a broader range of styles and flavours than any other spirit and as such has enormous cocktail potential. A good serve can convert purists and whisky-sceptics alike so there’s lots to be gained by getting creative with your malt.

January 2021 looks set to be a little duller than your average. And that's before many of us take on the traditional new year’s detox. Luckily, the drinks world has upped its game significantly on the low-and-no alcohol front of late, so cutting back doesn’t mean giving up on fun. Here are some of the best options for a dry – or perhaps just a little less wet – January. Teas and Kombuchas When we taste fermented food and drinks we’re experiencing a whole world of micro fauna in all its chemical complexity. It’s why wine tastes so much better than grape juice. Until recently the only fermented drinks consumed in these parts were of the boozy variety but this has started to change.

Long before we pick up the tongs and crack open the first of seventeen-or-so stubby beers we have to ask the big question; charcoal or gas? The debate over which fuel is best can take on almost tribal dimensions, fraught with foodie orthodoxy. In truth, both camps have their good points and choosing between them is mostly about deciding what barbecuing means to you. In a rush? The great British barbecue tends to see us throwing sausages on the grate while we keep a wary eye on the great British weather. With a gas grill you can get your cooking surface up to temperature quickly, grill for hours without worrying about maintaining a steady heat, and have no ashy mess to contend with when you’re done.