Jason Myers

Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 99

Bring a Bottle Podcast Episode 99

Episode 99 welcomes back a familiar face from a couple of episodes ago, and that’s Jason Myers! It’s a very special rum that we sip on too, the Madeira Cask from Mount Gay’s Master Blender Collection. Listen for our verdict on this, as well as a sweet Frizzante wine called, ‘the wink’, the brand new virtual reality wine-sniffing experience, and the best wine Jason has ever tried!

Our Guest Drinker

Bring a Bottle Podcast Episode 99 Jason Myers

If you didn’t catch Episode 97, then Jason is a hospitality CEO currently involved with Grosvenor pubs, opening new and exciting projects regularly, like The Hare & Hounds in Newbury, and Wild Thyme and Honey in the Cotswolds. He loves his wine and whisky and has worked and travelled around the world seeking out amazing food and drink experiences. Welcome back, Jason!

What’s In Our Glass?

Mount Gay Madeira Cask Rum

Filling our glasses in the podcast studio this week is a beautiful rum from Mount Gay’s Master Blender Collection, the Mount Gay Madeira Cask Selection. Mount Gay is the world’s oldest rum distillery, and their Mount Gay Madeira Cask Selection is special stuff. A bit of a step away from the other bottles in the collection, you’ll find notes of orchard fruit, pear, grapefruit, vanilla, butterscotch and a really nutty note coming from the Madeira cask. It’s super balanced with a deep complexity to it and with only 2706 bottles made it’s a delicious treat that we are sure will be snapped up fast!

Size: 700ml
ABV: 55%
Find here: £160

Drinks News

olfactory virtual reality wine

Have you ever heard of an olfactometer? Well, it’s a machine designed to deliver odours of some kind, and a Swedish University collaboration has created a wine-sniffing virtual reality experience with it. The user enters a virtual wine cellar, and scores points depending on correct guesses of the aromas in each bottle. We think that after all that you’d be desperate for a taste that isn’t virtual, but the experience still sounds fascinating!

Drinkers Discovery

L’Occhiolino

L’Occhiolino is a sparkling red wine, which translates as, ‘wink’ from Italian. It’s a very unique style of Frizzante from Emilia-Romagna, and although you might not take to it unless you like sweeter wine, it’s a lot of fun. At 7.5% ABV, it’s weaker than your usual Prosecco, and that’s a good job because it is very moreish! If you like a new wine flavour with a yeasty quality, then it’s definitely worth giving a go. We love the bottle too - it would make for a lovely present.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 7.5%
Find here: £12

Mount Gay Distillery Fun Fact

the history of mount gay rum

Ironically, way back in 1703 it was a man called John Sober who originally started the small distillery at the top of Mount Gilboa, Barbados. After a while, Sir John Gay Alleyne, a fourth generation Barbadian was introduced, and his innovations grew the distillery so much that the entire distillery took his name!

Instant Sommelier

best wine for a romantic meal

Listen to find out what Jason’s favourite wine of all time is (this is a guy that’s tried many remember!), as well as his other go-to’s for different occasions.

Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 97

Greetings drinkers! You can listen to Episode 97 of the Bring a Bottle Podcast now! Joining Helena is Jason Myers, a hospitality king who travels the world seeking out amazing food and drink experiences. Discover why his favourite ever whisky cocktail may have changed mid-recording, hear about the pub returning to candlelight, the blockchain powered fine wine revolution and how will Helena fair putting herself in the ‘Buy it or Bin it’ firing line? 

Our Guest Drinker

Joining Helena on the pod this week we have Jason Myers! He’s a hospitality CEO who’s worked and travelled around the world, always keeping one eye on food and drink (particularly his beloved wine and whisky). When he’s back on home turf he’s involved with Grosvenor pubs, opening wonderful new sites like The Hare & Hounds in Newbury, and Wild Thyme and Honey in the Cotswolds. Welcome, Jason!

What’s In Our Glass?

Bruichladdich (pronounced like ‘brookladdie if you weren’t sure), is a very progressive distillery from the island of Islay just off the west Scottish coast. They’re the first of their kind to become a ‘BCorp’, meaning exceptionally high levels of social and environmental performance but right now we’re focusing on what’s inside their ‘Classic Laddie’ Scotch, and it’s very nice indeed.

Unlike the neighbouring distilleries on the island, the entire range is made without the use of peat. It’s a super warm, floral, and elegant Single Malt Scotch with a nice smokiness coming through. It’s bottled at 50% but make no mistake, it’s very easy drinking and not heavy at all. 

Size: 700ml
ABV: 50%
Find here: £41.45

Not only does it make for a stunning dram, but it also makes a fabulous cocktail. Here’s what we tried in the studio…

Young Laddie

The sweetness and bitters balance out delightfully here, retaining a subtle smokiness that’s perfect as an introductory whisky cocktail for a newbie. The garnish twists tie everything together very nicely at the end too, so we recommend you include one. 

Ingredients
50ml Classic Laddie
20ml simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
Walnut bitters
Grapefruit/ orange/ lemon twist (garnish)

Method:
Simply combine everything (except the twists), add a large chunk of ice, and stir until chilled. Squeeze the twists before dropping them in and you’re ready to go!

Drinks News

The Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire is rolling back the years by switching off all the lights every Thursday evening in November and setting up cosy candlelit dinners instead. It’s not just because of the tough times we live in either, it’s just to get back to basics and create a romantic and cosy atmosphere. Could this become a trend? We certainly think it should!

Buy it or Bin it

Something slightly different this week as Jason puts his wine tasting to the test with this dense, savoury, and blackcurrant-y red... little does he know it’s actually a Bourdeaux blend by Helena herself!

Crurated

Crurated is a wine community completely changing up the fine wine industry by selling fractions of wine barrels that you can personalise yourself. It’s a membership club that uses blockchain and NFT technology to skip the middleman and open up the world of fine wine to everyone. Helena chats with Paolo Sforza to find out more in the podcast and you can also read more here.

Instant Sommelier

What wine would Jason pick to impress colleagues?  And has his favourite ever whisky cocktail changed literally over the course of the podcast? Listen to hear the answers to these questions and other fab recommendations!

Mailbag

A question from the mailbag to finish of course, and it’s...*drum roll* ‘What is the best value wine usually found on a pub wine list?’ Listen in to find out what you need to drink next time you’re down the pub!