Five things I have learned this week #2

1 - My lockdown cocktail of choice has unquestionably been the Highball. Refreshing, quaffable and very dry - it's the perfect shift change from the working day to the evening, even if that just means moving your laptop off the kitchen table and replacing it with knives and forks. So I'm always excited when I find drinks companies focusing on it with whisky blends, such as the team behind Porters Gin who released Glasshouse Whisky specifically for mixing with soda. Get a bottle and mix the easiest and most satisfying cocktail to sip whilst stirring the stew pot. https://glasshouse-whisky.com/

2 - "There will be no non-tariff barriers to trade" — Boris Johnson, Jan-2021. Our first post-Brexit shipment of glass bottles arrived from Italy today. The ￡6,299.87 non-deferred VAT bill, urgent payment request, four phone calls, ￡50 customs charge and 1% handling fee for final clearance I've spent the last 3 hours dealing with beg to differ. I now have to file an E2 VAT form to recover the money. I do not know how to do this.

3 - Talking of Brexit, the hottest topic at a seminar hosted by Scotland Food & Drink yesterday was shipping and groupage. It's almost impossible to ship anything out of the country as single pallets in mixed loads. If your customers don't want to ship an entire container of your product, then you're not trading. (And I'm still unclear as to whether we pronounce Groupage to rhyme with Sewage; or Mirage.)

4 - I've finally read a good article on Bitcoin. I had to read an awful lot to get there, but this is about as good as it gets. Short story - it'll probably drop in price again at some point, perhaps precipitously, but it's not going away. https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/triumph-of-the-hodlers

5 - Jancis Robinson interviewed David Boobbyer recently, the head of a small, but venerable, wine merchant. His top drinking tip? "Seriously old non-vintage champagne, 'Wine Society champagne with age is fantastic.'" As someone whose new year resolutions have included "Drink more champagne" for many years now, I'm all for this. Only I don't know whether he means to buy lots now, and wait; or try and find some, forgotten and dusty, in the backroom of a wine shop. It's academic, I have neither the time nor the money for either. But if you have a cellar of seriously old, non-vintage champagne - I stand firm at an offer of ￡10 a bottle.