Who looks the plonker: the whisky bore who drinks the oldest single malt within reach or the person who likes it with a splash of coke? Well here’s a thing. The guys who make the world’s whisky when down the pub have a choice of mixer on the bar: a jug of water or a bottle of lemonade. They choose, of course, the lemonade because that’s what they like best, according to whisky maker Ian Williams manager of Home of […]
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Grange Hermitage 1990
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Wagyu beef: the virtual farmer
This story came out in The Australian on Friday. I can’t find the link online so have posted the raw copy here. When the cast of Hollywood tucked in to beef burgers after this years 77th Academy Awards, it was made from Blackmore Wagyu Beef. When the first Yarra Valley truffles arrived at the Botanical restaurant in Melbourne, chef Paul Wilson served it with Blackmore Wagyu Beef. And if you visit what Gourmet Traveller has rated as Australia’s top restaurant, […]
The Australian: The fat of the land
From the Entrepreneur supplement. David Blackmore is a farmer with a difference – he’s prepared to outsource, writes Ed Charles
Warming up for Sunday breakfast meme
Just warming-up the new Ricoh for Andrew at Spittoon Extra’s breakfast meme. Saturday morning at ikea. I was ready to be apaled. Two sausages, two hash browns, bacon (I avoided the spongy looking scrambled egg), tomato and beans plus an orange juice and a pretty good long black for AUD6. That’s about £2.50. And it was better than many hotels I’ve stayed in. I’m impressed. Let’s not forget the flat white. Delicious but sloppy with dribbles down the side of […]
Religion: tread carefully in business overseas
Commissioned for an advertising report on The Australian that didn’t go ahead. Already companies investing is Asia have had to be savvy recognising whether they are working with the aggressively entrepreneurial Chinese or supposedly laid back Buddhist cultures. Asian is a cultural melting pot in terms of race and religion. About 88 per cent of Indonesians are Muslim. In Malaysia the figure is 56 percent, Singapore 14.9 per cent and Thailand 4.6 per cent. Thailand is dominated by Buddhists (88 […]
Super insurance: Do you need it
Commissioned by The Australian for an advertising report that was spiked. Insurance and superannuation are two of those necessities that most of us choose to ignore. We are baffled by the concepts let alone the detail in the small print. In short, these products are not friendly to the average consumer. Yet it is the average consumer that needs to know most about both of these topics. Since the introduction of super choice on July 1 this year it has […]
Keep it stupid simple
New camera. Fifth shot. No touch-ups. Fast Company recently noted that what makes Google so great is that it is simple. Just one box on a page without the pretensions of being a portal. Simple is what I like. Simple food. Simple gadgets like the Apple Macintosh and the Ipod. A camera should be simple too. That’s the beauty of those cardboard disposable ones. Just point and shoot. My original Canon Ixus was relatively simple to use. Alas my first […]
Steak sandwich
A stroll up the road. Yum. One steak sandwich and an Asahi. AUD16. Inkr7 7 Inkerman St, St Kilda, Vic (03 9534 6011). Oh, did I mention the whizz bang digital camera? More on choosing one later.