MANY people buy into the "dry January" idea whereby they forego booze for the month of January to allow their system to recover after the excesses of the festive season.
I am not one of those people.
So with Shirley preparing the very Scottish breakfast of porridge, I would suggest a restorative Amaro to go alongside. Amaro is a herbally infused digestif from Italy which works really well at the end of a rich meal, but which also peps you up the following morning after a heavy session the night before. Simply pour a decent measure either straight, over ice or with tonic and feel the previous evening’s over-indulgence dissipate.
There are many good bottles of Amaro available in every decent wine and spirit emporium, but my favourite is the Amaro Ciociaro (Inverarity One to One, £16.99). This recipe has been a closely guarded secret since 1873, and a bottle of this in your drinks cabinet will almost certainly change your life without overly affecting your bank balance.
The other secret way of combating dry January is to focus on half-bottles. Now, I’m not suggesting for a minute that you should drink less … instead I’m saying if you have a very decent half bottle in the rack, you can open it to have a wee extra glass after you’ve finished the first full bottle of the night. A decent wine merchant will always have a good selection of half-bottles available. Just bear in mind that a half-bottle will mature at a quicker rate than a full bottle, so a 2012 half-bottle will taste richer and more mellow than a 2012 full bottle from the same producer.
Valduero Crianza 2010 Ribera del Duero (Inverarity One to One, £5.49 half-bottle). This is a fabulously rich Spanish Tempranillo at a bargain basement price. It works well with hearty stews, red meat and game.
Morgon Les Vieux Cédres Loron et Fils 2011 (Inverarity One to One, £3.99 half-bottle). This is a lovely wee Gamay from Beaujolais, which works perfectly with paté, charcuterie and the cheeseboard.
Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow inverarity121.com
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