Real talk, making any money as a writer is tough, so I'm thinking of turning on payments for my Substack.

Which of these would entice you most?

#Beer #Cider #Spirits #Cocktails #DrinksWriting #WriterLife #Newsletter @drinkstodon

What do you want to know about most when reading about a drink.

(I'm treating "how it tastes" as a given here.)

Vote or comment to add one I didn't think of.

Boosts appreciated to encourage more votes.

#DrinksWriting #Beer #Cider #Spirits #Gin #Whisky #Cocktails @drinkstodon

Do you know what links these three gins?

No, I don't mean juniper. Try harder.

Or just find out the easy way by reading the latest edition of The Glass 👇

https://theglass.substack.com/p/linking-drinking

#Gin #Spirits #Drinks #DrinksWriting

Writing about three gins, one of which is owned by Bacardi. Yes, Bacardi, the international war sponsors funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (See https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2023/08/bacardi-joins-ukraines-war-sponsor-list/)

I have two options, I guess:

1. Mention the gin, but call Bacardi out and don't pass on details of where to buy it.

2. Drop it from my list and replace it with something else.

FWIW it's a very good gin.

What would you do?

#Gin #UkraineWar #BoycottBarcardi #Spirits #DrinksWriting #Ukraine #Bacardi

I asked ChatGPT to write me a tasting note for a specific gin, 100 to 150 words long, with details of its flavour, where it is made, and what botanicals it contains.

The results were bland, boring to read, riddled with factual errors, and left me feeling like I didn't know any more about the gin than I had before I read them.

Hardly surprising, but nice to feel like my job is safe for a little while longer at least.

#Gin #ChatGPT #AIWriting #AmWriting #Bots #DrinksWriting #TastingNotes

Making notes for a brief passage I'll be writing on louching in spirits, a.k.a. the ouzo effect — i.e. spirits turning cloudy when diluted with water.

Getting sidetracked though by reading about Cointreau (which louches) and thinking I could really go for some of that right about now.

Did not know until now that it's made from a sugar beet based alcohol, but I guess I ought to have guessed given its French roots.

#Cointreau #Spirits #Louching #DrinksWriting

I'm very lucky to have a job where I get to sit around tasting gin all day* and call it work.

Most of the time they're pretty good, too. Sometimes I get disappointing gins or lacklustre gins, but very rarely do I get anything outright unpleasant.

The one just now though... fuck me that was vile.

* Using a spittoon, before you make drunk jokes.

#OccupationalHazard #DrinksWriting #Gin #AmWriting #NonFictionBook #GinATastingCourse

First gin out the tasting blocks today is a belter.

I didn't expect anything from this gin, so it's a really pleasant surprise to boot.

#GinATastingCourse #GinTasting #NonFictionBook #AmWriting #DrinksWriting

New Gin Diaries post coming up on The Glass tomorrow.

This one is on what it's like to be writing a #NonFictionBook about #Gin. A day-to-day behind-the-scenes sorta thing.

If you want to get it right into your inbox you can sign up here:

https://theglass.substack.com

It's a free, irregular newsletter on #Beer #Cider #Sprits #Cocktails.

#GinATastingCourse #TheGlass #NewLetter #DrinksWriting

The arrival of this gin takes my samples count to:

🍸 306 gins, from
🌐 32 countries

This one came all the way from Tasmania. I've heard good things about it so can't wait to try it out.

#GinATastingCourse #Gin #Spirits #AmWriting #NonFictionBook #DrinksWriting #GinTasting #AussieGin

It's the British Guild of Beer Writers annual awards dinner tonight, and I am up for an award for writing about beer and sustainability.

It's usually a fun evening, and I don't see why this year should be any different!

Best of luck to my fellow nominees for this and all the other awards handed out tonight.

#Beer #DrinksWriting #Awards #BeerWriting #DrinksWriter #Writing

Nice bit of news this morning: I'm up for another award, this time from the British Guild of Beer Writers.

Best of luck to everyone nominated 🍺

#drinkswriting #award #beer

Hi! Who dis? This is me:

I'm a #drinkswriter from #London.

I write about #beer, #cider, #spirits and #cocktails. (Sometimes with a #travel or #sustainability angle.)

I'm writing a book about #gin that will be published in September 2023.

Here are a few more relevant tags

#writer #writing #nonfiction #brewing #distilling #mixology #drinkswriting #UK #craftbeer

AKA @agladman on #twitter for those who also came here during the #twittermigration