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The Aperol Spritz is less a cocktail and more a personality trait. It’s the colour of optimism, the taste of satisfaction, and the sound of someone clinking their oversized wine glass against a marble table while whispering, “We should do this every Thursday.” And frankly, it’s glorious.
On 13 August, 2025, in a move so fabulously extra it deserves its own Oscar, luxury tailors Miles Wharton and Rami Mikhael of The Bespoke Corner unveiled their love child with premium bourbon label Woodford Reserve, the Woodford Reserve Traxedo.
And so when Koko Black, that alchemist of Australian chocolate, invited me to taste their mooncakes, that is mooncakes reimagined, mooncakes dreamed anew in ganache and praline, it was as though the goddess herself had slipped me a second, sweeter elixir.
Beenleigh, the grand old dame of Australian distilling, keeping us all upright since 1884, is celebrating summer with a brand-new citrusy star, Hard Orange Crush. It’s fizzy, it’s fruity, it’s 4.5% grown-up fun in a can.
Escaping Sydney in the dead of winter is always a good idea. But to escape to the 25-degree, sunny climes of Far North Queensland to test-drive a European EV and stay at a luxury eco-resort in a rainforest? Well, that’s a gift.
In a world gone mad with turmeric lattes, oat milk martinis and kombucha cocktails, it’s heartening to know that some things still deliver that old-world, chest-thumping satisfaction. Enter Beenleigh XO Rare Rum, a proudly Australian spirit that waltzes across the global stage like Errol Flynn in full pirate regalia, sword drawn and rum bottle in hand.
By all that is botanically blessed, Never Never has done it again. Australia’s gin-making trio of merry alchemists has not only upgraded their already god-tier spirit, but now bottled it in a vessel so dazzling it could cause a brawl in a Bondi back bar. Behold the new 700ml Never Never bottle. Taller. Sexier. With enough capacity to get you through both a dinner party and your in-laws’ visit without weeping into the sink.
There are many fascinating insights into the world of sommeliers as part of the new Corked podcast on Audible, but the most surprising is this – there are more astronauts in the world than there are master sommeliers.
You know how sometimes you meet a whisky and it’s all gruff and intimidating, like a brooding ex-boyfriend in a Harris Tweed jacket? Well, Kurio is not that whisky. Kurio is the fun one at the party. The one who turns up in velvet loafers, tells scandalous stories about Tasmanian cherries, and then politely asks if you’d like a splash more.
I’m what you’d call a whiskey traditionalist, you know, neat, a splash of water at most, and none of this nonsense about putting it in martinis or mixing it with cola (unless you’re nineteen and on your second heartbreak, in which case, go ahead, drink what you need to). So, when I heard about flavoured whiskeys, my inner purist arched an eyebrow so high it left the postcode.
“You know James Bond’s first car was a Bentley, not an Aston Martin.”
I am told this while sitting in the driver’s seat of an azure-green Bentley Continental GTC Speed convertible, the dash of which lights up with so many buttons and panels I wonder if, like a Bond car, it can deploy some sort of weaponry.
There are few things in life more satisfying than a truly great hat. The kind that instantly makes you look like you have your life together, even if, moments earlier, you were frantically tearing the house apart looking for your car keys.
Opening image credit: nadianb
