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Chris Mads

Mar 25, 2019

The launch of Method & Madness Gin - VLOG

The craft gin segment is booming today - and now there is a new player in town. Irish Distillers, who are the Pernod Ricard-owned outfit responsible for Jameson Irish Whiskey, launched their new gin just outside Cork in Ireland recently and I tagged along with a few other journos to try it out. A bit of background, for those who are interested, the Method & Madness was first produced in 2017 by Irish Distillers as a way of trying out new ideas for whiskey making. It has now b

Welcome to Bali

Chris Mads

Dec 29, 2018

Welcome to Bali

We touched down in Bali 48 hours ago and it's safe to say both S and I are in love. Not only is this one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, but the people are lovely and the food is to die for. Getting into Bali is not that easy - the immigration queue was about an hour and a half, but once we escaped the airport we were whisked off on an hour's taxi ride north to Ubud. As the scenery around us turned a lush green we got the feeling we were close. And this is our

Fremantle, Sunsets and Christmas Day in Oz

Chris Mads

Dec 26, 2018

Fremantle, Sunsets and Christmas Day in Oz

So Christmas in the sun was a blast! On Sunday we headed down to Cottesloe Beach to catch the last of the sun and see it set over the horizon. It turns out the vegans had been out in force to spread the word in the area, so we put S in place for a photo op. And the sunset did not let us down as the fishermen kept up their efforts through the dusk. For Christmas Eve, we headed down to Fremantle, which was genuinely brilliant. It has a brilliant vibe as you head through market

Christmas Down Under - Part 1

Chris Mads

Dec 23, 2018

Christmas Down Under - Part 1

With the winter weather turning London and Surrey into a scene reminiscent of a post "Winter is Coming" Game of Thrones, S and I have escaped to sunnier climes for the festive season. We are spending Christmas with S's family in Perth on Australia's West Coast, where the temperature is currently tipping the mercury at 41 degrees. We set off early Monday morning and touched down in Perth on Tuesday afternoon, just in time to collapse in jet-lagged confusion. Since then we have

A snapshot of Beirut

Chris Mads

Nov 23, 2018

A snapshot of Beirut

Winter has arrived here in London; the floor is white with frost and the air is freezing. So I imagine there are a few of you looking for a spot for some winter sun. Let me put in a good word for Beirut. Now stay with me. I imagine Beirut conjours up some less than pleasant images in the minds of most folks - indeed that was the reaction of most people when I said I was being posted out there for work - but don't believe the fallacy. The city has had a tumultuous past; a plan

Yes we Cannes

Chris Mads

Oct 16, 2018

Yes we Cannes

I'm currently sat in Nice Cote d'Azur Airport having just completed my second Cannes show. The Cannes event is my industry's biggest of the year and it generally leaves a few people rather broken. From the moment the opening cocktail party starts on Sunday, until the show closes on Friday afternoon, it is a rollercoaster of meetings, exhibitions, presentations, cocktail parties and some very late nights. In general you expect to spend about 19 hours of the day awake and most

Escape to Amsterdam

Chris Mads

Sep 26, 2018

Escape to Amsterdam

Sometimes the perfect preparation for a crazy time is an escape; with a new term looming for S and my busy season fast approaching we decided to hit the road for a city break. Truth be told, the last year has been pretty manic for the two of us and it was ideal to take a few days, relax and just enjoy each other’s company in another city. So, what did we want? Somewhere not too far-flung, easy to stroll around, coffee shops and street-front bars to get lost in and a few littl

Millennial Gent Diary

Chris Mads

Sep 25, 2018

Millennial Gent Diary

So, it has been a while. Sorry. Sometimes life drifts along and sometimes it come in droves – and it has been flying lately. I’m not complaining; it has been a maelstrom of deadlines, work trips and holidays. But it hasn’t given me much time to speak to you guys, so apologies. As an example, I am writing this sat in Heathrow Terminal 4, waiting for a flight to Moscow for 24 hours, before returning to the UK for four days and then jetting out to Cannes for a week. As an aside,

Escape to the country

Chris Mads

Aug 8, 2018

Escape to the country

With weather like we are having it seems a crime to rush away to foreign climes. S and I love a good globe-trotting jaunt just as much as the next person, but as the madness of the last few weeks faded away we decided to escape for some R&R in the countryside. S knew of The Water Tower from a previous trip and had always wanted to go back. A converted water tower nestled on a farm just off the South Downs, what could be better? Check them out here. We jumped in the motor, fee

Up in the Swiss hills

Chris Mads

Jun 28, 2018

Up in the Swiss hills

It has been a busy couple of days. I've been buzzing around Switzerland visiting herb farms and gardens up in the hills surrounding Basel. It might seem like an odd way to spend a couple of days, but it's not; I'm here for work, to see the people behind Swiss herbal sweet brand Ricola. It is a family-owned business which was founded in the region at the start of last century by a baker who believed herbs were good for you, but needed to be given a better flavour. Every sweet

A Highland swing

Chris Mads

May 28, 2018

A Highland swing

"To mountain spring, To river flows, Where the heather and the thistle grows..." I saw that on a poster a couple of years ago and never really got it. Until now. Despite Scotland being attached to England and ostensibly only a few hours north, I had never ventured up there. But last week work took me to the Scottish Highlands and now I cannot wait for a chance to go back. I was based in Craigellachie, in the beautiful Craigellachie Hotel. It is a delightful little boutique

A distillery opening with The Macallan

Chris Mads

May 24, 2018

A distillery opening with The Macallan

I have just been lucky enough to witness a true once-in-a-generation moment. The nice folks at Edrington and The Macallan flew me up to join a party of about 500 others to get an exclusive first-look at their new distillery on Speyside. Unsurprisingly, there were drams galore. Obviously this one was for work - and you can see the final story here - but it was also a brilliant experience. Distillery openings are not something which happen every day. This one cost £140 million

Champagne rooftop nights in Singapore

Chris Mads

May 15, 2018

Champagne rooftop nights in Singapore

I know Las Vegas is traditionally called the "bright light city" but I am going to put in a vote for Singapore to be, at the least, a very close second. Every year my whole industry descends on Singapore for its second biggest annual event. So last week I packed up my case with two suits and a couple of items of eveningwear and headed for the East. This time, though, S was coming along for the ride too. In my head this meant she would get to see that I do actually do some wor

The Secret Garden of Madrid

Chris Mads

Apr 19, 2018

The Secret Garden of Madrid

Madrid is famous for many things: art, markets, plazas...but tucked away on top of a shop in the middle of the city it has its own secret garden. El Jardin Secreto is hidden away on the top floor of the Salvador Bachiller department store. And it is wonderful. If I was to plan the perfect relaxed day out in Europe I would start at Mariage Frères in Paris and head to Madrid for afternoon tea. S discovered the Jardin Secreto and led me there, so all credit for this one goes to

How to do airport breakfast

Chris Mads

Apr 17, 2018

How to do airport breakfast

In the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Johnny Depp's unhinged CIA agent kills a cook at a Mexican restaurant because his cochinita pibil is "too good". According to Depp's character, Sheldon Sands, he eats the same thing at every restaurant he goes to. His rationale for killing the cook, it turns out, is that he must keep the balance by eliminating a chef whose version of the meal is too good. Ignoring the murderous insanity of the second half of the scene,

Escape to Madrid

Chris Mads

Apr 12, 2018

Escape to Madrid

This time last week I was sipping vermouth in a marketplace in Madrid. After a busy start to the year and a family-filled Easter weekend, S and I decided to get away for a quiet few days. We picked Madrid for a few days escape, wandering around a new city. Madrid does not have the glamour or reputation of Barcelona, and is not as on-trend as Seville is this year, but it was a perfect short break. We picked up an AirBnB right next to Plaza Mayor in the middle of the city. If y

A cold day in Shakespeare country

Chris Mads

Mar 23, 2018

A cold day in Shakespeare country

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" At the weekend S and I made a quick overnight trip to the home of the Bard, Stratford-upon-Avon. This mini weekend away idea has become quite a success of ours recently. Our working timetables mean we don't always get strings of days off together, so we make the most of when we do. I met S after work at 4pm on Saturday and by 6.30 we were in our hotel in Stratford. That gave us a day and night for moseying about, relaxing and generall

Travel real tale: What I've learned

Chris Mads

Mar 21, 2018

Travel real tale: What I've learned

I travel for work. I know that sounds very exciting and glamorous - and it is, sort of. But there are a few moments when plane-hopping round the world delivers the sort of head-shaking, face-palming experience that you get in any other work place. Whether it is a 5am flight out of a back-of-beyond airport (to save costs), a red-eye flight straight into an office meeting or pre-arranged travel plans falling apart as you are half way through a city where you know neither people

Two parties in Tel Aviv

Chris Mads

Mar 19, 2018

Two parties in Tel Aviv

Last week was a bit quiet on the blog - mainly because it wasn't that quiet off the blog. I headed off to Tel Aviv, Israel, for a work conference. I've not been to Israel before but everything I read said Tel Aviv is the livlier, "more youthful" place to visit, as compared to its more historic neighbours. As ever, I can't speak from great experience on the city itself. As I've mentioned before, the nature of work conferences is generally that we fly in and out pretty swiftly

Holiday dreams: Scuba diving in Gran Canaria

Chris Mads

Feb 9, 2018

Holiday dreams: Scuba diving in Gran Canaria

My list of places I want to go is already pretty impressive, but I think it just got one name longer. In a couple of months Spain will open its first ever dedicated scuba diving resort and when "spend your days underwater visiting shipwrecks" is on the bill you know you just might be onto a winner. The spot, located in Puerto do Mogan, has 20 dives sites, ranging from 12m to 30m with some 70m spots for deep and tech divers. It is also set up in a pictureqsue fishing village w

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