A picture at times can be so incomplete as well....

These images from limitless, show you what is hidden behind so many pictures, the art to capture can show you so many different sides of the same thing... It is comletely upon what you want to see and what you want to ignore....

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The Story of World Costliest Cocktail.....

On 11th of October, 2012 Salvatore Calabrese, broke the record for the costliest cocktail ever made, here is the complete story for you....

What could go wrong? Well, Salvatore attempted the world record in July, but calamity struck: the bottle of 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, worth around £50,000, was dropped. 'When something gets smashed in a bar it's normally cleaned up straight away,' he says. 'But in this case everyone just stood looking at the puddle for 10 minutes. Should we try to sponge it up and filter the liquid? We mopped it up in the end; funnily enough, the bartender who cleaned it away was stopped by police on his way home and asked if he'd been drinking.'

Salvatore Calabrese

The remains of that bottle are now behind glass in the 'museum cabinet' at Salvatore's Bar, containing more than £1 million worth of vintage cognacs. For today's attempt, however, he managed to find a replacement bottle, as well as a 1770 bottle of Kummel liquer, an 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao and a tiny bottle of 19th-century Angostura bitters.

For as well as being the most expensive single drink in history, Salvatore's record-breaking cocktail will also be the oldest, with a combined age of 730 years. Two of the bottles here are from the time of the American Revolution, of Captain Cook and Marie Antoinette. William Wordsworth was born in 1770. Today is an event of almost archaeological importance. Indeed, Salvatore tackles the wax seal on the first bottle with all the sensitivity of a Bronze Age tomb excavation. There's several minutes of silence as he struggles, in front of an audience of bar regulars, friends and fellow bartenders, using a heated knife to loose the cork… and it's out. After all four bottles are opened, Salvatore tastes a thimbleful of each, 'to see if the drink is still alive and can be used'. The verdict? 'Mamma Mia!'

For the attempt, during London's Cocktail Week, he uses a 100-year-old bottle opener, the first mixing glass he ever used, given to him 40 years ago, and a rare, 19th-century glass. The ice is not vintage, but 'wonderfully pure'. 'Salvatore's Legacy' is mixed and stirred, sampled by its inventor, then handed to a man in the corner to drink. For the attempt to be verified by the Guinness Book of Records, the cocktail has to be actually bought by someone. The unnamed guest will be given a bill for £5,500. For a single drink.

And so the world record is broken and held by the UK. For the past four years it has been held by Dubai, for a £3,766.52 cocktail made at the Burj Al Arab hotel. Should you feel like taking another title, Dubai still holds the record for the biggest kebab (468kg), the largest coin (a metre wide) and the longest line of sandwiches (2,667.13 metres). Or you may want to wash your hands of the whole thing. But Dubai holds the record for that - for 72 different nationalities washing their hands at the same time.

Salvatore's Legacy

40ml 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac

20ml 1770 Kummel Liqueur

20ml circa 1860 Dubb Orange Curacao

4 dashes of circa 1900s Angostura Bitter

Salvatore at Playboy, 14 Old Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1K 1ND (020 7491 8586; www.playboyclublondon.com)

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5 Simple Rules to Avoid Bitter Memories After a Night of Partying...

We’ve all been there and done that. And what starts off as a great night with friends and colleagues ends up in a disaster. If you wake up next morning with not only a hangover but also the question ‘did-i-do-that’, then here are a few tips that will ensure that you don’t go overboard while having a good time.

Find your way home

Last things first. While the night might take all sorts of twists and turns always plan ahead and know how are you getting home. Is there are teetotaler in your group of friends who can drive, are you calling a cab or is someone picking you up? Decide this before you start to make sure that you reach home safe and wake up next day with happy memories and all of your belongings.

Don’t stay hungry

One of the most common mistakes is starting the party without food. While we are all tempted to hit the bar first, food is where you should start. Eating before and during drinking ensures that alcohol gets absorbed slowly. If you drink on an empty stomach, you will get drunk faster, which means an early night or embarrassing behavior.

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Don't mix drinks

While people debate if mixing two types of alcohol actually does cause quicker intoxication and sickness, it is fact that mixing (two or more types) liquor might make you consume more alcohol than you would if you stick to just one type. If you drink more, you are obviously likely to get more inebriated. So pick one type and stick to it for the night.

Be a cautious explorer

Think of yourself as an experimenter? Love trying out different cocktails and liquors? Though all of this sounds very exciting, fact is cocktails contain different kinds of ingredient and liquors. And above all, most of them taste delicious. If you are ordering a cocktail or new type of alcohol, enquire about it. Get to know how many types of alcohol are in it, what are the ingredients and alcohol percentage. Accordingly, decide how many of those can you consume.

Tipsy, high or drunk?

Be aware of what level of intoxication are you on. Stop, get a glass of water, hydrate and resume depending on how you feel. Alcohol dehydrates you and also draws vitamins and minerals out of your body. Maintain the balance by drinking one glass of water after one drink. Pace yourself well and enjoy the entire night.


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What is the Right Way to Enjoy Your Whisky Scotch.... Lets Find Out...

How to Enjoy Scotch Whicky by Mangoloops.blogspot.com

When I was asked to write a guide on how Scotch whisky should be drunk, I was thrilled, to put it mildly. The feeling was akin to swallowing a mouthful of smoky single malt. Pure delight. I have been blessed with a few opportunities to sample some of Scotland’s finest offerings over the years, and have come to appreciate the finer points and subtle nuances of this magical elixir. Yep, I’m not afraid to announce, I’m a little bit of a whisky snob.

Scotch Whisky in itself, is a symbol of man’s ever-lasting pursuit of perfection, a representation of the finest that life can offer.

It has been a drink for all occasions. and there always will be contrasting opinions on how Scotch is drunk best. Well, let’s settle it, there’s no right or wrong way, it’s a matter of personal preference. But some methods enhance and elevate tastes and flavours more than others.

Rocks Glass

Let’s start with the glass. Most people, use a rocks glass for Scotch. While this is not a bad choice, the ‘nosing glass’ allows for greater retention of vapours, which enhance the multiple flavour layers in your drink. Another fairly recent innovation is the Glencairn Glass. With its tapered mouth and wide bowl, this design won the 2006 Queen's Award for Innovation!

Glencairn Glass

The next point that everyone seems to disagree on is whether to add ice. While some people are dead against it, some experts recommend adding a couple of ice balls, which melt slower than cubes and will thus water down your Scotch less. Another innovation is ‘whisky stones’. These metal or soapstone cubes retain cold temperatures for long periods of time. Chill in your freezer and then use them to cool your drink without diluting it!

Reusable Steel Chilling Cubes

You’re probably thinking, why are these so-called experts dead against watering down your Scotch? Which brings us to a huge bone of contention - mixers. Soda, cola, juices, and more. It begs the question - why drink Scotch at all if you need to mask the taste?

I, for one, believe that a good Scotch needs just ice. I prefer mine with a splash of cool water, or a single ice-cube, so i can savour the myriad flavours.

A few drops of water melting into your drink helps unfurl the proud battle flag that is the Scotch aroma array. If you sip Scotch neat, a lot of the subtler notes may get shouted down, if you will, by the powerful initial hit of alcohol.

The best way to make sure you don’t end up with too much water in your Scotch,  is to use LARGE ice cubes. This way, you favourite Scotch will chill, with just that caress of cool water, that will ensure that subtle flavour bouquet really blossoms.

Pure, soft spring water, is recommended to enhance the distinctive aroma and flavour of a whisky. Tap water may contain high amounts of chlorine and therefore would hinder the taste bouquet of the Scotch.

Well, that leaves us with the last, most controversial topic yet. Scotch cocktails. Some purists would consider it blasphemous. They’d compare it to mashing up Handel's ‘Hallelujah’ with metchul double-bass blastbeats.

So should you ever mix Scotch?

At the risk of ruffling a few feathers, I say yes. A number of well-crafted cocktails blend the rich flavour palette of various Scotch whiskies with a whole lineup of other ingredients to create some pretty amazing cocktails.

In conclusion, the general consensus regarding Scotch and how it should be drunk is now shifting from an elitist, my-way-or-the-highway attitude towards a more accommodating, open-minded vibe.

Try out a few of our suggestions, see how you enjoy your Scotch best, and stick with that.

In the words of renowned Scottish historian and writer David Daiches, “The proper drinking of Scotch whisky is more than indulgence: it is a toast to civilization, a tribute to the continuity of culture, a manifesto of man’s determination to use the resources of nature to refresh mind and body and enjoy to the full the senses with which he has been endowed.”

So go ahead, indulge yourself with your favourite Scotch, and raise a toast to all the good things in life.

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