Yes, there is a difference. There is a big difference. To me, smoking the odd cigar is to smoking cigarettes what enjoying the odd glass of port is to putting White Lightning on your cornflakes in the morning. Cigar smoking is not addictive, nor is it filthy and antisocial. The health risks are absolutely minimal compared to cigarette smoking. For a start, no true cigar smoker would ever think of inhaling the smoke into his lungs – that’s very poor cigar etiquette indeed. The flavour and experience should suffice. If it doesn’t, you need to stop smoking Hamlets and Café Cremes.

Again, I approach this argument as a self-described non-smoker. I’ve not had a cigar in over six months, nor do I ever feel the absolute craving that a cigarette smoker would feel after mere hours. Not filling one’s lungs with nicotine certainly does help. Whilst cigarettes contain ammonia, cyanide, carbon monoxide, arsenic and tar, a high-quality cigar will contain only tobacco. That’s why you’ll often find a cigar smoker constantly re-lighting – tobacco in itself isn’t particularly flammable. A signal of its quality is how absolutely bloody awkward and painstakingly slow it is to smoke. Suck on a cigarette and see how long that lasts.

At heart, I’m a hedonist. I’m only going to be here for another sixty years if I get a bloody good shot at it, so I’m going to enjoy myself. I have never smoked at home, nor do I tend to smoke in pubs as a matter of course. In fact, it’s often only Christmas, New Year and holidays (whereby I have one practically glued to me – why not? It’s a holiday) plus the occasional social event.

As to the health aspect, recent European studies have shown that (assuming non-smokers have a chance index of 1), occasional smokers (of cigarettes – far more dangerous than cigars) have a chance index of 1.24 of developing smoking-related illnesses, whereas regular smokers have a chance index of more than 50. That is to say that the occasional cigar does, in effect, no harm whatsoever. (The negative health effects of alcohol, caffeine, paracetamol and just about everything besides pure water are significantly higher, it’s worth mentioning.)

Do I like cigarette smokers? Not particularly, no. Especially not if you spark up in the vicinity of others without asking if they mind being subjected to your poisonous gas (something a cigar smoker would always do, despite their choice of smoke being comparatively harmless). However, I strongly believe that all responsible adults have the right to choose their own poison, if you’ll pardon the pun.

As an aside, local readers might like to peruse the selection of my personal favourite fine wine and cigar outlet, Cambridge Wine Merchants in Ampthill.

*That all-reliable source, Wikipedia, describes a smoker as ‘used to mean a person who habitually smokes tobacco on a daily basis’. Unfortunately, my life insurance company doesn’t.

That’s what’s happening right now as I sit here in my own living room with a glass of deep-ruby 5am Saint sat beside me. I know it’s going to be good. It’s going to be mind-blowing. It’s going to be one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted. That’s why I’m so afraid. I don’t want to like it, really I don’t.

But I do. As a bridegroom signs away his life by uttering those two immortal words, I lift the glass toward my nose.  Wow. Hops. Lots of them. A sweet banana-like aroma lifts off the surface of the beer and dances the Paso Doble in my nostrils. I’m in love. There’s chocolate and caramel and every sexy and sensual smell you could think of, and they’re all cloying for my attention. I feel as though I’m in charge, yet I know I’m under its spell.

The Paso Doble becomes a jive once the beer hits my mouth, the fruity bubbles racing over my tongue as the hop oils seep through the chocolatey malt and banana tones. Yes, the banana’s still there, and I can’t get enough of it. I can pick up crystal malt and a light touch of liqueur coffee waving sensuously to me from the background. Jesus Christ, it’s blowing kisses at me now. Diving in for another sip, the flavours are even stronger, building to an almighty climax on the swallow before the inevitable but not regrettable dwindling of flavours and senses as the music fades and I re-enter the real world. It’s not a world I want to be back in. I’m going back for more.

The pub in question has been standing for almost two hundred years and is certainly considered to be one of the most traditional pubs in the area. Fortunately, we’ve since discovered that the pub in question will not have a restrictive covenant in place (a restrictive covenant restricts the future use of a property – in this instance ensuring that a closed pub can never again be re-opened as a pub) but it still throws up a number of issues which require careful consideration.

All too often, unfortunately, the very people who lodge appeals against pub closures and restrictive covenants are those who never (or rarely) use the pub other than to enjoy a glass of tonic water on two evenings during the summer. The fact of the matter is that we’re all using pubs less and less and this is as good for them as it would be for any other business.

I’m the last person to want to see any pub close, be it temporarily or permanently. Pubs are the hubs of their communities and play a vital part not only in community cohesion, but in boosting the local economy and furthering the sadly-declining morsel of human interaction. That said, we cannot simply sit by and enjoy looking at these pubs before complaining when they close. If you want your local pub to stay open, you need to visit regularly (at least once a week) and ensure that you help them to help you.

Any pub closure is always bad news, but the lesson is a simple one: use it or lose it.

What do you think? Are pub closures inevitable or can they be reversed? What do you see as the secret to halting the decline of the great British pub?

Today’s whisky is The Macallan 18 Year Old single malt. Weighing in at a very cool £70 a bottle, it’s shaping up to be good stuff already. According to the Master of Malt website:

The nose is punchy and of medium-body. There are notes of dry oak and wood shavings, hints of crème de cacao, crème anglaise and marmalade. There are notes of apple blossom and cut flowers. The palate is quite sweet and rich. There are notes of winter spice and Demerara, hints of rum and sherried sultanas, vanilla emegres with cooked appls and cut rosy apples. There are notes of mixed peels. The finish is of medium-length with a solid oak.

I’ll be the judge of that. Now, during beer reviews I would usually comment on colour and condition. Having two bottles of whisky here in front of me, I can certainly see a distinct (if slight) colour difference, but I don’t imagine I’ll be commenting much on head retention or gas content here.

On to the nose, and yes – it’s definitely whisky. It’s slightly sweet, yet mellow and lacks the cheap sharpness that many shop-bought whiskies (you know the ones I’m talking about) tend to have. All in all, it smells very pleasant. I must admit that at first, my nose recoiled in horror at even the slightest hint of what I knew to be whisky. However, on further smelling, I can already tell that this is in a class of its own and simply should not be judged against what I knew to be whisky before today.

A generous measure in the glass, then, and into the mouth it goes. The alcohol practically lifts off the surface of the liquid and up through the roof of the mouth. It’s fresh and vibrant but incredibly smooth. The after-taste is slightly nutty and has something of the tropics about it. It’s very rich and would make a great after-dinner whisky.

What more is there to say? It’s a thoroughly cracking whisky and has genuinely awakened my enthusiasm for a drink I never really had much time for before today. If you’re even slightly into whisky, you need to get yourself a bottle of this stuff. It’s almost Christmas, so why not treat yourself? Make sure you buy it from Master of Malt and tell them Adam sent you. They probably won’t care, but it’ll make me feel special.

The beer, which is billed as an IPA, pours light and lively with lots of bubbling and a fair visual condition. The nose contains lots of sweet fruity notes with heavy hints of kiwi and banana. The fresh, sweet and fruity aromas give way to a lively mouthfeel with sweetness coming through to the aftertaste which begins with heavy levels of sweetness at first, morphing into a unique fruity bitterness. The hops kick in much later but have a good, strong presence.

The aftertaste is one of apples and has a bittersweet quality – an odd one to get your head around. The hops linger well into the aftertaste and give an underlying watermelon freshness with an almost ciderish quality.

The beer pours clear and bright and the intense hoppy aroma hits the back of your nose before you even attempt to smell it. The nose is grassy and slightly fruity with no confusing undertones. The hop freshness is there in abundance and teases you into tasting it straight away. The mouthfeel is very lively with the Cascade hops seeping through the roof of your mouth, trying to find higher ground to infiltrate. It’s fresh and grassy and has a long, dry bitterness. The tremendous hit of Cascade hops is instantly recognisable.

The finish is long and dry with a long-lasting oily hop flavour. This is definitely one for IPA lovers and is beautifully refreshing on a summer’s evening, with fruity tones coming through much, much later than most beers’ flavours develop, displaying the beautiful complexity of this beer.

The only thing more refreshing than this beer is the knowledge that I can get it in bottled form rather than having to wait to find it on draught. Bootiful.

The beer is described on the bottled as a ‘Bright blonde English beer brewed with East Anglian malted barley and wheat and hopped with English hedgerow and other aromatic hops’. The beer pours a clear, crisp, light amber colour with good condition and the head retention is very good indeed for such a light beer. The early nose gives a slightly metallic hint with an underlying hint of summer fruits, conveying a fresh and light aroma to the beer.

The mouthfeel is stupendous – the beer feels light, has great condition, and allows the hops to bounce off your tongue, retaining a grassy freshness which comes through even before the taste which brings a torrent of banana fruitiness – not sweetness – and a decent-sized apple hint. The hop selection (Boadicea and First Gold) is truly inspired and leaves Spindrift tasting like a true farmhouse ale – summery and refreshing.

If the weather gods allow us a few more weeks of glorious sunshine before this summer sees an end, Spindrift makes an excellent accompaniment to any summer’s evening.

Spindrift is available in cases of 12 x 330ml bottles at £18.99 through the Adnams online shop.

The first one that caught my eye was a beer simply called ‘Ginger’, from the Williams brewery in Scotland. The beer professes to be a ‘traditional alcoholic ginger beer with a distinctly adult taste‘. One line that caught my eye was the one which claimed the beer contained no hops whatsoever. Oh dear – worrying news for a hop lover such as myself. Let’s see what it’s like!

On opening there’s a fair bit of fizz – always nice to see (hear). The ginger smell is there straight away – fresh and light. The beer pours well and has plenty of condition but head retention is poor to non-existent. There’s simply nothing holding the beer together in that sense – it’s more like a Ginger Beer than a ginger beer, if you catch my drift. The aroma is an odd mix of beer and ginger. Of course, no hop aroma and no other real body to the nose having used only light malt and wheat in the brew.

Mouthfeel is very fizzy, and very tangy – the fresh root ginger comes through pretty strongly and lasts long into the aftertaste. The taste is fresh, sharp and definitely gingery. At 3.8% ABV it’s not going to knock anyone’s socks off but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intention. Williams wanted to create an authentic alcoholic ginger beer and they’ve succeeded. It’s gingery, and it’s beery. Simples! Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going outside to enjoy the rest of the bottle while the sun’s still around.

The brewery admit it’s different in its bottled form to its cask form; the ABV jump to 4.5% is an immediate flag, but the beer is introduced by its bottle as ‘The Hoppy One’. The beer pours well and has good condition but does appear to be filtered if not pasteurised. Head retention is pretty good for the style and colour of beer. Now, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little vague or off-form with the tasting notes here. I’ve had this blasted sinusitis for the best part of a week now and although I can (mostly) smell again, it’s not going to be 100%.

The aroma is fresh and clean and the hops are noticeable. Mouthfeel is light and vibrant and there’s a rather prominent taste of bananas and exotic fruits which give way to a momentary metallic twang which in turn fades into that musky hop bitterness which we know and love. The aftertaste is all about the hops, leaving a beautiful mellow, smoky hop feel to your mouth. The aftertaste is so stunning it leaves you in two minds whether or not to spoil it with another mouthful of beer (and that’s not something you get very often).

If this beer is the best part of a percentage point stronger than its cask equivalent, it doesn’t show. It’s still the same lovable, drinkable Sidepocket we’re used to. I’ll you something else, too: I think it’s clearing out my sinuses. They should put that on the label.

If you live within driving distance of Tring, I’d strongly recommend picking up a polypin of this beer next time you’re having a party or get-together. At a friend’s recent housewarming party, thirty-six pints of this beer went down very nicely indeed with the guests. Failing that, keep an eye on your local branch of JD Wetherspoon – I’ve seen a couple of Tring beers on in there recently and I hope that continues.

“We’re appealing to all people to bring a group of friends, family or colleagues together and try to break the record for the World’s Biggest Pub Quiz, so more disadvantaged families can enjoy a much-needed break in 2010,” says Joe Hipgrave, fundraising manger for the Family Holiday Association.

If you want to find out which of your local pubs are participating, be sure to visit the World’s Biggest Pub Quiz website to see what’s going on in your neck of the woods. What’s more, you can even get your local pub involved. Just download an organiser’s pack from the website and see how easy it is to get involved. I’m told there are currently more than 362 pubs signed up so you’re in good company!

As an additional incentive, each organiser whose quiz raises more than £100 will have the chance to enter the competition to win a seven-night Caribbean cruise on NCL’s newest Freestyle Cruising ship, Norwegian Epic, which will be launched in June 2010. How about that, then?