A Day in York

My wife and I had a couple of days up in York last week. Due to the kindness of grandparents being willing to babysit we were well and truly able to indulge ourselves with lots of great food and, of course, drink.

Pretty much the first port of call was Goji café, for a great burger and an Elphin Brook. Even given the wide choice of places to eat and drink in York we ended up going back to Goji the next day too, giving me a chance to try the Mytholm Mist Helen had the day before.

York brewery is well worth a visit, nestling nicely within a few minutes walk of the city centre. I popped down after lunch to do a brewery tour and it wasn't until I walked in that I realised I'd been there before. When I ran a pub for Castle Rock we'd had a day out in York and we called in there since the two breweries had a connection from way back in the set-up days of York brewery. The liquid accompaniment to the tour was a half of York Gold and one of El Dorado. While I was at the brewery I heard a rumour there that Jaipur was on tap at The Old White Swan, which made a post-meal drink location an easy selection. The lack of Jaipur was potentially a disappointment but it was made up for by the presence of Roc Fall, a new Thornbridge beer for me.

Whisky cravings were sorted out courtesy of Demijohn, the 'liquid deli' where I picked up a wee sample of 15 year old Clynelish which I am very much looking forward to trying - more to follow on that one! I also had a nip of an 8yo Caol Ila to ward off York's notorious ghosts.*

We had our evening meal at Ambiente Tapas bar. Ambiente is a modern, fashionable, sort of bar, and I thought the emphasis on sherry to accompany various parts of your meal was a real plus - I opted for an Oloroso as an apéritif, and while I was tempted to indulge in a PX with (or maybe just as) dessert I resisted in favour of the excellent white Rioja we still had on the go.

* My theory of whisky warding off ghosts remains unproven. However, since I wasn't harassed by any, I am going to carry on drinking it, hopefully to continue the protection. You can't be too careful after all.