Nosing before sipping: swirl gently, bring the glass to your nose with your mouth slightly open, and give it a few seconds. Add a few drops of water if you like and nose again. The aromas will change. Photo: JIP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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A wine cellar at Château Kirwan in Margaux. Great wine rewards patience: tannins soften and flavours knit together with time in barrel and in bottle. Photo: Jon, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Speyside Way passes Tamdhu Distillery. A big share of Scotland's malt distilleries sit in these few valleys, and a long walk with a dram at the end of it is hard to beat. Photo: Julian Paren , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
White grapes from a Cognac vineyard. Cognac is distilled twice in copper pot stills and must age in oak for at least two years before it can be sold. The grapes are the quiet start of a very long story. Photo: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Foursquare Distillery in Barbados, with sugar cane growing beside it. Rum can be made from cane juice or molasses, and its style depends on the still, the climate and how it is aged. One sugar cane, a hundred different rums. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
Juniper berries are what make gin gin. In the UK and EU a spirit must taste predominantly of juniper to be called gin. Citrus, coriander and the rest are supporting acts. Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Vines in autumn colour. The date of the harvest is the winemaker's biggest decision: pick early for freshness, late for richness, and hope the weather agrees. Photo: Johan Neven from Borgloon-Gotem, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A barrel cellar at Château Sigalas-Rabaud in Sauternes. Oak ageing adds flavour and lets a little oxygen in, which softens the wine. Cellars like this stay cool and humid on purpose. Photo: Tomas e, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal parts. The Negroni's trick is that the proportions never change, so swapping one bottle gives you a whole new drink. Try mezcal in place of the gin and see. Photo: Sudhertzen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Old Fashioned is spirit, sugar, bitters and ice, with nowhere to hide. Use a whisky you would happily drink neat, and stir for around 30 seconds until the glass frosts. A single large cube keeps it cold without watering it down too fast. Photo: Erich Wagner (www.eventografie.de), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Blue agave in Jalisco. A plant often needs six to ten years in the field before it is harvested, which is why good tequila cannot be rushed. Next time you pour a blanco, think of the years in the soil. Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Inside a bourbon rickhouse. These tall wooden warehouses swing from hot summers to cold winters, and the swing pushes spirit in and out of the charred oak. It is one reason bourbon picks up colour and sweetness so quickly. Photo: Jaimin Trivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
