How Now, Hot Rum Cow? A Great Sorta-New Drinking Magazine

I bought my copy of Hot Rum Cow‘s second issue last month, and had the great occasion to finally read it on my way back from East Devon today. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I’d tell you all about it.

Hot Rum Cow’s subtitle is “Adventures in the world of drinking,” and it’s a great jaunt through the world of alcohol, with cider in particular for this issue.

As this is the cider issue, many of the articles related to cider. There’s instructions on how to make your own cider press, if you have the gumption to do so. There is also an article on a Scottish cider producer, along with a quick run-down of cider production in the UK. There is also a segment that challenges a chef to cook a three-course meal with the magazine’s drink of choice and a whole load of other information.

In addition to plenty of cider stuff, Issue 2 featured a profile of the tiniest pub in Britain, The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds. Also, Danish brewery-not-brewery Mikkeller was profiled in an interview with Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, which beer enthusiasts might want to check out. There is also a recipe on how to make your own vermouth at home, which I think I’m up for trying. Has anyone tried making vermouth at home?

I finished the whole magazine on the train, so I’m looking to pick up Issue 1 from Hot Rum Cow’s online shop, which is £5 plus shipping. Issue 2 I picked up at Foyles in Charing Cross, so have a look there if you’re after some nice writing and photography in the drinking world today. It’s a quarterly magazine, so there’ll be a little spell before the next one, but it’ll give me enough time to catch up with Issue 1, the Gin Issue, as well as find some time to read some other stuff online and in print. If you’re keen on learning how to make your own cider at home, food writer Monica Shaw has an ace article on Great British Chefs that shows how to do it, step by step.

Hot Rum Cow are on Twitter, as well as Facebook, so there’s no excuse for missing the third issue, especially when you can get it on the iPad if you have one. But I recommend the print version, as it might be something that may get a few drink stains while making an inebriating concoction or cooking with one at home.