Warwickshire Avon - Grandmasters and Graphospasms

Now with Xaymaca Special Dry, Plantation revives the quintessential Jamaican-style, 100% pot still rums of the 19th century with an expression of intense flavours that reveal the traditional, legendary Rum Funk, aromas and flavours of black banana and flambéed pineapple, locally called "Hogo," an Anglicisation of the French term "Haut Goût" (high taste).

The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawaks, also called Tainos. They came from South America 2,500 years ago and named the island Xaymaca, which meant ““land of wood and water”. 

 

The Arawaks were a mild and simple people by nature. Physically, they were light brown in colour, short and well-shaped with coarse, black hair. Their faces were broad and their noses flat.

They grew cassava, sweet potatoes, maize, fruits, vegetables, cotton and tobacco. Tobacco was grown on a large scale as smoking was their most popular pastime. 

They built their villages all over the island but most of them settled on the coasts and near rivers as they fished to get food. Fish was also a major part of their diet.

The Arawaks led quiet and peaceful lives until they were destroyed by the Spaniards some years after Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1494.

I can't really put a finger on this but from the second you pop it open it has that unique Jamaica vibe/scent to it. Really fruity and sweet, it can be surprisingly dry for the unprepared but hits the spot nicely. 

I hoard the Plantation brand as its my go to stuff but this left to air for half an hour on a sunny day while relaxing in the garden and you smell the magic from 2 meters away.

More recently a decent measure sipped whilst watching the Queens Gambit on Netflix, Whiskey for me doesn't get a look-in these days. 

Now if you've not watched the Queen's Gambit, it's a is a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, during her quest to become the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional problems and drug and alcohol dependency. 

The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening. The story begins in the mid-1950s and proceeds into the 1960s.

The story begins in Lexington, Kentucky, where a nine-year-old Beth, having lost her mother in a car crash, is taken to an orphanage where she is taught chess by the building's custodian, Mr. Shaibel. 

As was common during the 1950s, the orphanage dispenses daily tranquiliser pills to the girls, which turns into an addiction for Beth. 

She quickly becomes a strong chess player due to her visualisation skills, which are enhanced by the tranquilisers. As Beth continues to win games and reaps the financial benefits of her success, she becomes more dependent on alcohol and other drugs. It's an easy watch and as someone who doesn't watch a great amount of TV it's feet up and chill.

Now for this short session I better get to the point....

A roving session this with only lobworms as bait from ones wormery. The river was low and clear'ish and it was much tougher than I thought. Swim after swim I remained biteless and only one swim produced any fish. Those fish were not big either, in-fact the biggest was barely a pound in weight.

I just wasn't feeling it because those usual productive swims just didn't produce, even the perch were suspicious in their absence, a very weird morning indeed. The fishing was so poor I cut the session short, that's not like me. 

The 'sound' of the river, the flash of the kingfisher, traffic noise minimal, it's not all about catching is it, the mind in a much better place, but then it always is after fishing.

I'll try and get out in the week again because even though I'm struggling a little at the minute, a couple of hours peace is a great tonic in these rubbish times.