Gustav Temple takes a liquid journey around the world to see whether single malt whisky can be trusted from anywhere except Scotland. To some readers (and they may be right) is is already blasphemous even to suggest that whisky can come from anywhere except Scotland. But when one discovers that whisky is also made in … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple meets the man declared by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s greatest explorer, to discuss climbing Everest and the Eiger while suffering from vertigo, discovering the Lost City of Ubar, being kicked out of the SAS for blowing up civilian property and using a sextant to navigate at the South Pole. … Keep Reading
The Overlook Revisited edition anticipates a return to the frolics and fun denied to the world over the last year. CHAP Summer 21, out on 17th June, marks the promised return to ‘normality’ by celebrating those who have taken a joyously abnormal approach to life. Our main interview is with the triple Oscar-winning star of … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple spoke to Australian hat maker Blake “Blakesby” Canham-Bennett, who has expanded the colour and shape of men’s headwear, while holding on to classic styles and manufacturing methods. You seem to have broken the mould when it comes to men’s hat styles, while adhering to traditional blocks and techniques. Was this what you set out to … Keep Reading
The waistcoat made in collaboration with Walker Slater that turns the Chap Linen Jacket and Trousers into a three-piece linen suit. This item is a classic five-button single-breasted waistcoat with two pockets, notched lapel, linen front and silk back with adjuster. The fabric is mill-washed cream linen with a gold viscose lining. … Keep Reading
An elegant partner to the Chap Collection's Linen Jacket, both made by Edinburgh-based menswear merchants Walker Salter as part of their Chap Collection, this slender leg trouser is flat fronted without pleats and part lined at the front, to retain a gentleman's modesty. The fishtail back and six brace buttons add a vintage … Keep Reading
Made in collaboration with Edinburgh menswear specialist Walker Slater as part of their Chap Collection, The Chap Linen Jacket is the ideal garment in which to saunter about the summer streets of any resort in the world. The cut gives a relaxed fit with soft shoulders, a single vent at the back, two flap … Keep Reading
After a long hiatus, the covetable Chap Lapel Badge is back in stock. This sleek, discreet, enamelled metal lapel pin affixes to one's lapel with a butterfly clip at the back. It says to the world, "I am affiliated with a secret organisation that promotes sartorial elegance, panache and anarcho-dandyism and, if this badge does … Keep Reading
Paul French, author of City of Devils, takes us on a walking tour of Old Shanghai, recounting the tales of decadence, opium and freebooting of the 1930s and what remains of that era in modern Shanghai In its heyday, Shanghai was the real deal when it came to anonymity – a chap could walk down … Keep Reading
Kentucky is regarded as the first of the Southern states, sitting south of the Ohio River on the eastern side of the United States. It is a green and pleasant land, literally. There are miles of gently rolling hills, clean air and plentiful amounts of fine pure mineral water. All these elements play a large … Keep Reading
One of the fourteen countries that straddle the Equator, Ecuador took its name from that imaginary line and offers an engaging place for the traveller to explore with much historical interest, museums and art galleries but, more significantly, it’s the best place in the world to buy a Panama hat. I took a trip out … Keep Reading
Some suggested cadeaux for the papa in your life, ranging from the mildly generous to the worshipful This year, Father’s Day falls on Sunday 20th June. Dads across the land, while they quietly fix lawnmowers, construct bird boxes and oil all the hinges on the bathroom cupboards, are blissfully unaware that their scions are rampaging around barely open shops, breaking into a cold sweat at the range of gifts available. ‘Hasn’t he already got about fifty trowels?’ one wonders, while grazing the garden implements. Ditto shovels, spades, garden shears and those little garden forks that no-one else knows the use…
With the sad loss of The Duke of Edinburgh also comes the loss of one of our finest cricketing royals. Steve Pittard salutes Prince Philip’s marvellous contribution to the princely pastime. The Corfu Compton first gave notice of his sporting prowess at Cheam prep school. The blue-blooded biffer – ‘highly unsympathetic to stonewalling’ – crashed a quickfire 19 coming in as last man. At Gordonstoun he captained the Ist XI, and had to contend with beastly Scottish pitches that had only just been grazed by sheep. The establishment only taught him how to waft the willow – gentlemen didn’t bowl…
Gustav Temple spoke to Australian hat maker Blake “Blakesby” Canham-Bennett, who has expanded the colour and shape of men’s headwear, while holding on to classic styles and manufacturing methods. You seem to have broken the mould when it comes to men’s hat styles, while adhering to traditional blocks and techniques. Was this what you set out to do originally? Thanks! I don’t know that this was really my initial intent. I just wanted to make very traditional and vintage inspired hats, and I definitely wanted to create styles I couldn’t easily find. I started with a certified millinery course, which at the…
Gustav Temple assesses a new Irish Whiskey with rather ghoulish credentials. The word ‘sexton’ derives from the Mediaeval Latin word sacristanus – ‘custodian of sacred objects’. A sexton is ‘a person who looks after a church and churchyard, typically acting as bell-ringer and gravedigger’. The gravedigger in Hamlet calls himself a sexton, for example. The typical duties of the modern-day sexton, as well as digging graves, include minor repairs to the church, mopping the floor, maintaining the church grounds and replenishing stocks of lavatory paper and light bulbs. They do not, however, usually include the distillation of whiskey. That difficult process…