The Britannia

44 Kipling Street

London

SE1 3RU

*Guest post by Andy*

I know this is supposed to be a food blog, but man shall not live by food alone. There's also whisky, and The Britannia pub offers more than 100 different bottles of the stuff. Me and M heard the pub had been sold to developers so we bolted down to Borough to work our way through ten fine single malts while we still had the chance. Auchentoshan, Rosebank, An Cnoc, Glenkinchie, Bowmore, Glen Scotia, Tomatin, Macduff, Tobermory and Bruichladdich... thankfully they're easier to drink than pronounce. There was little to steer our picks other than a huge blackboard listing the whiskies in alphabetical order and a map showing where they came from. Our spiritual journey resembled a flying tour without a guide, starting in the Lowlands and weaving our way unsteadily up through the Highlands, Speyside, and then west to Campbeltown and Islay. Experts in Scotch we are not, but we still found fun in labelling the dizzying range of flavours: peaty, buttery, salty, smoky, honey-ey. We also ate a grand sausage and mash with mustard and gravy for 7.95 a head, but I was too distracted to take a photo. The barmaid later revealed we had been misinformed - the pub has survived the sale and hopes to continue in its current guise for the next 35 years at least. So, plenty of time to check out the other 90 bottles then.