15 Νοεμβριου

On this day in 1492, the famous 'Explorer of the New World', Christopher Columbus, made the first recorded reference to tobacco.

After being gifted some dried tobacco leaves by a native population on a Bahamian island he'd just arrived at, Columbus eventually headed on to Cuba but left some men behind who discovered the purpose of those leaves. South Americans have been using tobacco for thousands of years, but Columbus brought it back and introduced it to Europe.

We suggest a Bon Vivant's Martini that includes a tobacco liqueur and is perfect for pairing with your favourite cigar.

It's also Gillette's birthday

On this day in 1904, the fabulously named King Camp Gillette received a patent for a new kind of razor, putting a gadzillion barber shops out of business and making shaving somewhat safer than it had been in the days of cut-throat razors and the demon barber Sweeney Todd...

The project was not, however, as easy as it seemed. To start with, creating a disposable, safe blade required producing steel that was hard, thin and (importantly) cheap - a project that took two years of experimentation. Today, safety razors are the default style. His company was sold for over 50 billion dollars in 2005, and the jingle "The best a man can get" is recognised worldwide.

We will be celebrating clean shaves, close shaves and smooth shaves with a not terribly masculine - yet incredibly moreish - cocktail, the Smooth & Creamy. Now to get that jingle out of our heads...