Snifter: haunted pubs, sloe gin competition and East 17

Haunted histories revealed

Three Brakspear pubs in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, are promising to reveal their haunted histories​ this Halloween during a ghost hunt led by a local clairvoyant.

The tour takes in pubs with a spooky story: the Little Angel in Remenham, Row Barge on West Street and the Bull on Bell Street. The pubs feature on Brakspear’s new ‘haunted hostelries’ website, www.brakspear.co.uk/boo, which lists about 20 inns, each with its own ghost, poltergeist or other paranormal activity.

Snifter is off to investigate but usually finds that reports of ghost sightings have a direct correlation to the number of pints someone has drunk. He just hopes he doesn’t encounter Mary Blandy, whose ghost is said to haunt the Little Angel. She looks proper scary.

Sloe process is a winner

One pub is taking the craft gin craze a step further later this year by hosting the Sloe Gin World Champion competition​. Artisan sloe gin makers from across the world will gather at the George Inn, Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to vie for the coveted title.

The annual championships will return on 14 December when experts (Snifter’s invite hasn’t arrived yet) will have the tough task of tasting sloe gins from across the globe. The spirit is made from small plum-like blackthorn drupes – traditionally picked after the first frost of winter.

Licensee Greg Elliot says: “Hand crafted sloe gins are generally superior to commercially produced branded sloe gin liqueurs which are made by flavouring cheaper neutral grain spirits, producing an inferior flavour akin to a fruit cordial taste.”

Last year’s title was awarded to Edinburgh-based Demijohn, billed as “the world’s first liquid deli”.

Public House of Love

Live music and pubs is a long-standing tradition that Snifter wholeheartedly supports – but news of one gig has caused a rethink for Yours Truly.

Wirral pub the Farmer’s Arms celebrated its 150th anniversary recently with a day of music headlined by ’90s boy band sensation East 17.

To be honest, Snifter is not familiar with their work so had to do a little research to find out more.

The group achieved 18 Top 20 singles and were one of the UK’s most popular boy bands during the early to mid-1990s, which says a lot for the state of pop music during that decade.

The current line-up only includes two of the original four members so Snifter hopes the licensee got a half price deal on their booking fee.