New Year’s Eve always over- promises and underdelivers, so, some years ago, I decided to just ignore it and never go out. What did you do? I stayed in and made sure I went to bed before midnight, trying not to catch any of Auld Lang Syne.
Firetree’s new-ish volcanic hot chocolate, £12/245g, is a worthy contender for these cold days and nights. Both the 72% offerings are really good: punchy, rich, just what you want from a hot chocolate. The oat version was too sweet for me, but if you’re vegan and pine for a creamier version you might like it. The 100% is, well, 100%, some diehards make it using just water and a pious expression. Not me. Of course hot chocolate is wonderful with a tot of something even more warming. Whisky always reminds me of my fishing days when my ghillies used to give me coffee with ‘milk’ (whisky) at 8.30am.
