Is it just us or has London got even boozier lately? It's not just the new licensing hours or the fact that Amy Winehouse lives here, it's that there seems to be more and more excuses for organised drinking than ever before.

At the Taste festival in June there seemed to be more activity around the cocktail bars than the food and that trend look to be continuing into the colder months, and you know what that means: hard liquor!

Starting off steadily, you've got the Wine Show in Islington next week with ten-minute tasting schools for anyone looking to kick start their knowledge of 'high notes'; a whole gaggle of sommeliers to quiz (what is the collective noun for sommeliers anyway - a carafe?); and ideas for wine holidays, two words which we always love to see together.

At the weekend the capital sees the birth of RumFest, which is exactly what it sounds like: a two day celebration of every pirate's favourite tipple. It's not just salty seadogs of course; after all who doesn't love Mojitos, or the odd Zombie... and Mai Tais... oh, and Daiquiris of course. Wow, we forgot how much we like rum, sign us up.