Like many others, I am shocked by today’s news of the win for those in Britain who wanted to leave Europe. I know this is a wine blog but I still am a former news correspondent, international relations graduate and internationalist so it is very hard for me to not to comment. I am shocked and dismayed by this turn of events for so many reasons. It bodes poorly for the US elections in November and that is a scary idea to me. It shows that anti-immigration policies are on the rise as is fear of the other. Lastly, the stock market and my account took a big nose dive today and will be reeling for the foreseeable future. Stormy seas ahead it seems and that always calls for copious amounts of alcohol. Most sailors I know drink Rum when they are out or at least keep it on hand.

I haven’t written about any Rum I see as I troll through my files but I have written extensively about another drink which comes to mind, Amaro.

For many, myself included, today’s news is a bitter pill to slow and a digestif such as Amaro might well do the trick. Who knows what will happen in the coming weeks. I had hoped that the world would be coming together not splitting up into ever smaller units. It reminds me of the break-up of Yugoslavia albeit not the violence that ensued there, thank goodness. As a graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies with a specialization in Europe, this is really not what I would have expected when I graduated. A sad day.