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Oz & Hugh Raise the Bar: ‘Their aim is to open the most patriotic watering hole in the UK… But first they must do their “research”…’ – The Mirror
OZ CLARKE has a new drinking partner – Outnumbered’s Hugh Dennis – and the pair are on a mission to revive the good old British pub in Oz and Hugh Raise The Bar.
Their plan: to scour the British Isles for the best independent drinks, soak up pub culture, and then open a pub of their own, packed full of drinks from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. But there’s one slight problem, they can’t agree on what makes the perfect pub so they’re going to open one each and will go head to head for one night only.
This hugely entertaining four-part series was screened on BBC2 and will be released on DVD on 3 October 2011 courtesy of Acorn Media.
Their tour begins in the south of England, where Oz and Hugh discover some hidden gems; from the award-winning sparkling wines of Sussex to the offal and jellyfish flavoured beers of Cornwall, then on to London where they take on a cocktail mixologist in a Caribbean rum shack.
Their tour of Gaelic grog kicks off in Perthshire and a visit that begins with non-alcoholic fruit wine tasting and ends with a bottle-smashing competition. A visit to Scotland wouldn’t be complete without taking a close look at whisky.
Northern Ireland and the Republic are next, where an embarrassing confession to liking Irish Cream by Hugh leads them to make their own version of the drink, even down to sourcing the cream straight from the cow’s udder.
Things get lively in the north when a Manchester real ale tasting gets completely out of hand and Oz takes orders from a cider-making Benedictine monk.
They head to Wales to feed beer to some boozing bovines, risk life and limb convincing local rugby lads to swap their lager for Welsh wine, and seek inspiration from one of the most bizarre pubs in the country – Leintwardine’s Sun Inn. Armed with their drinks from across the nation, the journey ends with opening time at their very own pub. Will the locals prefer Oz or Hugh’s drinks?
Bonus feature: An hour-long special ‘Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas’
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.