His best previous result at the Australian Open had been reaching the third round in 1995 and '98.. The remote Scottish island of Islay smells of bonfire smoke, blown-over wet moss and wild heather Rather like its whisky. I recall that much from going to a wake there when I was 18 years old. The relatives laid on six peaty whiskies (with McEwan's Export for teetotallers) as a mark of respect. That was the day I learnt that a "wee dram" is not a specific unit of measurement The wake lasted four days Which was three days longer than me.

When the mourners finally made it back to the mainland, they blamed the ferry timetable But no one was fooled. The remote Scottish island of Islay smells of bonfire smoke, blown-over wet moss and wild heather Rather like its whisky. I recall that much from going to a wake there when I was 18 years old. The relatives laid on six peaty whiskies (with McEwan's Export for teetotallers) as a mark of respect.

That was the day I learnt that a "wee dram" is not a specific unit of measurement The wake lasted four days Which was three days longer than me. When the mourners finally made it back to the mainland, they blamed the ferry timetable. But no one was fooled. Caolila, one of Islay's single malts, was my favourite But the difficulty was pronouncing it. So I hid the bottle behind a curtain, which meant I didn't have to endure the smug barman when I got it wrong.If you plan on mixing your whisky in Islay, you might as well go straight to jail, do not pass go, you are the weakest link etc. There are two things an Islayman likes naked, and one of them is whisky The only thing to put in whisky is more whisky. Should you plan on mixing it with Coke, preface your order with: "and my girlfriend would like ..."So it was a real joy to stumble across Gravy, a chic restaurant/bar in west London that understands the beauty of whisky - and Islay whisky at that.

Tom Welch, the urbane proprietor, appreciates that a drop of Caolila is the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine and the elixir of life Winston Churchill used to drink a glass every now and again. It's what saved civilisation from the Luftwaffe, Hegelian logic and potato pancakes. I've never been in a position to save the free world, but a drop of Caolila definitely makes my washing-up fly by.Welch has set up shop in Chiswick, a well-heeled area where real gravy is usually called jus The place is a triumph of simple British food I always say that if something comes with gravy, use it Gravy does not stand alone Pour it on Make a volcano of your mashed potato Fill it with gravy Eat the volcano!It was not always thus. Gravy began its life as garum, a liquid by-product of rotting fish.