What’s in a Name?

We’re entering somewhat of a renaissance for agave products. As mezcal continues to wow us with its small batches, traditional techniques, and somewhat of a backcountry mystique, more producers seem to be circumventing the certification process. This, in part, is where we’re seeing the emergence of bottlings labeled, “Agave Spirits.”

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Jackson Lee
An Evening with L’Encantada

Recently, I was lucky enough to spend an evening with the owners of L’Encantada who were visiting from Gascony. L’Encantada, with the distinctive orange wax, has become something of a cult favorite among Armagnac lovers. It allowed me to talk to them in detail about their operation and the producers they worked with.  

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Sku
An Interview with Ann Soh Woods of Kikori Whiskey

Over on our wine blog, On the Trail, we’ve been celebrating Women’s History Month by featuring some of the amazing female producers in the biz, and today we’re shining a spotlight on one from the Spirits side of the equation. Ann Soh Woods is the founder of Kikori, a unique rice whiskey from Japan that’s crisp and super easy to drink.

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Cult Armagnac – L'Encantada Lous Pibous

I don't think I've ever seen an Armagnac develop a cult following in the US, but that seems to be happening with the L'Encantada bottlings – and particularly the L’Encantada Lous Pibous. Perhaps you've seen the bottles with the orange wax pop up here and there – K&L has brought in a few barrels as have a few other retailers. Since I was involved with bringing the first casks to the US, I thought I'd tell the story of how it happened. 

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Sku
Agave Legends @ Republique Los Angeles Monday, March 25th - 7pm

A once in a lifetime opportunity to dine with four of Mexico’s most important figures. These legends of agave are driving a revolution in how we view the complex and historical spirits made from the special plant known by so many different names. We expect it to be one of the best events of the year, but it’s coming up quickly so be sure to reserve your seats ASAP.

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David Othenin-Girard
Travel Notes from Scotland

There’s travel for work - and travel for play. But often, when working in the booze biz, they tend to overlap. Recently our esteemed Redwood City Assistant Store Manager, Cameron Price, spent his vacation in Bonnie Scotland. And while his trip was for pleasure, much of his time was spent visiting Single Malt distilleries. Lucky for us, he brought back some notes which we can all earmark for our next trip.

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Guest User
American Blends

There seem to be more and more American whiskeys on the market that are blends of different types of whiskeys from different distillers. In the world of Scotch, it’s pretty easy to determine what a blend is. A combination of two or more single malts from different distilleries is a blended malt and a combination of malt and grain whiskies is a blended whisky.  In America, it’s much more complicated. Most people still associate blended whiskey with the budget blends that combine whiskey with neutral spirts, but there are a lot more types of blends out there that are 100% whiskey.

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Sku
Vinos Por Todo

From the relative security of Pino Bonito to the wild rural distilleries of Rio de Parras, Michoacán continues astonish at every turn. We finished off our special batch of pechuga and finally meet Pedro Ximenez of Mezonte at one of Michoacán’s most legendary mezcaleros.

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David Othenin-Girard
Mezonte Supports Family Producers & Damn Good Mezcal

Founded by Pedro Jimenez Gurria in Guadalajara, Mexico, and now part of Suro imports (which also brings us amazing products like Don Mateo de la Sierra, Siembra Azul, Siembra Valles, and Siembra Metl), Mezonte is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is dedicated to “protect and spread information about traditional mezcales through tastings, videos, texts, academic, biological, cultural, gastronomica aspects, conversations, etc…focused on promoting solely traditional mezcals, especially those from Jalisco and Michoacan.”

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Family First

Our first distillery is the exceptional Don Mateo de la Sierra. It’s not just a story about mezcal, but about the place and people who make it. This is the truest form of terroir, a singular product that can only exist in this one place and time due to every variable in question.  

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David Othenin-Girard
Michoacán Made

The incredible unknown mezcals of Michoacán are going to become more and more important as American’s begin to experience the deep diversity that the category offers. It’s no longer just Oaxaca and Jalisco exporting too quality agave spirits. But, the complex category suffers from a number of complex challenges as it grows. The 

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David Othenin-Girard