New Faces
It's been a while since I've had the time to tell you about some of our newer, not-liable-to-sell-out-in-seconds, spirits additions here on the blog. Everything has been whiskey, whisky, whiskey to the extreme. Speaking of whisky, you heard correctly: Remy is indeed taking over the importation of Bruichladdich now to the United States. WineBow, their old importer, informed us this week that the Rocks will be discontinued (so load up now if that's your drink), and the Organic and Octomore selections will be travel retail/duty-free from now on. That leaves only the Laddie 10 and Port Charlotte 10, which I've also heard might take a price bump. We've got another drop of Octomore 6.2 coming, which if I understand it correctly will be the last Octomore for the U.S. Maybe I'm understanding that wrong, but that's how I interpreted the news.
Back to other non-whisky items. Actually--hold that thought--one more whisky arrival to tell you about: the new 2013 release of Lagavulin Distiller's Edition is here with brand new labeling. You can get one of those by clicking the link below. It's always a very popular whisky with the extra maturation bringing more richness.
Lagavulin Distiller's Edition Single Malt Whisky $109.99 -- (ignore the old photo of last year's bottle)
Ed Hamilton, who helped us secure the barrel of St. Lucia for our Faultline rum, now has his own series of rums from different Carribean islands. This Jamaican Black Pot Still edition is fabulous for mixing and comes in at a rock-bottom price of $24.99. Tough to beat that for your Dark & Stormy needs. Now just grab some ginger beer and get going.
Jake Lustig, the man behind ArteNOM tequila and the fabulous K&L Fuenteseca selection, has finally brought me the Pura Sangre stuff -- Enrique Fonseca's own label of all-estate tequila. Fonseca is the distiller for the top-selling tequila we sell--the ArteNOM anejo 1146--and these new bottles make welcome additions to the category. These are 100% natural anejos. I know you might be thinking, "But most of my tequilas are 100% agave," however, I can assure you that there is nothing natural in tequila that makes it creamy and taste like vanilla. But we'll tackle that subject later on an upcoming blog post. Fonseca's anejos are unbeatable. They're round and rich with wood spices and hints of clove, but they never taste manipulated. I think 1942 drinkers could get behind these no problem.
Pura Sangre 2 Year Old Anejo Tequila $35.99 - Very, very, very reasonably priced. Too low, perhaps.
Pura Sangre 5 Year Old Anejo Tequila $109.99 - Expensive, but one taste is enough to convince you. Only thing we have that competes with this is the Fuenteseca. No one can touch Enrique Fonseca's anejo tequilas. No one.
Jake also brought me these two inexpensive mezcales, which I think will make you all very happy. Mina is made at Jake's 300 year old distillery in Santa Catarina Minas. They use 100% Espadin agave that is grown at 4800 feet. The blanco is super clean and not heavy on the smoke. The reposado is aged at 100 proof in Pedro Domecq brandy casks. These are the mezcal versions of Jake's ArteNOM expressions: reasonably-priced, honest, and unmanipulated spirits that are transparent in their origins and of high-quality.
Mina Real Blanco Mezcal $26.99
Mina Real Reposado Mezcal $29.99
It's not often I'm on the lookout for a new cachaca, but my good friend Val brought me this absolutely delicious, strikingly-labeled liter bottle of pure bargain-priced booze. Velho Barreiro Cachaca is only $15.99 and is briefly aged in Brazilian wood (I think oak?). It's full of real rum character and should make killer drinks for those looking for a new mixer. And the price...my God!
And our last new face of the day is yet another inexpensive, but delicious new South American mixer: the Pisco Ocucaje Quebranta Pisco for $22.99. They have another pisco we're getting from a grape varietal called Italia, but I've never heard of that grape. Nevertheless, their brand rep from Peru said it was a common, aromatic varietal native to the region. Whatever it is, it makes for a spectacular brandy. Floral, fruity, and pure. The Quebranta we have right now is also quite clean and fresh. Good stuff. Yum!
More new faces coming soon.
-David Driscoll