Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tasting Notes Update.

Here are the things that we liked from our staff tasting on Friday the 24th.


Aberlour Single Malt Scotch 11 year old, Duncan Taylor Bottling
Pale gold with a typical Aberlour nose composed of malt, fruit and
a hint of sherry. Light bodied, grassy and slightly sweet with some nice
spiciness.

Bernard Lonclas NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
White golden colored wine with very fine beads. The nose is
composed of flowers, pepper and toast. Soft and pretty on
the palate, it offers delicate toast along with cream and
flowers. Nice length to the toastiness of the finish.
Tres elegant bubbly.

Bowmore Single Malt Scotch 25 year old, Duncan Taylor Bottling
Red gold in color with a nose that says Bowmore--ozone, peat
and the sea. Spicy and rich on the palate, there's a perfume
element laced all through the smoke. The sea salt is there and
the ozone comes up for a bow on the finish.

Domaine des Cassagnoles 08 Cotes de Gascogne $9
White gold color with some spices and a hint of petrol to
the nose. Light with bright melon fruit.
Snappy and refreshing on the finish.

Glenesk 20 YO Single Malt Scotch, Duncan Taylor
Pale gold with a salty, Oceanic nose. Light body with
white pepper and lots of flavor and depth to it.
Dangerously easy to drink, especially at this proof.
There's interesting tequila like tang to the center of this one.

JAQK 2006 Merlot CA $ $27.00
Black velvet colored wine with rich blueberry fruit
dancing on the nose. This is exactly what it should
be in the glass--Silky and soft, with
chocolate covered cherry fruit. It's rich,
with complexity under the silk.

Johnny Drum Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Red walnut color with an enticing nose.
Soft and complex in the palate, this bourbon
just holds you attention with sweet molasses
teased by a peppery spiciness.
A very nicely built whiskey

Johnny Drum Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Greenish gold color with a lightly smoky nose that
shows off a little earth as well. Light bodied,
but offering chewy, cookie-dough like flavors,
with a little bit of spiciness to the finish.

Kentucky Vintage Bourbon,Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Nut brown whiskey with a honey, molasses and horehound
candy nose. Crisp and snappy on the palate, with a nice
sweetness, but never cloying. There’s an intriguing
note of rhubarb fruit hiding the center.

Lieff 08 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc $20
Very pale lemon in the color, the nose shows off grass
on a bed of minerals. Light and spicy on the palate,
with gooseberry fruit and some nice
white pepper notes before a snappy finish.

Macrostie 07 Carneros Chardonnay $14
Rich gold color with a nose of smoke wrapped in vanilla
and cream. On the palate it's classic Macrostie--dried
apple slices simmered in cream, finished up with just
a touch of butter and vanilla.

Tamdhu Single Malt Scotch 34 year old
Pale gold with a nose composed of fresh mint and thyme.
Soft on the palate and on the lighter side, showing pretty
malt and great gentleness. This might be too gentle for some,
but it will have its fans. Very easy to like.

Monday, April 27, 2009

More American Whiskey

It has almost become a mission to stock the store as so it has one of the best American Whiskey selections. Getting started is the easy part as their is plenty of good and well known whiskeys being made in the states. It starts getting a little bit more difficult when you reach the point that we're at now. We can always use suggestions. So, what would you like to see in the shop? Here are a few that we're thinking about; give us your thoughts on them.

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old
Vintage 23 Year Old Rye
Ezra Brooks
Hancock's Reserve
Pritchard's Double Barrel
Old Fitzgerald Very Special 12 Year Old

and some economically sensitive whiskey:
Ancient Age
Old Grand Dad
Fighting Cock
Old Crow 3 Year Old
Jim Beam Rye

Also, we're coming to a decision on our next bottle for the American Whiskey Club. It'll be a single barrel from Willett. I'll have more details for y'all soon. Stay tuned.

.jake/obo.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Good bubbly doesn't have to be expensive.

These passed few days have been quite warm to say the least. To stay cool we've been on a bubbly sampling binge. We just passed 2 awesome sparkling wines both for under $12. Talk about recession wine, well here you have it and they're both from Charles Lafite. For those faithful to only Champagne we also passed Montaudon's Brut Rose we got a great deal on it. So, we're selling it for $29.99.

Charles Lafite NV Sparkling Rose Gulf of Lyon
Peachy pink color with candied rhubarb to the nose. Light,
with citrus and strawberry fruit notes all the way through
with a light touch of pepper to the finish.


Charles Lafite NV Sparkling Wine Gulf of Lyon
White gold color with fine beads, the nose is floral with hints
of orange zest. Juicy on the palate, with lots of citrus fruit,
along with minerals.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Tasting Notes from Thursday

Lots of exciting things....


Cune 2005 Rioja, Crianza $21
Red robed garnet colored wine with a nose composed
of earth and tar. Definitely Old World in style, with a
velvety texture and restrained dark fruit along with a touch
of leather to the finish. Well built,
with everything kept in balance.

Cune Monopole 2007 Rioja Blanco $20
Lemony straw colored wine with a pretty, floral nose.
Citrusy, floral, soft, with light herbs laced through this
fascinating wine. Finish with a nice snap of citrus. Speaking of
snap, red snapper, anyone?

Londer 2007 Late Harvest Anderson Valley Gewurztraminer $23
Platinum colored wine with lychee, white pepper and flowers to
the enticing nose. Medium weight, with honeysuckle fruit and perfume
notes, along with limes and peaches. Quite complex, quite well made
and amazingly crisp for all its sweetness.


Montaudon Brut Rose, Champagne $30
Dusty rose color with fine beads in abundance. The nose shows
off toast, vanilla and strawberries. Soft and juicy on the
palate with lots of cherry fruit and a delicate, dry finish.

Temple Family Vineyard 05 Cabernet Sauvignon $52
Rich, garnet color with a nose composed of earth and cocoa.
Big and chewy on the palate, with dark cassis and currants
and a very firm tannic structure. There are hints of tobacco
and a dark minerality to the finish.