Products
Spirits
A spirit is any alcoholic beverage that has been distilled, rather than
its alcohol occurring through a natural process of fermentation. Distillation,
as seen in Beverly Hillbillies reruns, is a process whereby one cooks a liquid
to collect the alcohol spirit via a comical contraption of tubes, flasks and such.
The resulting beverage typically contains somewhere between 20% to 40% grain
alcohol.
Dave’s rural Kentucky forbears were distillers during the Prohibition,
just as Joe’s Italian-American ancestors were vintners. Maybe these guys were
pre-destined to this business after all.
Our Spirits products are grouped into several categories:
Cordials/Liqueurs
 These
beverages are called “liqueurs” everywhere in the world,
except in the U.S. , where apparently that three-vowel combo in the middle
confuses us. So we go with “cordials”, which sounds very…..umm,
cordial.
This funky category contains spirits that are flavored with herbs, fruits,
spices and sometimes cream. They are the descendants of herbal remedies that
were made by monks as far back at the 13 th century. In fact, some liqueurs
still are made by monks, though not by Thelonious.
In addition to the flavor categories, we must make a distinction between
naturally-flavored liqueurs and the cheap artificially-flavored spirits, such
as Triple Sec. We know that it costs more, but this is one time when it really
pays to buy the real stuff.
We think of liqueurs as belonging to one of several categories:
Anise liqueurs taste like licorice, and include Absinthe,
Galliano, Ouzo, Pastis, and Sambuca.
Herbal liqueurs include Drambuie (made with Scotch), Irish
Mist (Irish whiskey), and Benedictine (Brandy) infused with herbs.
Fruit liqueurs include the orange group (Grand Marnier,
Citronge, Cointreau, etc.), as well as Lemoncello, Midori (watermelon), Amarula
and the new fruity Hpnotic and Everglo stuff.
Nutty liqueurs, such as Amaretto (almond), Frangelico (hazelnut),
Nocello (walnut), and the vanilla liqueurs (Tuaca, Licor 43) make excellent
after-dinner drinks.
Coffee flavors are well-represented with Kahlua, Starbucks,
Tia Maria and Kamora. Chocolate gets its play with the Godiva
and Just Desserts brands. Finally, cream liqueurs include the
Irish creams, as well as Advocaat (an egg cream) and Xanath, an excellent Mexican
vanilla cream liqueur.
Gin
 Gin was
invented in 1650 in the Netherlands . It was originally intended
as a remedy for kidney disorders. It was originally made with neutral grain
spirits flavored with oil of juniper, and was called Genever, meaning juniper.
The most common method of making gin involves flavoring neutral spirits.
This has lead to various debates as to whether gin is merely flavored vodka.
In addition to juniper, other botanicals including coriander, cassia
bark, angelica, orange peel, orris root, cardamon, licorice, and other stuff,
are often present.
London Dry Gin is the most common type today. English Gins are generally more
flavorful and are considered to be superior to American Gins. The driest gin
is Plymouth Gin, made in English city of the same name.
Rum
 Question: What
is the most popular spirit in Mexico ? EHHH ! Wrong answer! It’s rum !
Rum is distilled from fermented molasses, sugar cane, or cane syrup. American
colonists drank rum so that they could forget that they were living in the
gnarly 17 th and 18 th centuries. An American article describing Barbados in
1651 states, "the chief fudling they make in this island is Rumbullion
alias Kill Divil - a hot hellish and terrible liquor." George Washington
campaigned with seventy-five gallons of free rum, leading many to eventually
remark “I voted for WHO?”.
Rum is produced at various proofs from 80 to 151. White or Silver rum is
the lightest and best used for mixing cocktails. Dark rums made from molasses
are best for cooking and are used as blending additions to cocktails.
The most famous of light and Puerto Rican rums is Bacardi.
Bacardi was originally made in Cuba , and was the first light rum. Jamaican
Rum is among the finest of aged rums. Wray & Nephew produce Appleton,
which comes in many varieties. Myers's rum is distilled in Jamaica . Barbados
is home to many different rums. The oldest and one of the most popular is Mount
Gay , which has been made in the same location since 1703.
But those are the easy ones. We recommend that you branch out and experiment
with some of the fine rums of Haiti , Venezuela , Brazil and other exotic alternatives such as Cachaca.
Tequila
 Tequila is Mexican liquor distilled from the fermented juices of the hearts
of blue agave plants. The liquor gets its name from the town of Tequila located
in the state of Jalisco where production started more than 200 years ago.
The blue agave has long bluish green spiny leaves with sharp points and a
large heart (called piña or pineapple) from which the juices are extracted
and then distilled twice. One liter of distilled tequila requires between 6
and 8 kilos of agave pulp.
The latest vibe in tequila has been the introduction of premium 100% blue agave sipping tequilas,
led by Patron in its unique blown-glass bottles. We also highly recommend the
Don Julio line, which is the best-selling brand in Mexico.
Tequila is famous around the world for its unique taste and bouquet and is the
key ingredient in Margaritas, which we drink in the shop for breakfast every
morning. Not really.
Vodka
 The traditional spirit of Russia, Poland and the Baltic states is now the
largest selling spirit in the United States . Favored for its neutral aroma
and flavor, vodka is essentially a neutral grain spirit containing just grain
alcohol and water.
While some vodkas are distilled in the classic way from potatoes (Luksusowa,
Blue Ice), most of the best are made from grain. Most vodkas attain a high
degree of purity, resulting from four or even five distillations. As a result,
vodka is less prone to causing hangovers than any other alcoholic beverage.
We learned this from an informative Power Point produced by Dave’s friend,
the overachieving John Mansueti, MD, USN, who is impossibly both a fighter
pilot and a physician.
There has been an explosion of vodka brands and flavors in recent years. In addition
to standby premium brands like Stolichnaya, there are now other premiums like
Vox, Grey Goose, Belvedere and Chopin. There are American exotics like Tito’s
and the naturally-flavored Charbay vodkas. Ciroc is a French vodka made from
grape spirits – cognac on steroids !
Whiskey
 [Bear with us here, as it is generally the custom that American and Irish
are spelled “whiskey”, while Scotch and Canadian are spelled “whisky”.
Didn’t want you to think we just blew off the spell-checker.]
Whiskeys are distilled from grains and are aged in oak barrels to impart
their brown color and smoky, dark taste. There are a number of different varieties.
There are four main types: Irish, Canadian, American, and Scotch.
Irish whiskeys are made from malted (sprouted) barley grains. Light in style,
they differ from Scotch whiskeys in that peat is never used in Irish whisky,
meaning that it will have less of the smoky character so associated with Scotch.
Popular brands include Midleton, Jameson, Bushmills and Powers.
Canadian whisky – brands include Crown Royal, Forty Creek and Canadian
Club – is a blended grain whisky containing a combination of barley,
rye, corn and wheat. Canadians are generally light in style.
American whiskies include Bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and Rye whiskey. Bourbon
is generally made in Kentucky , and must include between 51% and 80% corn malt.
Sweet and smooth, this classic American whiskey is conditioned with sour mash,
the leftover solids of from the previous batch of whiskey. Interestingly, no
distilleries exist today in Bourbon County . Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam,
and Woodford Reserve are among the more famous brands of bourbon.
Tennessee whiskey is similar to Bourbon, but this whiskey is subjected to
the “Lincoln County Process”, which involves filtering the whiskey
through ten feet of maple charcoal. The process imparts a unique flavor and
smooth quality to Tennessee whiskey. Jack Daniels is the big dog in these parts,
along with smaller pup George Dickel.
Rye whiskey was at one point the main whiskey consumed in the north-eastern
states, but is now only produced by a few distillers. By law, it must be at
least 51% rye. The main brand available now is Jim Beam Rye.
Scotch whiskys can be divided into the categories of Malted whiskys and Blends.
Malted Scotch whiskys are made by roasting barley sprouts over a peat fire.
It is the peat that gives Scotch its unique smoky flavor. The roasted barley
mash is then mixed with water and permitted to ferment before distillation.
Blended Scotch (such as Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker, and Chivas Regal)
whiskys are a combination of malted and grain whiskies. Blends are considerably
lighter in character than malts.
Malt whiskys can be blended with other malts to form “vatted” whiskys,
but these are fairly rare. Far more common are Single Malts, which are malted
whiskys made at a single distillery in Scotland . These are strong in flavor
and very smoky. Single Malts are often grouped into the various whisky-making
districts of Scotland:
Islay (“Eye-la”) is the southernmost of the
Inner Hebrides islands. It produces the strongest flavored whiskys in Scotland.
These whiskys have huge peaty, salty, iodine flavor notes. Islay distilleries
include Lagavulin, Laphroig, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila and Bowmore.
In addition to Islay, single malts are also produced the islands of Arran,
Jura, and Skye (Talisker). These are designated in the shop as Island malts.
Highland whiskys are produced in the north of Scotland .
These are lighter in flavor and peat than the other single malts, though they
are still far manlier than blends. Highland distilleries include Dalmore, Dalwhinnie,
Glenmorangie, McClelland, and Oban.
While technically Highland, a number of distilleries designate themselves
as Speyside, as they are located along the River Spey in the
northeast, home to the greatest concentration of distilleries in Scotland .
Brands include Aberlour, Balvenie, Cragganmore, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and
Macallan.
Lowland distilleries are now few in number, owing to the public’s
preference for stronger flavored single malts. Glenkinchie is one of the three
remaining Lowland distilleries.
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