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Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $28.23 $29.72
12 bottles: $22.79
TOP 100 SPIRITS 2015. Luxe and velvety, this port-finished Bourbon shows bold caramel and toffee up front, morphing...
WE
94
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $45.23
TOP 100 SPIRITS 2015. Luxe and velvety, this port-finished Bourbon shows bold caramel and toffee up front, morphing...
12 FREE
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94
Rapid Ship
Spirits
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $83.67 $88.07
This honey-hued rye has a remarkable aroma, melding cookie dough, hazelnut and marzipan. The same luscious flavors...
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WE
94
WKY
90
Case only
Spirits
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $50.16
A hint of sweet yellow corn on the palate gives way to rich vanilla. The palate is complex and full-flavored with a...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
Lean, dry and spicy, this seven-year-old small-batch Bourbon may be reminiscent of of rye whiskey. It has a mild...
12 FREE
WE
93
WKY
93
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $51.77
6 bottles: $47.69
ON THE NOSE, Texas Rye Bottled in Bond balances warm sun tea, candied fennel, and spruce tips before cooling notes of...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $154.94
Baked cherry, campfire, and vanilla are enveloped by cinnamon and herbal tea. On the palate, waves of ginger and malt...
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Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $153.94 $199.94
On the nose, this delivers plenty of semi-sweet delights, with orange peel, dark chocolate, Andes mints, and vanilla...
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WKY
88
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $159.94
This whiskey from Bardstown leaps out of the glass with cocoa nibs, chocolate croissant, cigar box, and banana split...
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WKY
94
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $159.94
Iconic trailblazers of craft brewing, Goose Island is a perfect partner for innovation. This bespoke blend of 6 and 7...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $87.59
6 bottles: $83.99
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $109.18
6 bottles: $105.58
Our Discovery Series highlights the Art of Blending, creating exciting expressions that together are greater than the...
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Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $44.94
A beautifully balanced blend of apricot, orange blossom, and mint rests on caramel, nutmeg, and rich oak. On the...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $51.59
6 bottles: $47.99
Baked peach with cream meets cocoa with hints of lemon, an indulgent, smooth mouthfeel of stone fruit and toffee...
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Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $58.14 $61.20
6 bottles: $57.60
Ripe cherry resonates through toasted oak highlighted by white flower, dill, and cinnamon. A rich, round mouthfeel...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $80.40
12 bottles: $68.40
Opens with a bright a fruity nose of white peach, coconut, rhubarb, and roasted red pepper with hints of beeswax and...
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Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $72.00
This is a blend of three straight bourbons finished separately in pear brandy, Jamaican rum and Sicilian amaro casks....
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95
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $72.00
12 bottles: $68.40
Ebullient nose of ripe red berries and blossom is anchored by brown sugar, leather, lanolin, and wildflower honey....
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UBC
97
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $80.40
6 bottles: $78.00
The latest from the limited Barrell Craft Spirits Cask Finish Series sees a selection of 6-to-14-year-old bourbons...
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Bourbon Nero D'avola Mencia Rye Whiskey

Bourbon has survived all manner of difficulties and restrictions to become one of the world’s best selling and most recognizable spirits. This unique and distinctly American whiskey came from humble origins, allowing poor farmers in the fields of Pennsylvania and Maryland to make a living from their crops. Prohibition, temperance movements and conflict continuously threatened to wipe Bourbon from existence, but today the drink is stronger than ever and has a global audience of millions. Over time, it has become more refined, and innovation and experimentation has set modern Bourbon apart from other whiskey styles.

Today, the Bourbon heartland and spiritual home is in Kentucky, where the whiskey producers of northern states traveled to seek a new home, free from oppressive tax regimes in the early days. It is now far from the rough and ready spirit of yesteryear, governed by strict rules and regulations to maintain standards and keep quality high. Modern Bourbon must be made from a mash which is no less than 51% and no more than 80% corn (the rest of the mash being made from rye, wheat or barley), giving it a distinctive sweetness, and it must be aged in charred, white oak casks with no other added ingredient but water.

The varied flavors of different Bourbons come about mainly from the different quantities of the permitted grains in the mash. A larger proportion of rye will produce a spicy, peppery whiskey, whereas more wheat will result in a smoother, more subtle drink. Ageing and water quality, as well as the expertise and vision of the craftsmen who distill it, will also make a difference, meaning there is much more to Bourbon than might first meet the eye.

Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.



Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.

Rye Whiskey is enjoying something of a renaissance of late, with sales rocketing in recent years thanks to a growing interest in strong, unique flavors, and small, independent distilleries. Rye Whiskey is a drink which is all about powerful, bold flavors, with plenty of spice and bitterness when drunk young. Aged, however, it takes on a deep set of subtle notes which are beautifully mellow and complex, and becomes a fascinating example of what whiskey can be when made with expert hands.

In order for an American Whiskey to be labeled a Rye Whiskey, it must have a mash content which is no less than fifty one percent rye. This separates it from Bourbon, and it is this which gives it its distinctive flavor and spiciness. Toffee, cinnamon, caraway, cloves and oak are typical tasting notes, and ‘straight rye’ whiskies - which are aged in charred oak barrels - take on plenty of the smokiness of the wood, adding a further, fascinating facet.

Rye Whiskey has its spiritual home in the northeastern states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and cities like Pittsburgh produced vast quantities of Rye Whiskey in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most the old distilleries were closed during the prohibition era, after which time rye whiskey more or less disappeared completely, but the twenty-first century is seeing old recipes being resurrected and released to rave reviews.