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Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $140.22 $147.60
NOSE: Poached pears, cinnamon & ginger. PALATE: Dark chocolate, berry & spice. FINISH: A long finish of oak spices...
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $53.58 $56.40
6 bottles: $52.80
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $23.16 $24.38
6 bottles: $18.20
This honey-hued blended whiskey offers vanilla, coconut and almond aromas and flavors plus touches of menthol and...
WE
89
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $32.37 $34.07
6 bottles: $24.58
Lovely 14-carat gold color. Intensely grainy in the straightforward, no-nonsense bouquet. Taste profile reflects the...
UBC
89
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $50.54 $53.20
A triumph from Connacht, a relatively young distillery in County Mayo, this is the first whiskey off their stills,...
12 FREE
WE
91
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $72.28 $76.08
6 bottles: $69.22
Spicy cola nut, tropical melon, honey, grapefruit pith, gunpowder, and a tinge of vanilla offer unparalleled depth...
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UBC
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $48.22 $50.76
Topaz color. Aromas of pine nut, wood smoke, baked pear come alive right from the first inhalation. Flavor profile is...
12 FREE
UBC
96
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $73.32
6 bottles: $64.63
The flagship Dingle is just a great whiskey to lose yourself in. The nose has honey on wheat toast, brown sugar,...
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WKY
92
Sale
Spirits
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $56.41 $59.38
6 bottles: $55.30
This phenomenal debut is one of the best new single pot still whiskeys around. Caramel, brioche, satsuma, dried...
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WKY
92
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $43.78 $46.08
6 bottles: $38.52
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $28.26 $29.75
6 bottles: $26.15
Nose: Initial burst of sweet vanilla leads to crisp orchard fruits, apples and pears. Then lemon curd, leading on to...
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $72.23
6 bottles: $68.63
Nose: Apricots, grapefruit and toasted almonds open up to fresh green cooking apples, before warming to apple tatin,...
12 FREE
Case only
Spirits
12 FREE
Case only
Spirits
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $49.07
6 bottles: $44.99
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $37.62 $39.60
Flaming Pig is the brainchild of Joey and Flor, two drinks industry fellas from Ireland who saw a gap in the market...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $34.48
6 bottles: $28.80
Four Walls is a new Irish American Whiskey brand from Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day made in tribute...
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $58.27 $61.34
12 bottles: $45.60
12 FREE
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $91.20
12 bottles: $80.94
Fukano Blonde—an all-new, limited expression from the famed distillery—is bottled to showcase the beauty of...
12 FREE

Irish Whiskey Japanese Whiskey Sherry Mencia

The Irish are hailed as being the original producers of whiskey in the British Isles, and their innovations and techniques were so successful, that neighbouring Scotland were quickly influenced by them in the 15th century. Centuries later, it was the Irish who brought whiskey to America, and their style of whiskey has since become popular all over the world.

However, it wasn’t always plain sailing for the Irish whiskey industry - from being a dominant force in the 19th century, whose produce was considered far superior to that of Scotland, political upheaval and war saw the Irish whiskey almost disappear forever in the early 20th century. Today, the Irish whiskey manufacturers are back on their feet, and they are once again proving that the original is often the best. With new distilleries opening every year, it is safe to say that Irish whiskey is very much back.

Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky in a number of ways, and not least the spelling - the extra ‘e’ was said to be added in the 19th century as a way of distancing the Irish drink from what they saw as an inferior Scottish product. Irish whiskey was traditionally made in enormous stills, as a way of ensuring consistency from bottle to bottle, and maintaining the quality and complexity their reputation was founded on. The typical tasting notes of fine Irish whiskey include apple and vanilla, alongside spicy and sweet touches of nutmeg and fresh hay, making this a highly pleasant and smooth drink, made for relaxation and stimulating conversation about times past.

Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.

The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.

Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.

While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.