Caballito Chato Blanco
$122.99
Made using estate-grown agave at the Santa Rita Distillery in Amatitan, Jalisco by 14th and 15th-generation Tequileros, this is not classified as Tequila. Instead, it is a "Distilado De Agava", made in the manner of Tequila. Agave Spirit is an overarching term that is used when Tequila cannot be due to the spirit being outside of the classified region or not being certified as Tequila for other reasons. That being said, Caballito Cerrero is as authentic as you can get regardless of what you call it.
The Caballito Cerrero brand dates back to 1950 when it was founded by Don Alfonso Jimenez Rosales. Before this, Alfonso co-founded Herradura, eventually striking out on his own after a family dispute. Herradura translates to "horseshoe", which is emblazoned on the bottles of Tequila they sell. Caballito Cerrero roughly translates to "unshoed horse", which gives some idea to how Don Alfonso Jimenez Rosales felt in leaving Herradura to start anew.
Santa Rita is considered by many to be one of the top Tequila distilleries in the world. They do not contract distill for other brands, stick to small batch distillation and only focus on distillation a few times each year, which makes them very different from the monolithic distilleries that produced much of the tequila for a variety of brands out there. Santa Rita is committed to producing Tequila the traditional way and that sometimes means they butt heads with the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).
Caballito Cerrero Chato is made with maguey Chato, which in this case is referring to an Agave Angustifolia, which is either related to or synonymous with maguey Espadin. The agave are cooked in a brick steam oven, milled in a double pass mill, fermented in open stainless steel tanks with both wild and proprietary yeast, and distilled in stainless steel and copper.
Peregrins Moreau Chablis Sur Vaucorme
$68.99
Eléonore Moreau is not only the only female bottler in the tiny village of Poilly sur Serein, but the only bottler, period - all other producers instead sell their fruit to the Chablisienne. Low yields in 2019 threatened Moreau's production, but they did not prevent her from releasing this truly transcendent vintage of her flagship Petit Chablis. With the ultimate goal of avoiding intervention in order to allow the Petit Chablis to speak for itself, Pérégrinations is a tour-de-force with amble richness and depth.
Mezonte Raicilla Joya Hildegardo
$184.99
Raicilla is is a distilled Agave spirit similar to Tequila and Mezcal. This bottling from Mezonte is a Raicilla made using the Amarillo Agave plant. It was produced by Hildegardo "Japo" Joya in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. Japo was at least 87 years old when this Raicilla was distilled in 2020. 46.5%.
Mezonte is a non-profit organization built to support traditional agave spirit production in Mexico. The organization works to ensure that the people that produce the spirit get a more substantial share of what is made from each bottle. Menzonte's goal is to work with the producers, helping them invest in the agriculture and technology needed to make future production sustainable.
From The Menzonte Website
"Hildegardo Joya, better known as “Japo” is one of the oldest producers in the west of Jalisco. He is possibly one of the last producers of his generation that continues to work and make the most traditional raicilla in all of Cabo Corrientes.
Japo grows only 3 types of maguey in his mezcalera: Cenizo, Verde, and the most commonly used: Amarillo. These can take from 8 to 35 years to mature.
At 87 years old, he continues to go to the countryside with his machete and clean his land. An eternally jovial man who knows how to have fun without leaving aside the commitment to plant agaves each year even if he knows that he is not going to harvest them. "
Mezonte Durango Tepe Antonio Flores
$183.99
Mezonte is a non-profit organization that aims to preserve and create awareness of the cultural values of agave spirits from around mexico.
Tepe is a category-less agave spirit distilled from Masparillo agave, and crosses some lines between tequila and mezcal.
Sweet and mellow with a light hit of smoke with a hint of plastic or rubber. Slightly solventy with notes of juicy fruit and fresh cooked agave.
Peychauds Aromatic Bitters
$15.99
Fom Wikipedia
Peychaud's bitters is a bitters distributed by the American Sazerac Company.[1][2] It was originally created between 1849 and 1857 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) who traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, around 1793.[3] It is a gentian-based bitters, comparable to Angostura bitters, but with a predominant anise aroma combined with a background of mint.[4] It is currently produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentuck
Vinyes Del Terrer Nus
$59.99
On the stunning Mediterranean coast of Spain just south of Terragona is where you will find the Vinyes del Terrer estate. Made up of nine plots just 20 metres above sea level, what makes this winery so unique is the lumaquela sediment infused into the terroir. Lumaquela is a limestone-based sediment formed over millions of years made of fossilized seashells and calcareous cement. Lumaquela provides rich nutrients to the soil and conveys a deep minerality to Vinyes del Terrer wines. The mild Mediterranean climate and marine terroir combine to make gorgeous wines. Vinyes del Terrer vintages elegantly reflect the mineral character of the land, and provide an intensely fruity bouquet due to the careful ripening of their grapes.
Graceland Cabernet Sauvignon
$49.99
Graceland is a family run boutique winery, specialising in red wine. Susan, the driving force behind the winery, takes on the roles of marketer, winemaker and viticulturist whilst Paul attends to the farm. The Graceland wine making philosophy starts in the vineyard where no insecticides are used and minimal spraying. Special attention is paid to pruning, canopy cover and limiting production in line with producing top quality grapes. The most important decision each year is when to pick and this is done in small batches according to the microclimate which determines when each row becomes optimally ripe. As to winemaking, they are very natural in our approach. Only grapes and nitrogen. Our sulphur dioxide levels are considerably lower than average.The grapes are de-stemmed into open fermenters. The skins are hand plunged 4 times per day. After 8 days the wine is pressed; pressed wine and free run are combined. It is then racked to oak barrels where malolactic fermentation takes place. The above techniques are geared towards low intervention with the use of oxidative rackings as a key feature. The oxidation causes unstable colour, tannin and flavour to polymerize and “drop out of the wine”. It also eliminates off odours. The resulting wines only have stable constituents left which means the wines will age well, probably 7 - 10 years. In summary, these wines are big and flavoursome with good tannin structures.
Glen Grant 15 Year
$96.99
Well, this is a clever addition to the range, isn't it? Fifteen years old and 50%. Wow. Colour us happy. If the team at Glen Grant realizes that higher abv in whisky like this has an appeal (mostly for textural reasons), why keep the rest of the range at 43%? Apparently, there are people out there that prefer their whisky at lower strengths. We've never met one, but I guess they're out there. Does that count as cryptozoology?
Anyway, let's celebrate the good! Great distillery, good expression, nice age statement, and a robust strength that suits the profile. Well done.
50% abv
Hoyne Dark Matter American Brown Ale
$5.29
From the Producer~
Dark Matter is the only beer we make where we don’t say on the bottle what style it is. This is for a very good reason. Even we don’t know! It is more easily described by what it isn’t. It is not as roasted as a stout, nor is it as sweet or high in alcohol as a porter. And don’t even mention brown ale in the same breath. Like the Northern Lights, it is seductively elusive, bringing the mystery of the universe into your glass.
Abv 5.3%