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- Aaron Hughes (10)
- Alex Leonardini (54)
- Andrew Nunes (1)
- Cary Herrman (3)
- David Othenin-Girard (339)
- Dejah Overby (147)
- Eric Goldstein (1)
- Gary Westby (541)
- Jacques Moreira (703)
- John Majeski (296)
- John Downing (80)
- John Flanigan (1)
- Jonathan Parnell (3)
- Kai Pedreno (3)
- Kate Soto (11)
- Keith Mabry (433)
- Kerry Kennell (1)
- Kirk Walker (276)
- Lilia McIntosh (44)
- Matthew Landau Hassan (5)
- Michael Benoit (7)
- Michael Pires (14)
- Orazio Campoli (5)
- Rachael Ryan (2)
- Ralph Sands (222)
- Ryan Woodhouse (900)
- Ryan Moses (640)
- Scott Beckerley (307)
- Scott Turnbull (61)
- Simon Li (3)
- Stephanie Manning (3)
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- Will Blakely (27)
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Staff Favorites
| If you’re going to have Robert Parker or Stephen Tanzer over for dinner, selecting a wine they’ve rated highly will be a nice choice. However, when you’re buying wines for yourself, we’d love to see you find wines that match up your unique palate and pocketbook. We have a large staff of friendly and knowledgeable wine professionals that taste hundreds of wines each week. They can put you in touch with bottles that you are likely to love, often at a much lower cost than the highly-rated gems that often see a run-up in price and frequent availability issues. Like any great group of opinionated professionals, our staff has varied tastes themselves. Often our customers will find a particular staff member with a style that corresponds to their own. That concept works extremely well in our retail stores, and this section is our effort to bring you the same online. Don’t get us wrong, we love the highly rated wines from the press and will continue to offer them, but we think you’re missing out if you’re not augmenting those selections with picks from our excellent staff. Here are their favorites. (Click on a name to see their other selections - or to drop them a line.) Cheers! |
Reviews
Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin (750ml)
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 6/2/2016 | Send Email
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 6/2/2016 | Send Email
The big boy of the two Gins we have right now from Four Pillars is this "navy strength" number. As it says on the label: "stronger gin requires stronger flavors" and this certainly delivers on that! A huge burst of citrus flavor, eucalyptus hints, a sage(ish) savory element and big robust texture. I love that this gin not only has the flavor but also the textural mouth feel to balance the high 118 proof. Serious stuff that is taking our spirits world by storm.
Price:
$39.99
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé
By: Kelsey McNellis | Review Date: 5/30/2016 | Send Email
By: Kelsey McNellis | Review Date: 5/30/2016 | Send Email
Perfect summer sparkler! I've recently brought this to graduation parties for a great and inexpensive gift. This brut rose has hints of strawberry and cherry and a light but crisp finish. So refreshing and for $13, how can you beat that price?!
Price:
$14.99
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut
By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 5/29/2016 | Send Email
By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 5/29/2016 | Send Email
One of the most consistent questions people pose in regards to sparkling wines is: is it dry? If the answer is essentially "not really" in regards to many lower priced sparklers, with the Deligeroy Brut one can happily answer in the affirmative! Light biscuity, nutty and lemon scents are right on point, and the finish has all the snap you want from a bottle of bubbly.
Price:
$14.99
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
Some people want to reinvent Gin while others simply want to perfect it, at Four PIllars they go for the latter. This has all the elements that make gin so good, citrus, juniper, spices and balances them. Fresh and clean with a dry finish this is the kind of gin you can just keep as the standard, always on hand. Mix it, sip it, prepare it any way you like Gin, just enjoy it.
Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin (750ml)
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
Complexity and balance is always what I am most excited about in a Gin and this delivers these two attributes. The citrus notes from the limes off just the right amount of snappy citrus to overlay the backbone of juniper. This gin is surprisingly smooth for its proof offering up its power in complexity and flavor as opposed to burn on the finish.
Price:
$39.99
Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin (750ml)
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
The Navy Strength gin is not simply a higher proofed version of the Rare Dry from Four Pillars, but rather an entirely different formula. This one uses finger limes for a different citrus tone, but the balance of spice and botanicals is what ties both gins together. This is a bolder, brighter, more intense experience, but it's obviously made by the same team because the same attention to detail is prevalent. This is a world class gin of the highest quality, pure and simple.
Price:
$39.99
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
Bow down to the new king of gin: Four Pillars. A group of gin crazy Aussies put together one of the most focused and high-quality gin distilleries in the world in the Yarra Yarra Valley and now we're fortunate to get a taste of that goodness here in the U.S. The Rare Dry gin simply explodes with citrus, a burst of fresh orange, but it still packs a lovely balance of juniper and spice with the most delicate and graceful of mouthfeels. This is high quality gin, pure and simple. It tastes like it was fussed over, formulated and retooled until it was perfect. I can't stop talking about it nor drinking it. I'm just so happy we have it.
Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin (750ml)
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
This has all the great attributes of the Rare Dry from Four Pillars- just more of them! If you love citrus lift and a strong juniper foundation and sneaky power, this is for you. I love the way that Navy Strength Gin leads me down the wrong path, and I can't wait to get a bottle of this home.
Price:
$39.99
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email
The colonies know their gin. This fragrant, balanced bottle does not try and reinvent the gin wheel, it just tastes better than most drinks. I love the high citrus notes and the low juniper base in the Four Pillars Rare. I think you will find it as at home in tonic as in a Martini. I am buying mine now!
Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 5/27/2016 | Send Email
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 5/27/2016 | Send Email
Just astonishing how delicious this is for the price. It hits every note you want from a rose champagne, both power and elegance, round and rich with great long structure, aromatic pinot fruit with a hint of savory spice. You could decant it and serve it with a filet mignon as easily as you'd serve it with your aper'eau. A triumph of wine making fit for the most frugal lover of bubbles and the most opulent spender alike.
Price:
$42.99
Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne
By: Olivia Ragni | Review Date: 5/25/2016 | Send Email
By: Olivia Ragni | Review Date: 5/25/2016 | Send Email
We have been working with Aspasie for years, as they were our first direct import Champagne producer. Their wine continues to be of the highest quality, making it the best value Champagne in the store. Year after year, the rosé is my favorite rosé in the store. With flavors of black cherry, ripe cranberry, rosemary and an earthier backbone, this rose is beautiful both as an aperitif and especially fantastic with food. Try it with a roast duck or heavier fish like salmon or tuna steak.
Price:
$42.99
St. George Bruto Americano Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur (750ml)
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email
I am a big fan of pretty much everything St. George Distillery does and one of my favorite things about them is all of their liqueurs and brandies. Seriously, the people over there are never satisfied with just sticking to gin, vodka, or whiskey (although they do all of those things well) and now they have added an Americano! I bought a bottle immediately and it is delicious, as is expected from them this is not an attempt to re-create Campari but rather it's own beast. Clove and cinnamon add a much spicier component to this spirit, with a lovely dry and herbaceous finish. This is delicious on its own or with soda water and a twist and I cannot wait to try making it into a Negroni.
Price:
$29.99
Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email
One of the following three statements is true, and the others are false! Let's see if you can pick the fact.
1: THE EARTH IS BIGGER THAN THE SUN
2: STANLEY KUBRICK WAS HIRED BY NASA TO FAKE THE MOON LANDING.
3. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET HIGH-END CHAMPAGNE FOR LESS THAN $35.
Well? What do you think? I was on the fence between the moon landing and champagne, UNTIL I opened a bottle of this unbelievable Grand Cru offering from what has become a huge staff favorite here in Hollywood. Immensely refreshing with clean peach and citrus fruit, subtle vanilla, and a long finish, this amount of deliciousness is even more ridiculous than those two false facts! Think about it!
St. George Bruto Americano Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur (750ml)
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 5/23/2016 | Send Email
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 5/23/2016 | Send Email
A wonderful addition to the Aperitivo section. It has a natural dark red color which is nice to look at. But even better is how it tastes. There is a kiss of sweetness that is aided by spice ( clove and cinnamon ?) and a nice bitter finish. Great with soda.
Price:
$29.99
Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 5/22/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 5/22/2016 | Send Email
This is perhaps one of the greatest and most unique examples of terrior in Champagne I've ever personally come across. A careful picking of mid-slope Mesnil Chardonnay is vinified and aged in oak barrels made from 100% Mesnil oak harvested from the forest at the top of the hill. Talk about precision of place. The results are spectacular. The rich and oily texture is the perfect foil to the robust quality of the Grand Cru fruit. It is bursting with green and yellow apple, but also spice, both sweet and savory. There is a thread of nutty sherry like flavors that walks you through the deep complexity of the wine. While the Mesnil Oak is a strong presence, it doesn't overwhelm. Just provides the substance to make this an exceptional wine with heartier food dishes or to be immensely enjoyed as an aperitif.
Price:
$59.99
Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email
Rose. It is possibly one of the most singularly used words in the lexicon of wine, and yet, it is so often mischaracterized. People think it's sweet. People think it is light. Well, listen up, folks, because PEOPLE ARE WRONG! This is clearly evidenced here with Ariston Aspasie's beautifully crafted Brut Rose. Neither sweet, nor particularly, light, what it absolutely is is REFRESHING! Given a supremely unique personality from the method of taking its color from completely vinified red wine as opposed to the more common method of including a degree of skin contact, this is one of the drier rose champagnes I've tasted lately. Cranberry, dried-cherry, and a hint of spice-box all work together to create a medley of wonderment that you won't soon forget!
Price:
$42.99
Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email
By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email
I'll be the first to admit it. I grew up somewhat spoiled. When it came to things that really mattered, like what movie to rent, I pretty much had CARTE BLANCHE. Unfortunately, that freedom and joy absolutely PALED IN COMPARISON to the delight that I encountered upon my first taste of this gorgeous bottling from one of our long-time favorite Champagne producers. Composed of almost-equal shares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier,there's simply too much to love here: Bright traces of apple; the present-yet-balanced yeast; and the toastiness that I absolutely require in champagne. Simply remarkable, it is, to find a wine so complex and meticulously crafted for such a price!
Price:
$37.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
Simply put, Grand Cru Chardonnay for this price is ridiculous. Coming from some of the highest quality vineyards in all of Champagne, there is so much wine in this bottle. Fresh green apple and tangerine peel great you on the nose, followed by a crisp and refreshing palate. Fine bubbles deliver a vibrant mouth feel, more Granny Smith, a hint of hazel nut. Hard to get better for Blanc De Blancs lovers!
Price:
$39.99
Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
This super interesting blanc de blanc from Launois is made using oak from the forest just above Mesnil. It has an almost rum-like nose with spices, sherry oak and mocha. Sound unusual for a 100% Chardonnay champagne? Well, it is! It is also delicious enough to be a main course bubbly. On the palate, more mocha, with fino sherry notes and a citrus finish. The finish lasts and lasts and lasts. Simply put, a must try for any Champagne lover!
Price:
$59.99
Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
The Veuve Clemence is the older, richer brother to the Cuvee Reserve from Launois. With four years on the lees, it is my go to bottle when in the mood for a fuller bodied Champagne. Full of toasty brioche and biscuit dough right out of the glass, hinting at the opulent nature to come. On the palate it evolves into a supple and appealing wine, chalk full of Grand Cru Chardonnay minerality and stone fruit.
Price:
$44.99
Charles Heidsieck "Brut Réserve" Champagne
By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
Simply delicious, the Charles Heidsieck Champagnes have improved so drastically lately that if you haven't tried them recently you owe it to yourself to try one now. Bold nutty, toasty and rich, but not lumbering or cloying - it has a lovely acidity to finish it off. Bravo!
Launois "Quartz" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
The Quartz is the leaner, more focused entry level wine from Launois and it might be my favorite. Underneath the fruit you get down into the minerality and the oyster shell notes that you expect from a fine Chablis. It's just that this wine has bubbles and it makes you feel like you're floating on air. Stunning.
Price:
$49.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
An absolutely delicious, world-changing, life-altering experience. When you taste Launois's Cuvee Reserve and you realize that you only paid $35, you start to wonder what else you've been overpaying for? What about those shoes you ordered online? What about that special cheese you bought from the artisan market? Maybe there are other secrets like this out there that you just don't know about. Credit our own Gary Westby for the epiphany. Just don't bother him once we're sold out again. This is bright, clean, refreshing, and stunningly elegant 100% Grand Cru quality fruit and it's TO DIE FOR.
Price:
$39.99
Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
This is gorgeously lush wine made from hillside grapes and the top and bottom of the slopes. The nose is yeasty and voluptuous with a richness on the palate that maintains its elegance under the weight. Truly a fine wine.
Price:
$44.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
This is one of the most highly anticipated bubblies we carry, both from our customers and from our staff. Stone fruit and minerality play against the bright citrus notes and lively acid carries the wine to incredible length without being too tart. This bottle just drinks so well and goes down so smoothly that it always seems a shame that we cannot carry more of it. Pick it up soon because it will sell out fast.
Price:
$39.99
Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
Another Launois that simply drinks far too easily. This cuvee showcases the crispness and cleanliness that I love in Launois' Champagne while also offering length and drive. Light notes of apple and melon layer the minerality of this wine and help it to disappear far too quickly.
Price:
$44.99
Launois "Quartz" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
When I first came to work here I would have people come up and ask if we had any Launois in stock, not being familiar with it I was always curious why so many people would eagerly await their arrival. Now having tasted them I understand why we always sell out of everything we carry from them. The Quartz is light, crisp, clean, and downright crushable if I may use a vulgar term for this wine. The bright acid carries hints of minerality and tart apple and green melon that is still balanced and finished so well. This will disappear fast so it is worth picking up whenever we have it.
Price:
$49.99
Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email
This is a new project from perhaps the fastest selling Direct Import champagne producers that we carry at K&L. Aged in oak barrels that they had made from trees that grow right next to their vineyards, the wine shows a very different notes from the crisp cleanness that I have come to know and appreciate in Launois. Notes of vanilla and mocha weight the acid and add complexity to the wine. The finish is long and lingering with hints of roasted coffee. This is a fantastic food champagne for those who love something unique.
Price:
$59.99
Kilchoman "Sanaig" Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml)
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email
I am so glad I finally got to try a couple different expressions from the newest distillery on Islay, and I am so impressed with this whisky. A lovely whiff of smoke on the nose lets you know you are getting into an Islay; however, the sherry casking lends it a smooth and rich body without being brooding. Slightly nutty and fruity notes play against the smoke and lead to a long finish with low heat. This whisky does not need an age statement at all, it stands up and delivers incredibly well for a newer, younger blend.
Price:
$69.99
Mas Codina Brut Reserva Cava Penedès
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email
This is one of the best bottle of bubbles in the store for its price. The fact that we directly import this sparkler and that it is from Spain means that it drinks far and above its price point. This Cava is very clean and enhanced by bright acid while still having some weight and richness on the mouthfeel. A lovely balance of ripe fruit and citrus make this one that can easily turn heads at a party and is priced to keep a case around the house.
Price:
$13.99
Jean-Louis Denois "Tradition" Extra Brut Crémant de Limoux
By: John Majeski | Review Date: 4/30/2016 | Send Email
By: John Majeski | Review Date: 4/30/2016 | Send Email
Whether in art, film, literature or wine, I've always been strongly attracted to iconoclasts, those who forge their own path through life's coombs and brambles, basing their decisions on an intuitive feel for what fits and arriving at a place where they know they belong. Call it 'sense of terroir' or what have you, but Jean-Louis Denois exemplifies this philosophy of place as well as anyone I've met in the wine world. The dust on his boots are the embodiment of his long journey from his native Champagne to Burgundy to South Africa and back again, and finally to the southwestern corner of the Languedoc, where he planted his vines in the foothills of the Pyrenees to create his signature red and sparkling wines. Keeping to the rhythms of nature have led him to adopt both organic and biodynamic precepts in the vineyards, and his brilliant sparkling wines express this with clarity and exuberance— the 'Tradition' Extra Brut is a fifty-fifty blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, created in a refreshingly crisp and lightly toasted style, with notes of red apple, orange blossom and brioche, the perfect sparkling for all festive occasions and dining without the high price of a Champagne. Stock up on this one for the long summer and beyond, it will never let you or your thirsty guests down.
Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky (750ml)
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 4/10/2016 | Send Email
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 4/10/2016 | Send Email
The Gold Reserve offers a nice supple richness that is hard not to like. It is soft and round with a delicate honey like influence and is very easy to drink and enjoy.
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut
By: Gary Norton | Review Date: 4/5/2016 | Send Email
By: Gary Norton | Review Date: 4/5/2016 | Send Email
It's toasty and light, floral and fruity, drinkable and inexpensive. Enough said, right? While lovely all by itself, it's also a bottle that you don't feel guilty adding a dash of crème de cassis to for a brunch-time sparkling cocktail.
Price:
$14.99
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/10/2016 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/10/2016 | Send Email
Loire buyer Eric Story has been doing his best to provide us with relatively inexpensive bubblies and in this case, he has come through. This little winner has bright red fruits, zippy acidity and a touch of minerality. Bright and refreshing. An added bonus is the tiny, tiny bubbles. Tiny bubbles, in the wine, make me happy, make me feel fine. Thank you, Don Ho!
Price:
$14.99
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé
By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 3/7/2016 | Send Email
By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 3/7/2016 | Send Email
Light strawberry and citrus notes sally from this charming Cremant. Leaning more towards the tart than the sweet side of its personality, this is a refreshing, straightforward, easy going bottle of bubbly. And speaking of bubbles, the texture of this rose is one of the wines appealing characteristics, with an abundant mousse that yet manages to be silken and filigreed. Happily, it is also available a price that makes it perfect to open for any old reason at all.
Price:
$14.99
Mas Codina Brut Reserva Cava Penedès
By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 2/29/2016 | Send Email
By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 2/29/2016 | Send Email
Everyone loves a good value in sparkling wine. We would all love to drink Champagne every night, but sometimes you want to spend a little less without compromising quality. For that reason, our buyers here at K&L strive to provide a broad range of alternatives at affordable prices. Over time certain of these have become so popular among our customers and staff that they have achieved an almost iconic status, the kind of wine people buy by the case – among others the Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne "Perle d'Aurore" Brut Rosé, the Deligeroy Cremant de Loire Brut, and the Mas Codina Cava Brut Reserva Penedès. This classic Spanish cava combines traditional grape varieties like Xarello and Macabeo with those more likely to be found in Champagne like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 24 months on the lees adds richness and weight. At this price you can treat yourself whenever you like.
Price:
$13.99
Jean-Louis Denois "Tradition" Extra Brut Crémant de Limoux
By: Dulcinea Gonzalez | Review Date: 2/28/2016 | Send Email
By: Dulcinea Gonzalez | Review Date: 2/28/2016 | Send Email
Looking for a super deal on bubbles, this sparkler offers a whole lot of bang for your buck! Elegant enough to toast any occasion and perfectly priced for parties, this is crisp, clean drinking balanced by a lovely layer of fruit that shines through nicely. Super recommended!
High West "Bourye - 2025" Limited Release A Blend of Straight Bourbon & Rye Whiskey (750ml)
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 2/25/2016 | Send Email
By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 2/25/2016 | Send Email
A wonderful and delicious whiskey. It is rich and round and full bodied. The bourbon seems to dominate with the spice of the rye having a secondary influence. The only problem with this whiskey is that it is too easy to drink.
Price:
$119.99
Ruinart Brut Rosé "2nd Skin" Champagne 750ml bottle (ships as a 1.5L due to shape of bottle)
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 2/18/2016 | Send Email
By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 2/18/2016 | Send Email
This bottle takes a walk on the richer side of Rose. Dense and decadent, a core of Bing Cherry, cassis and blood orange, Rose to the fullest. The 18% of Pinot added as red wine adds a firm spine that runs from tip to tail, frambois and baking spice lend a dark richness. Texturally incredibly please, supple and weighty with a finish that end with a hint of baking spice.
Ruinart Brut Rosé "2nd Skin" Champagne 750ml bottle (ships as a 1.5L due to shape of bottle)
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 2/12/2016 | Send Email
By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 2/12/2016 | Send Email
No Champagne is more famous within France than Ruinart, but it is only now that connoisseurs in the USA are starting to discover these great wines from Champagne. This rich, well balanced rose will delight fans of great pink Champagne with a great contrast between pure Pinot fruit and pure Champagne chalk. It is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, with 18% of the Pinot vinified red and blended in for color and flavor. It has a little more color than most rose Champagne and a soft, full bodied texture. It is rich and satisfying, despite the deceptively high proportion of Chardonnay.
Gin Mare Mediterranean Gin (700ml)
By: Nicole Osmanski | Review Date: 2/5/2016 | Send Email
By: Nicole Osmanski | Review Date: 2/5/2016 | Send Email
Wow, this gin appears to be taking K&L by storm. I'm not sure I've ever seen all of us react so quickly with such unanimous love for a gin before. Gin Mare - distilled with Arbequina olives, basil, rosemary, and thyme - transported me to a garrigue covered hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean on a warm, breezy day. The palate is fresh, soft, and elegant with sweet citrus, briny olive, and herb de Provence. That essence of the Mediterranean Sea that Mare's named for will certainly add a Je Ne Sais Quoi depth to your next cocktail. If you're feeling like a full seaside immersion experience, try a Martini with equal parts Mare Gin and Manzanilla Sherry with a splash or two of orange bitters.
Price:
$36.99
Gin Mare Mediterranean Gin (700ml)
By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 2/4/2016 | Send Email
By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 2/4/2016 | Send Email
A very cool and unusual gin from Spain! Distilled from Olives, Thyme, Rosemary and Basil, this gin is almost a martini in itself. The thyme is the forward aromatic so the herbal notes are very fine, and wonderful citrus overtones provide freshness and zip. There is a fantastic and equally fresh subtly minty quality on the finish that I love. Absolutely delicious.
Price:
$36.99
Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth (1L)
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 1/6/2016 | Send Email
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 1/6/2016 | Send Email
NO finer tool is available to prevent the home bartender from ruining his or her Manhattan. As long as you manage to get some of this stuff in there, you're probably going to make a solid drink! Only added 1/4 of an oz? Don't worry, the rich dense vanilla will still poke through behind your whiskey of choice. Accidentally flipped the recipe? Who cares, more Carpano more delicious! Needless to say, Carpano Antique is single-handedly improving our cocktails. Some call it a crutch, but who doesn't like having something to lean on. Even with the plethora of fine vermouth on the market, Carpano Antique remains our number one BEST SELLER.
Blanton's "The Original" Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey (1 bottle limit) (750ml)
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 1/6/2016 | Send Email
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 1/6/2016 | Send Email
The special Blanton's single barrel has been a staple of any solid back bar since its release in 1984. Truly a pioneering effort from the new owners of the George T Stagg distillery as it was known at the time, Blanton's was indeed the first single barrel to be marketed by any Kentucky distillery since before prohibition. Despite coming from the standard "Buffalo Trace" recipe, Blanton's is unique for being drawn from Warehouse H, the only warehouse on the property built from metal. The metal warehouses absorb more heat and therefor add something extra special to the aging liquid inside. Appropriately enough this warehouse was commissioned by Albert Blanton, one of the early owners of this very old distillery. Despite spending decades under the radar the recent explosion in interest in bourbon has hit the Blanton's stocks hard. Production on this brand is capped due to the single barrel requirements, each barrel must be dumped and bottles filled by hand. Needless to say, we've had a very hard time keeping it on our shelves, often seeing several months without a single bottle to sell. More recently, the product has been allocated to levels similar to the ultra-popular Weller brands, i.e. 12 bottles per week. Blanton's being a single barrel is never quite exactly the same, but it's ALWAYS delicious. Certain bottles, coming from the cherry casks, are absolutely exquisite. Expect rich caramelized sugar, strong notes of vanilla, and spicy dried citrus peel. The palate typically exhibits powerful notes of baking spice, cloves, cinnamon, and soft dried fruits with that rich sweetness in the background to balance the intensity of the spice. An American classic.
Alexandre Le Brun "Tradition" Brut Champagne
By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 12/31/2015 | Send Email
By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 12/31/2015 | Send Email
From one of our newest grower-producers. On the drier side, but with remarkable richness and weight. A light toast complemented by ripe pear and apple notes and a hint of cinnamon spice. A terrific introduction to the wines of this exciting young winemaker.
Price:
$37.99
Alexandre Le Brun "Tradition" Brut Champagne
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 12/29/2015 | Send Email
By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 12/29/2015 | Send Email
This is a fantastic tradition to get into for those seeking a richer more decadent Champagne. Alexandre gives big name Champagne houses a run for their money at a fraction of the cost. Wonderful bread aromas on the nose and a serious baked fruit middle with hints of spice. Grab one for celebrations or for food and let it impress you as much as it has impressed us.
Price:
$37.99
Jean-Louis Denois "Tradition" Extra Brut Crémant de Limoux
By: Jim Barr | Review Date: 12/22/2015 | Send Email
By: Jim Barr | Review Date: 12/22/2015 | Send Email
It is fascinating that once you get outside of the Champagne appellation and into other areas of France that produce "sparkling wines" in a similar method, the price for those wines seems to de-escalate substantially. Of course, there is the question of quality comparisons, which can be a realistic appraisal, but once in a while you will find a sparkler from those other regions that will rival its much more expensive cousins in Champagne and at one-third the price or less. Such is case with this beautifully created sparkler from the Languedoc region of Southwestern France. We have been importing Jean-Louis Denois wines for well over ten years, and have found his productions to be of superb quality in general, and when the price is taken into consideration, ridiculously ‘cheap’ vis-à-vis the outstanding quality level. Produced from equal amounts of estate grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this lovely sparkling wine spent eighteen months on yeast (Cremant style), yet in its rich-smelling aromatics and lush flavors, this Gem behaves as if it has been on yeast for five to six years. Creamy, nutty, toasty, and pronounced both, again, on the nose and in the mouth, this finely beaded, dry, clean, and mouthwatering Gem provides tons of elegant and delicious flavors, which do defy the low price. The Bean has ordered me to bring home cases of this wonderful Gem and strongly recommends that you do the same. An Incredible Value.” ***** 12.0% ABV *****
Egrot Brut Champagne
By: Dave Genevro | Review Date: 12/12/2015 | Send Email
By: Dave Genevro | Review Date: 12/12/2015 | Send Email
This is a unique and lively wine from a village in Champagne with a very rich history, Ay. This cuvee is composed of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir gives this wine a vivacious and expressive nose, with great semi-constant bubbles that makes for a quite elegant texture. With a hint of slate, our buyer, Gary Westby, puts it best in his review by saying, "It has a good finish with a line of chalky minerality that is uncommon in Pinot Noir-based Champagnes, but the signature of Ay grand cru." This is a gem that over performs for it's quality to price ratio. Enjoy this wine while it is here. The more that is left at the store, the more there is for me!
Price:
$37.99
2009 Meyney, St-Estèphe
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 12/8/2015 | Send Email
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 12/8/2015 | Send Email
I really am fond of this property. Classic Left Bank Bordeaux, lots of dark, smokey, gravelly fruit, graphite, cigar box. This is quite a ripe, soft rendition of Meyney but I am sure it will still age beautifully into its twenties.
La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut
By: Eric Story | Review Date: 12/2/2015 | Send Email
By: Eric Story | Review Date: 12/2/2015 | Send Email
Much like its cousin, the Deligeroy Rosé, this is just way too easy to say yes to. A fantastic and inexpensive replacement for those of you who love Champagne but hate the price. A great choice for a mid-morning glass of bubbly...
Price:
$14.99