Spirits

One of the great perks of working in the wine industry is world travel.

I’ve traveled to wineries and tasted wines across New York, Pennsylvania, Canada, Germany and France. Meeting the people who grow the grapes, care for the vineyards and make the wine is a valuable experience to bring back to customers, associates and friends.

Once I was flown with about two dozen retailers, restaurateurs and wholesalers to Germany for a whirlwind tour of various vineyards. We saw the vineyards, tasted the wine, and listened to history, many times through a translator. We felt the sun over the vines, saw where the slope faced a local river for radiant heat, touched the soil and sampled the traditional local cuisine. Through all that, we found a connection with local growers and families that had farmed there for more generations than anyone could count.

Could all the “information” we received have been more efficiently sent via an email, fax, or by and sending

This holiday season I have opted to repeat my blog from last year because the films obviously remain classics and the pairings still apply.

It is the busy season at Premier, so I am just doing one large blog for the Holidays. I have listed 10 of my favorite Christmas movies with one bonus film many of you probably have never seen or heard of, but should take a look at. For each movie I have suggested a wine or spirit to go along with your viewing pleasure.

1. A Christmas Carol (1951): My favorite all-time Christmas movie with the incomparable Alistair Sim. It’s full of dark, brooding, Victorian London along with cheery snowy street scenes and lovely carols. A figgy and nutty Tawny Port like Niepoort Ten Year is just the thing to sip along with a slice of Christmas cake or pudding as you view this ideal Christmas movie.

2. A Christmas Carol (1984): My second favorite version of Dickens’ classic with wonderful set

Next Thursday marks the beginning of fall. Summer temperatures aside, there are definite earmarks that the season is upon us. Out in the hills, leaves are slowly beginning to turn and shadows are gaining length as the sun departs earlier in the evenings. Pumpkins are appearing on roadsides and apples are more prevalent at the grocer’s. Apples and autumn are inseparable. Crisp bites of Cortland and Macintosh apples, fresh, sweet cider and spice laden apple pies are all strong associations with fall.

This is a repost of a blog I do for a Mexican tourism blog called Dave Miller's Mexico (https://davemillersmexico.wordpress.com). Once a year, I travel to Mexico where I visit several Palenques (Mezcal Distilleries) and taste dozens of Mezcals. We had to drive about 2-3 hours up winding dirt roads and through a river bed to get to Rey Campero, but it was well worth the trip. On a happy note, we will be carrying most of these Mezcals by the end of this week.

In the last few years sales of "brown spirits," especially bourbon, have been red hot. However, that comes with a (literally) steep price as we have seen many favorites become unattainable for varying lengths of time or unfortunately disappear altogether.

The only good news is that there are several whiskey categories, one being Irish Whiskey, which offers many new entries and alternatives at relatively attractive quality-to-price ratio.

Irish Whiskey is divided into three categories; blends (which are usually less expensive), single pot stills and single malts. Each has their own place and distinct flavor profile.

Brand… Espiritu Lauro

Category… Ensamble… 70% Espadin, 30% Karwinskii… 40% Alcohol

Origin… Amatengo, Oaxaca

Tasting Notes… This has a fresh minerally nose, mild smoke with subtle floral notes. There is some nice body on entry, viscous with very strong notes of pine that give way to even more mineral on the slightly sweet, long finish. This is a nice mezcal. I’d serve it straight up or with a little pineapple juice. If you are creative, consider adding a little vanilla ice cream and some mandarin oranges. It could make a great dessert!

Legend has it that many years ago a meteor fell from the sky and hit Oaxaca, Mexico. It was then that a local mezcalero decided to use the red hot pit left from the impact to cook his magueys before distilling them into mezcal.

Category… 100% Joven Espadin, 45% Alcohol

Origin… Las Margaritas, Oaxaca

Tasting Notes… Very pretty floral, sweet nose showing mild heat. This pleasant mezcal really opens up in the glass. Upon entry there’s that heat, citrus peel and then — BAM! Lots of mineral carrying through on the finish with the citrus peel peeking through. Maybe that’s the meteor effect. Wine lovers will recall a similarity with high end bone dry Riesling,

Many of our customers know that aside from being a "wine guy" I also have a passion for Mezcal. I make a yearly pilgrimage to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit palenques (distilleries) and taste several Mezcals that cannot be found in the US. I also contribute to a well known Blog about Mexican Culture and Tourism "Dave Miller's Mexico". I recently sampled El Buho, a Mezcal purchased right off our store's shelf. Here is a copy of my review:
Tasting Notes...Pretty, floral, fresh nose showing pine forest hints. It is very delicate and pleasant. Viscous mouth coating texture with little hint of alcohol on entry. The pine character comes to the forefront followed by intense mineral and citrus flavors. A little touch of heat carries the long finish where the mineral/citrus peel flavors remain.
Additional Thoughts…

One of my favorite Christmas time films is a somewhat obscure gem called Holiday Affair which stars Robert Mitchum and Janet Lee. Although it seems odd to cast Robert Mitchum in a seasonal, romantic comedy, the big guy is actually very effective as the independent, down on his luck department store clerk. 

Our friends at Heaven Hill have released a couple of new bourbons worth talking about.

First, an addition to the always dependable and criminally-overlooked (in my opinion) Evan Williams line. The Evan Williams white label bourbon is a 100 proof (bottled in bond as it's said) offering with no age statement in a 1 liter bottle, with the same shape as Evan Williams black or green label. The bourbon has a really nice color and makes me think of making a nice Manhattan or Old Fashioned. The price, an affordable $18.99.

The second is a name that has been in the Heaven Hill stable for a long time; Henry McKenna. This is a new package and bourbon under that name with an age statement; 10 years old, single barrel at 100 proof. It comes in a cool squat bottle with