PLCB spirits catalog changes for the weeks of November 22nd and 29th:
New in-store and online products:
- Bols Genever Amsterdam 750 ML (#030592, Online, $39.99)
- Tesseron Lot 53 Cognac Grande Champagne XO 750 ML (#030580, Online, $184.99)
- Tesseron Lot 90 Cognac XO 750 ML (#030581, Online, $63.99)
- Van Winkle Special Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon 750 ML (#030591, Online, $34.99)
- Windsor Canadian Keystone Label 1.75 L (#003081, One Time, $14.99)
- Woodford Reserve MC Maple Finish 750 ML (#003107, One Time, $89.99)
Many times in the past I have bemoaned the scarcity of genever in the state, with the only options being the little-known
Boomsma Jonge and the highly-overpriced
Anchor Genevieve. Bols Genever was introduced in 2008 to great fanfare among classic cocktail enthusiasts, but distribution was limited to a handful of states as it came in through a small west-coast importer instead of Bols' main importer, William-Grant. (It was rumored that William-Grant was worried that Bols Genever would compete with their flagship gin brand, Hendrick's. Which is a little like Diageo worrying about Glenmorangie competing with their other whiskey, George Dickel.) Fortunately the spirit has finally made its way to our market.
What is genever, you may ask? It's the original form of gin as it was (and continues to be) made in Holland. Like London Dry gin, it is produced by re-distilling a base spirit in the presence of botanical ingredients including juniper berries and citrus. Unlike London Dry gin, the base spirit is a lower-proof malt wine distillate, or in other words, new-make whiskey. As Dave Wondrich puts it, London Dry gin is flavored vodka, and genever is flavored whiskey.
London Dry gin evolved from genever over the course of 200 years, after the English developed a taste for genever during the Thirty Years' war. During this evolutionary period, both the Dutch and English styles were available in the US and throughout the British empire, and the English gin was of comparatively poor quality. Mr. Wondrich asserts in his book
Imbibe! that 19th century Americans called both spirits "gin", which means that cocktails from that era were probably made with genever instead of English gin. The London Dry style didn't become predominant in this country until the beginning of the 20th century.
Incidentally, modern Dutch drinkers are more than a little amused at the "discovery" of genever by the cocktail crowd. The Dutch never stopped drinking the stuff, and there are a wide variety of brands available domestically that never get exported. Bols has always been one of the biggest producers of genever--the new "Bols Genever" that we get here is an export-only product that Bols launched specifically for the cocktail market. The Dutch, of course, drink their genever from a shotglass.
Tesseron is a cognac house that for decades dealt exclusively in bulk, providing eau-de-vie to the big brands like Hennessey, Martell, etc. A few years ago they decided to launch their own label, under which they bottle only old, high-end cognacs. (You can read more about
Tesseron at Alcademics.) While expensive, Tesseron bottlings have been very well-received by critics.
Since French laws generally prohibit age statements or vintage dates on cognacs, Tesseron uses a secretive "lot" system to label their bottles. Reviews and tasting notes are essential to determine what's in the bottle, and fortunately these can be found in the descriptions in the online store.
Bourbon fans will be excited to see the Van Winkle 10-year (it's the 107 proof, of course) and this year's Woodford Reserve Master's Collection bottling. Woodford claims to be the first to successfully age bourbon in maple wood, and the results are apparently quite good. Act fast though--the PLCB was only allocated 25 cases.
New-to-store items (previously online-only):
- Black Maple Hill Small Batch Bourbon Kentucky 750 ML (#030994, Limit Dist, $40.99)
- Me Oko Vodka with Natural Ginger Flavor 750 ML (#010092, Limit Dist, $24.99)
- Me Oko Vodka with Natural Strawberry Flavor 750 ML (#010082, Limit Dist, $24.99)
- Morice Calvados Pays D'Auge 750 ML (#030995, Limit Dist, $43.99)
Black Maple Hill is a somewhat controversial bourbon, as it comes from the secretive Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. (The brand is owned by CVI, though.) It's a love-it-or-hate-it whiskey, with one side claiming that it's well-balanced, subtle and easy-going; and the other side claiming that it's timid and bland. I personally enjoy it and consider it to be an excellent introductory bourbon.
Items moved from Close-out to Limit Dist:
- Dom Benedictine Liqueur 750 ML (#005501, Limit Dist, $33.99)
- Maraska Kruskovac Pear Brandy Croatia 750 ML (#006489, Limit Dist, $23.99)
At long last, Bénédictine is again available in PA! After being closed out from the regular selection a few years ago, its absence was painful to cocktail enthusiasts. Bacardi, the owner of the brand, declined to list it for SLO, making it completely unavailable for purchase in the state. Now we can once again make our
Honeymoons, our
Singapore Slings, our
Frisco Sours, and a multitude of other vintage recipes which require the inimitable herbal liqueur. But first, you should mix up our house shot, which is equal parts Chartreuse and Bénédictine stirred over ice and strained, and toast the return of a classic spirit.
Delisted SLO products:
- Bols Pumpkin Smash Liqueur 750 ML (#071292, SLO, $13.49)
- Buchanan 12 Yr 750 ML (#057666, SLO, $24.99)
- Chieftain's Rare Single Malt Scotch Allt A'Bhainne 31yr 750 ML (#505359, SLO, $127.19)
- Chieftain's Rare Single Malt Scotch Caol Ila 17yr 750 ML (#505361, SLO, $96.59)
- Chieftain's Rare Single Malt Scotch Dalmore 11yr Madeira Finish 750 ML (#505362, SLO, $77.09)
- Chieftain's Rare Single Malt Scotch Glenrothes 14yr Burgundy Finish 750 ML (#505364, SLO, $78.79)
- Glen Moray Single Malt Scotch 750 ML (#069716, SLO, $34.09)
- Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 750 ML (#067327, SLO, $49.99)
- Hiram Walker Blackberry Flav Brandy 1.75 L (#055035, SLO, $16.59)
- Hiram Walker Butternips Schnapps 1 L (#056896, SLO, $11.29)
- Inchmurrin Scotch 750 ML (#065540, SLO, $41.99)
- Korbel Brandy 1 L (#501511, SLO, $14.39)
- Laphroaig Single Malt 30yr 750 ML (#057752, SLO, $207.79)
- Orange V 750 ML (#054173, SLO, $22.84)
- Stawski Krupnik 750 ML (#054754, SLO, $17.69)
- Tyrconnel Malt 750 ML (#040820, SLO, $31.39)
- Van Gogh Appel 750 ML (#068615, SLO, $9.99)
- Van Gogh Blue Triple Wheat 750 ML (#041595, SLO, $33.39)
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is out of stock, likely due to its popularity at the whiskey festivals last month. Expect more soon.
Reactivated SLO products:
- Hiram Walker Melon Liqueur 1 L (#067482, SLO, $10.19)
- Yeni Raki 1 L (#054499, SLO, $17.99)
New SLO products:
- Finlandia Mango Vodka 1 L (#507828, SLO, $20.79)
- Lazzaroni Maraschino 750 ML (#507586, SLO, $20.99)
- Smirnoff Cherry Vodka 1 L (#507763, SLO, $14.99)
- Smirnoff Grape Vodka 1 L (#507762, SLO, $14.99)
Laird recently started importing Lazzaroni Maraschino in addition to the existing Lazzaroni Amaretto, Sambuca and Limoncino. Considering how much I like their Amaretto, I'm looking forward to trying their Maraschino.
