PLCB spirits catalog changes for the weeks of November 22nd and 29th:
New in-store and online products:
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):
Items moved from Close-out to Limit Dist:
Delisted SLO products:
Reactivated SLO products:
New SLO products:
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)
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)
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)
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)
Reactivated SLO products:
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)
