September 2011 Archives

The Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival is selling two-packs of tickets for $100 for a limited time--it's effectively a 50% discount off the regular price of $100 per ticket. If you missed the 50% off Groupon, you'll want to jump on this deal.

Go to http://pittsburghwhiskeyfestival.com/ for a link to purchase.

PLCB spirits catalog changes for the week of September 12th:

New in-store and online products:

• Bastille Hand Crafted 1789 French Whiskey 750 ML (#003961, Regular, $29.99)
• Forty Creek Canadian Whiskey 750 ML (#003948, Regular, $23.99)
• The Black Grouse Scotch 750 ML (#003979, Regular, $28.99)

Yes, you read that right: French Whisky. (Judging by the bottle, France has decided to spell it without the "e".) Google finds very little information about this brand, but the website provides a few hints: "After the initial maturation, BASTILLE is finished in different styles of wooden cask which provide my whisky its delicate, harmonious and unique flavors." Added to the fact that the bottle calls it a "blended whisky", it sounds like this is bulk juice purchased from elsewhere (likely outside of France) then aged a bit longer at Bastille's facility before bottling.

There's no shame in this, of course, although it would be nicer if they were more up-front about the provenance of their whisky. It clearly doesn't hurt the end result, as BTI called it "a remarkably fruity, exotic and enigmatic whisky" and assigned it 94 points. Worth a try, no?

Forty Creek has made the jump from online-only to a regular listing, and deservedly so. It was long considered the only Canadian whisky worth drinking (before upstarts like Caribou Crossing came along) and unlike the whiskies from the big distillers, it includes an appreciable amount of rye in its mashbill. It's a refreshing departure from the usual bland, flavorless offerings from our neighbor to the north.

Black Grouse is a relatively new blend from Famous Grouse, which takes a peatier tack than the original. It's intended to go head-to-head with the smokier blended scotches like Johnnie Walker but at a lower price point. Interestingly, the flavor doesn't even vaguely resemble Famous Grouse--it seems to be an entirely different blend. If you're on a budget but looking for a smoky dram, give it a try.

Delisted SLO products:

• Schoenauer Apfelschnapps 1 L (#073436, SLO, $19.29)
• Torres 20yr Hors D Age Brandy 750 ML (#501283, SLO, $62.79)

Reactivated SLO products:

• Bols Pumpkin Smash Liqueur 750 ML (#071292, SLO, $13.49)
• Macallan 21year Fine Oak Scotch 750 ML (#506139, SLO, $267.09)

Must be that time of year again...Pumpkin SMASH!!

New SLO products:

• Abraham Bowman Rye 750 ML (#515648, SLO, $69.99)
• Bowman Brothers Bourbon 750 ML (#515649, SLO, $29.99)
• Cruzan Number 9 Spiced Rum 1.75 L (#515675, SLO, $27.99)
• DeKuyper Thrilla Vanilla 750 ML (#515677, SLO, $11.89)
• John J Bowman Bourbon 750 ML (#515650, SLO, $49.99)
• Molly's Irish Cream 1 L (#515733, SLO, $15.59)

Buffalo Trace has been working to revamp and expand the whiskeys coming out of the A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Virginia, which they bought back in 2003. Google them up before buying--they've received mixed reviews.

This year the Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival will take place on November 18th from 6pm to 9pm, and the Philadelphia Whiskey Festival will take place on November 15th from 6:30pm to 9pm.

There was a Groupon for 50% off the Pittsburgh festival, but it sold out within a few hours. Regular-priced tickets for the Pittsburgh event are $100 and go on sale September 26th. Tickets to the Philly event are $85 in advance and are available now.

It's been a very quiet week in the catalog due to the holiday and the major flooding in Harrisburg. Not much to say, really.

PLCB spirits catalog changes for the week of September 5th:

New in-store and online products:

• Blackheart Spiced Rum 750 ML (#003903, Regular, $14.99)
• Dr. McGillicuddy's Rootbeer Schnapps 750 ML (#003983, Regular, $15.99)
• Jacquins Coconut Flavored Vodka 1 L (#003789, Regular, $10.99)
• Jacquins Cotton Candy Flavored Vodka 1 L (#003786, Regular, $10.99)
• Jacquins Strawberry Shortcake Flavored Vodka 1 L (#003793, Regular, $10.99)
• Malibu Sea Breeze 1.75 L (#003971, Regular, $19.99)
• Zev Vodka 750 ML (#003858, Regular, $24.99)

Delisted SLO products:

• DeKuyper Frosty Spearmint Schnapps 1 L (#071156, SLO, $13.89)

Reactivated SLO products:

• Absolut Vodka Orient Applie 1 L (#514167, SLO, $24.39)

PLCB spirits catalog changes for the week of August 29th:

New in-store and online products:

• Arnold Palmer Half and Half Pomegranate Non Alcoholic 1182 ML (#030301, Regular, $4.99)
• Buffalo Trace Straight Rye Mash White Dog 375ML (#030502, Online, $15.99)
• Double Barrel 10 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 750ML (#030837, Online, $63.99)
• Double Cross Vodka 750 ML (#003943, Regular, $39.99)
• E J XO Brandy 1.75 L (#003955, Regular, $24.99)
• El Charro Reposado 750 ML (#004153, Regular, $19.99)
• Michter's 10 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon 750ML (#010934, Online, $81.49)
• Nolet Silver Dry Gin 750 ML (#003889, Limit Dist, $49.99)
• Pinnacle Gummy Vodka 750 ML (#004154, Regular, $14.99)
• RumChata Cream Liqueur 750ML (#030327, Online, $24.99)
• Vice Pure Spirit Wine Cocktail Canada 750ML (#030427, Online, $38.99)
• Whipped Jack Rum 750 ML (#004164, Regular, $10.99)

Nolet Silver Gin, made by the same distillery that makes Ketel One Vodka and a bunch of good genever that you can't get in the US, started to arrive in specialty spirits stores last week. At $50 it's a bit overpriced for my taste, but that's nothing compared to the Nolet Reserve Gin, which sells for nearly $700 per bottle. No, that is not a typo. No, the PLCB will not be stocking it.

RumChata is a cream liqueur that tastes similar to the traditional Mexican drink horchata, a sweetened mixture of rice, milk and cinnamon. It's showing up on a lot of back bars and cocktail menus in my area, so I guess it works well for mixing. I'll be picking up a bottle.

White Rock Distilleries has taken upon itself to adapt the whipped cream vodka trend to the flavored rum category. I guess "Whipped Jack" invokes the line's pirate theme well enough, no?

Products back in stock online:

• Belvedere Vodka Poland 750ML (#008435, Online, $30.99)
• Ciroc Super Premium Vodka France 750ML (#004224, Online, $31.99)
• El Mayor Extra Anejo Tequila 750ML (#010037, Online, $99.99)
• Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Distillery Edition 750ML (#010906, Online, $59.99)
• Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Gran Reserve Scotch 750ML (#010907, Online, $129.99)
• Kubler Absinthe Superieure 1.0L (#010800, Online, $37.99)
• Michter's US 1 Bourbon 750ML (#009655, Online, $34.99)
• Patron Anejo 750ML (#003145, Online, $51.99)
• St George Absinthe Verte 750ML (#010845, Online, $74.99)
• Tanqueray No. Ten 750ML (#006679, Online, $28.99)
• Tommy Bahama Rum 750ML (#009059, Online, $19.99)
• Tub Gin 750ML (#003470, Online, $30.99)
• Wild Turkey Tradition 14 Year Old 750ML (#003149, Online, $63.99)

Many of these items have been drifting in and out of the online catalog due to some internal database issues, but they've all been confirmed to be in stock, so order away.

Delisted SLO products:

• Bols Pumpkin Smash Liqueur 750 ML (#071292, SLO, $13.49)
• Karlssons Gold Vodka 750 ML (#041508, SLO, $31.29)
• Smirnoff Coconut Vodka 1 L (#513941, SLO, $14.99)
• Van Gogh Pineapple 750 ML (#068846, SLO, $21.39)

Reactivated SLO products:

• Admiral Berentzen Pear 750 ML (#500621, SLO, $18.79)

New SLO products:

• Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky 750 ML (#515496, SLO, $66.59)
• Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt Whisky 750 ML (#515498, SLO, $125.09)
• Amrut Old Port Rum 750 ML (#515499, SLO, $19.99)
• Amrut Peated Single Malt Whisky 750 ML (#515495, SLO, $63.39)
• Amrut Single Malt Whisky 750 ML (#515494, SLO, $49.69)
• Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt Scotch 26 Year 750 ML (#515500, SLO, $250.99)
• Mauro Vergano Nebbiolo Chinato Non Vintage 500 ML (#515385, SLO, $57.09)
• Mauro Vergano Vermouth Bianco Non Vintage 750 ML (#515386, SLO, $57.29)
• Pinnacle Vodka Marshmallow 1 L (#515476, SLO, $15.59)
• Still Waters Single Malt Vodka 750 ML (#515501, SLO, $39.19)

Amrut is a whisky maker in India, of all places. Historically, India has a horrible reputation for their "whisky" because it wasn't whisky at all--it was low-quality sugarcane spirit flavored with additives and then put in a fancy bottle labeled with the words "Scotch Whisky" and a Scottish-sounding brand name.

The Scotch Whisky Association, along with the rest of the world, thought this was a complete abomination and fought for decades to prevent Indian whisky from being labeled as Scotch outside of India. In response, the Indian producers suggested that everyone should be more open-minded about spirit category definitions, and dismissed the SWA's complaints as "pure protectionism." The issue was finally resolved earlier this year, when the Indian government agreed to protect the term "Scotch" and allow its use only on whiskies produced in Scotland.

Getting back to Amrut, for decades they produced typical sugarcane-based "whisky" but in the '80s began making some real malt whisky to blend into their sugarcane spirit as a flavoring agent. Eventually they decided they had enough aged malt that they could bottle it by itself, creating a true Indian single malt. This was first released in the UK in 2004 and was by all accounts a good whisky from the get-go, but years went by before anybody took it seriously.

Their big break came when Jim Murray named Amrut Fusion as the "Third Finest Whisky in the World" for 2010, and soon after, Amrut entered the US market with great fanfare.

Except for the cask-strength bottlings, the full US Amrut range is now available in Pennsylvania through Dreadnought Imports, a boutique distributor here in Pittsburgh. There is a six-bottle minimum for ordering, but this can be waived if you stop by Dreadnought's storefront on Penn Ave in the Strip and place your order in person.

Over the past few days, spammers have managed to post dozens of spam comments to this blog, evading all anti-spam measures that I've attempted, including captchas, IP address range blacklists, content filters, etc. I don't have the time to spend deleting these comments manually several times daily, so I am forced to disable the comment feature completely.

I apologize for removing this discussion forum, but the spammers have won.

If you have a question or comment about the blog, you may contact me by email at plcbusersgroup@gmail.com.