You and special someone both can enjoy by bringing home a bottle of Custom Engraved Johnnie Walker Blue Label ($225). Individually numbered, each 750ml bottle comes with the message of your choice in gold engraving right below the label. You can order your own bottle by the weg: MELANDROSE.COM or calling us at 323-655-5557
As the only vodka ever to win the Gold Medal for both taste and design at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Double Cross Vodka (34.99) is as tasty as its bottle is amazing. Double Cross is made in the Slovak Republic using a seven-step distillation process, and is filtered seven times using diamond-dust micro filters, active charcoal, and limestone for an extra clean taste. Perfect for your next celebration.
GIFT BASKET AVAILABLE:
If you’re ready to take your celebratory boozing to the next level,
Gran Patron Buerdeos Tequila ($535.00) is just the stuff. Distilled from the finest blue agave, this ultra-premium dark tequila is matured in a blend of American and French oak barrels and aged for a minimum of 12 months. It’s then distilled again in vintage Bordeaux barrels from France. Each unleaded crystal bottle comes in a black walnut box with a special corkscrew and a crystal bee stopper.
Meant to be savored and sipped at room temperature, Samuel Adams Utopias is only for the most daring of beer connoisseurs.
The 2009 batch is the strongest yet, with a staggering 27% alcohol by volume rating (a standard beer is about 5%). The rich, dark, uncarbonated (and world’s strongest) beer is brewed in small batches, blended, and aged in the Barrel Room at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, where you’ll find only 53 barrels of the stuff. The limited-edition 2009 batch of Utopias is bottled in numbered, ceramic brew kettle-shaped decanters.
A new, even smoother version of Maker’s Mark? Yes, please. Maker’s 46 ($34) begins life as normal Maker’s, removed from the barrel when it’s fully matured. While it’s removed, 10 seared French oak staves are attached to the inside of the barrel, then the Maker’s goes back in to begin the months long process of becoming 46, a process which adds natural caramel, vanilla, and spice flavors without adding any bitterness. Only 25,000 cases will be shipped this year, so if you’re wanting to give it a try and see it in our store, don’t hesitate, unless of course someone is robbing said store at that very moment, in which case you should run.
Just in case you’re not up on your NASCAR history, the sport has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition — and so did one of its earliest stars, Junior Johnson. Now Johnson’s family recipe is being followed to create Midnight Moon Moonshine . Handcrafted in small batches, it’s made from corn in a copper still, and is ready to stand up against even higher end vodkas. We’ve been downing the fruit flavored ones all week, and they’re mighty tasty — not to mention potent.
IT’S the absolute last minute. All your Thanksgiving preparations are in order. Almost. “Oh no! I knew I forgot something … the wine!”
Thanksgiving Favorites
Beaujolais-Villages makes for a quick, easy solution for a wine shortage.
No, you are not alone. You may have ignored or overlooked the dutifully creative suggestions for Thanksgiving bottles dispensed by wine writers countrywide last week, but I will not wag an admonishing finger. Now is the time for action, not recriminations. So here are quick, easy solutions to last-minute beverage problems.
IT’S TOO LATE TO TRACK DOWN IDEAL BOTTLES. WHAT CAN I GET THAT’S EASY TO FIND AND CHEAP?
When in doubt, think Beaujolais. This is true even in those uncivilized corners of the earth that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a versatile, juicy, joyous red that will go with almost anything. Ordinarily, I gravitate toward the best small producers, like Jean-Paul Brun, Pierre-Marie Chermette, Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Daniel Bouland and Julien Sunier, just to name a few. But now is not the time for a search.
Instead, Beaujolais-Villages wines from larger-scale négociants like Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin should be as easy to find now as pilgrim hats and turkey basters, whether you’re shopping at suburban supermarkets or your local bodega wine shop. Wines from the very good 2010 vintage are fresh and energetic. Best of all, they’ll only set you back around $10 a bottle.
THIS IS AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY. WHERE’S YOUR PATRIOTISM?
No need to bring politics into it. You want American? I got American. Year after year, Marietta Cellars makes Old-Vine Red, a blend both of vintages and grapes, like the old-timers in California used to do it. These wines are labeled by lot numbers rather than vintage years. The last two, 57 and 58, are bright and spicy, usually cost no more than $12 a bottle and are widely available.
THERE YOU GO TALKING ONLY ABOUT REDS AGAIN. HOW ABOUT AN AMERICAN WHITE?
My standby is the $15 Finger Lakes riesling from Ravines. This is a great wine, but alas not so readily available outside New York. Leo Steen chenin blanc from Dry Creek Valley in California is another great $15 bottle, likewise not in every shop. Frankly, the mass-market American white-wine pool under $15 is tough going. Here’s a thought: Oregon pinot gris, particularly recent vintages from King Estate, a large producer that makes dry, energetic and reasonably priced wines, generally $12 to $15 a bottle.
If you want a white, how about a Muscadet? Like barberas, these tangy whites are lively and versatile enough to go with anything you might hazard to place on the Thanksgiving table. In his new book, “Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well,” my colleague Sam Sifton recommends against serving filling preliminary dishes, with one appetizing exception: oysters. If you eat them with Muscadet, you will be in heaven. Look for entry-level bottles from excellent producers like Domaine de la Pépière, Luneau-Papin or André-Michel Brégeon, which should run $15 or less. Better yet, see if you can find a few magnums for impressive effect.
ENOUGH ALREADY! I JUST WANT TO HAVE BUBBLY.
Well, why not? Sparkling wines are superb partners for a huge range of foods. I know I’m going to start my Thanksgiving with Champagne, and I wouldn’t hesitate to stick with it throughout the meal. But you’re not going to find good Champagne these days for less than $35 or so. No worries, though, plenty of inexpensive alternatives exist, and you can confidently buy American if you choose.
CAN’T BEAR TO THINK ABOUT THANKSGIVING ANYMORE. WHAT DO I DRINK AFTERWARD?
Try a beer. Or a hot toddy. But if you really need a pick-me-up, remember the words Fernet Branca. It’s an Italian Digestive, a distinctively bitter blend of many herbs that, in my experience, restores that sense of equilibrium when you’ve had about all you can take. You’ll thank me, and your stomach will thank me.
The House of Krug created The Sharing set; a new gift set designed to enhance and perfect the experience of tasting and sharing Krug champagne. The elegant set invites Krug lovers to share a glass of Krug Grande Cuvée through two specially designed Riedel glasses, called The Joseph after the visionary founder, Joseph Krug.
The Joseph
A master craftsman as much as a creator of wines, Krug has an artist’s vision of excellence. For the creation of The Joseph, a “generous” glass conceived to unveil unique sensations, Krug has chosen another exclusive team of master craftsmen, the House of Riedel.
The Joseph glass required a multiplicity of tests to perfect its design. The same attention to detail that is so dear to the House of Krug led Riedel to bring all their technical skills to find a solution. For the first test, 15 glasses were presented for a tasting at Krug. Two were selected. These two in turn gave rise to 13 new prototypes, each offering its own specific emotion, so rich is the generosity of Krug Grande Cuvée. At the second tasting session, Olivier Krug, Eric Lebel – Chef de Caves – and the winemaking teams selected The Joseph, the new Riedel creation designed to bring out the very best in Krug Grande Cuvée.
The pronounced curves of this glass represent a dazzling demonstration of technical virtuosity. Made from a single piece, the glass is drawn out to form the foot, specially elongated to provide an elegant hand-hold. It magnifies the incredible bouquet of Krug Champagne, amplifies the facets of its scent and taste, expressing its aromas in all their subtlety. Its ample shape, enables the bubbles to reach their optimal expression and allows the Champagne to reach the ideal temperature for serving Krug: 9° Centigrade.
Nevertheless, those who prefer to use The Joseph will be evoking the visionary spirit of Joseph Krug, in which excellence and attention to detail open up horizons hitherto unknown. It means adopting the distinctive attitude that goes beyond simple pleasure, just as Krug Grande Cuvée goes beyond the notion of vintage. It means declaring one’s own spirit of freedom by opting for elegance of gesture and exalted sensations.
As Olivier Krug says: “There is only one way of living the Krug experience: by confronting Krug’s personality with your own. In your glass, the liquid gold unleashes graceful streams of bubbles that entice you, while its generous, extravagant bouquet challenges you to take the first sip.”
Very Limited
Order yours today: http://www.melandrose.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=30241
An anise-flavored spirit formerly banned in the United States. It’s flavored with such botanicals as wormwood, green anise and fennel seeds.
A rich, sweet syrup made from the sap of the cactus-like agave plant.
Also known as pimento dram; a rum-based liqueur infused with Jamaican allspice berries. St. Elizabeth and The Bitter Truthare good brands.
A bittersweet Italian herbal liqueur often served as an after-dinner drink.
A brand of concentrated aromatic bitters created in Angostura, Venezuela, in 1824 from a secret combination of herbs and spices.
A low-proof Italian aperitif flavored with bitter orange, rhubarb and gentian.
A low-proof apple schnapps made by blending a wheat-based spirit with sugar and fresh apples.
A distilled fermented apple cider that is aged in oak barrels. Most of the brandy is bottled at 80 proof, but bonded apple brandy, which is preferable in cocktails because of its concentrated green-apple flavor, is 100 proof.
An American apple brandy that’s blended with neutral spirits.
A sweet brandy-based amber liqueur flavored with apricots.
A clear, grain- or potato-based Scandinavian spirit flavored with caraway seeds and other botanicals, such as fennel, anise and citrus peel.
A bitter Italian liqueur flavored with herbs and citrus peel.
An Italian digestif made from Nebbiolo-based wine (produced in Piedmont’s Barolo zone) and various herbs and spices, including cardamom, rhubarb and quinine (china).
An intensely honey-flavored proprietary German liqueur.
A clear spirit from Java that is made from fermented sugarcane and red rice.
A bittersweet liqueur produced in the Czech Republic from the recipe that pharmacist Josef Becher used to formulate his apothecary bitters in 1807.
A French liqueur made by infusing Cognac with macerated ripe Alsatian pears.
A brandy-based herbal liqueur derived from a recipe developed by a French monk in 1510.
An aromatic, sweet Italian white vermouth traditionally served on the rocks as an aperitif.
A concentrated tincture of bitter and aromatic herbs, roots and spices that adds complexity to drinks. Varieties include orange, grapefruit, rhubarb and aromatic bitters, the best known of which isAngostura, created in Angostura, Venezuela, in 1824. Germany’s Bitter Truth makes bitters in traditional flavors as well as unusual ones like celery and chocolate. Fee Brothers bitters, which come in 12 flavors, have been made in Rochester, New York, for more than 60 years. Peychaud’s bitters have bright anise and cranberry flavors; the recipe dates to 19th-century New Orleans.
A slightly bitter French aperitif wine infused with gentian root and cinchona bark, which contains quinine.
A whiskey that’s been produced by a single distillery, distilled during a single season, aged a minimum of four years, bottled at 100 proof and stored in a “bonded” warehouse under U.S. government supervision.
A potent Brazilian spirit distilled from sugarcane juice.
A cask-aged brandy made in the Normandy region of France from apples and sometimes pears.
A potent, bright red Italian aperitif made from fruit, herbs and spices.
A very sweet, thick syrup made by evaporating the water from sugarcane juice.
A rich and complex crimson-colored sweet Italian vermouth.
A spicy French herbal liqueur made from more than 100 botanicals; green Chartreuse is more potent than the honey-sweetened yellow one.
A Danish brandy-based cherry liqueur.
A sweet Danish cherry wine that’s fortified with brandy.
A low-alcohol, wine-based aperitif infused with citrus, herbs such as gentian and quinine-rich cinchona bark.
An oak-aged brandy made from grapes grown in France’s Charente region. VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) Cognac must be aged a minimum of four years in French oak barrels.
A French triple sec that is made by macerating and distilling sun-dried sweet and bitter orange peels.
A sweet, black currant-flavored liqueur.
A sweet, violet-flavored and -colored liqueur.
A potent liqueur made by infusing a blend of Martinican rums with bitter orange peel and pulp and Caribbean spices.
A rum-based orange liqueur flavored with Creole spices and bitter orange peels.
A pleasantly bitter Italian liqueur made from 13 herbs and plants, including artichokes.
A fruity and floral liqueur infused with licorice, vanilla, bitter orange and peach.
A whisky-based Scottish liqueur flavored with honey, herbs and spices.
A wine-based, quinine-enhanced aperitif that comes in two varieties. The rouge is full-bodied. The drier blanc is a good substitute for dry vermouth.
A clear, unaged fruit brandy. Classic varieties include framboise (raspberry), poire (pear), abricot(apricot), kirsch (cherry) and mirabelle (plum).
A potent, bitter Italian digestif made from 27 herbs.
A brand of bitters made in Rochester, New York, for more than 60 years. Classic flavors include orange and peach; grapefruit is a newer flavor.
A yellow Italian liqueur made with up to 30 herbs, berries and flowers, including licorice, anise and vanilla.
A clear, botanically rich, malted grain-based spirit from Holland.Oude refers to the maltier old-style; lighter, less malty versions are called jonge.
A sweet red syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar (see theHomemade Grenadine recipe).
A simple syrup that’s been thickened with gum arabic, a natural gum made from the sap of acacia trees.
An anise-flavored absinthe substitute produced in New Orleans.
Short for kirschwasser; an unaged brandy or eau-de-vie produced by pot-distilling crushed cherries and their pits.
A grain-based liqueur first distilled in Holland in the late 1500s. It’s flavored with cumin, caraway and fennel.
A citrus-and-vanilla-flavored Spanish liqueur made from a combination of 43 herbs and spices.
A wine-based French aperitif flavored with orange peel and quinine. The lesser-known rouge variety is sweeter than the more widely available blanc.
An intensely flavored Italian liqueur made from lemon peels soaked in neutral spirits, then sweetened with sugar.
A fortified wine from the island of Madeira, usually named for one of four grape varieties: sercial (the driest), verdelho, bual or malmsey, which are progressively sweeter.
A clear Italian liqueur, the best of which is distilled from sour marasca cherries and their pits, aged in ash barrels, then sweetened with sugar.
A Sicilian fortified wine; styles include secco (dry), which is often served as an aperitif, and semisecco (semisweet) and dolce(sweet), which are commonly served as dessert wines.
A fermented honey-based beverage that is often flavored with herbs, spices or flowers.
A greek brandy sweetened with Muscat wine; aged up to 30 years.
An agave-based spirit with a smoky flavor that comes from roasting the agave hearts in pits before fermentation. The best mezcal is made in Mexico’s Oaxaca region.
A Cognac infused with black Madagascar vanilla.
An Italian or Swiss liqueur traditionally made from brandy or grappa, unripe walnuts, sugar and spices.
A bittersweet red vermouth from the south of France made from a secret mixture of herbs and spices, including saffron, quinine and cloves.
A concentrated infusion of neutral alcohol, orange peel, herbs and spices such as cardamom
A sweet, nonalcoholic syrup made from almonds or almond extract, sugar and rose or orange flower water.
Also known as 151-proof rum, a high-octane spirit that’s often used for flaming drinks.
A purple French liqueur flavored with orange, violets and vanilla.
A licorice-flavored French spirit that turns cloudy when mixed with water. It’s similar to absinthe but sweeter and lower in alcohol.
A French producer of a liqueur made from the essential oils of star anise and fennel combined with herbs, spices, sugar and a neutral spirit. Pernod recently rereleased their absinthe, which, like all absinthes, had been banned in the United States since 1912.
A brand of bitters with bright anise and cranberry flavors; the recipe dates to 19th-century New Orleans.
A gin-based English aperitif often served with ginger beer or lemonade.
A low-proof French spirit made by combining unfermented grape juice and young Cognac, then briefly aging in oak.
A clear brandy distilled from grapes in the wine-producing regions of Peru and Chile
A pear eau-de-vie, usually made in Switzerland or the Alsace region of France.
A French aperitif spirit made by adding fresh-pressed apple juice to young Calvados, then aging it in oak.
A fortified wine from the Douro region of Portugal. Styles include fruity, young ruby port; richer, nuttier tawny; thick-textured, oak-aged late bottled vintage (LBV); and decadent vintage port, made from the best grapes in the best vintages. Dry white port is often served chilled, as an aperitif.
A spicy, orange-accented sweet Italian vermouth fortified with bitters.
An aromatic rum made in the French West Indies from sugarcane juice. When aged from one to six months, it is bottled as white rhum agricole, or rhum blanc; aged for a minimum of three years, it can be sold as aged rhum agricole, or rhum vieux.
A sugarcane-distilled liqueur flavored with birch bark, smoked black tea, citrus peels, cloves and other spices. Art in the Age, in Philadelphia, is the main producer.
A primarily rye-based distilled spirit, often blended with corn mash and barley. American straight rye whiskey is produced from a mash of at least 51 percent rye, aged in new charred oak barrels for at least two years and diluted with nothing but water.
A fortified wine from Spain’s Jerez region. Varieties include dry styles like fino and manzanilla; nuttier, richer amontillado and oloroso; and viscous sweet Pedro Ximénez (PX) and creamsherry. East India sherry falls between an oloroso and a PX in style.
An unaged or lightly aged, clear East Asian spirit distilled most commonly from rice, barley, buckwheat and/or a variety of sweet potato.
A bittersweet liqueur produced by infusing gin or a neutral spirit with sloe berries and sugar.
An Austrian rum-based liqueur infused with Jamaican allspice berries.
A French liqueur made by blending macerated elderflower blossoms with eau-de-vie. It has hints of pear, peach and grapefruit zest.
An Italian liqueur infused with about 70 herbs and spices, including saffron, which gives it a golden yellow color.
An orange-flavored liqueur that is similar to curaçao but not as sweet. Cointreau, created in France in 1875, is the most famous.
A brandy-based Italian liqueur flavored with vanilla and citrus.
A low-alcohol, sugarcane-based liqueur from Barbados flavored with clove, almond and lime.
An aromatic fortified wine. The dry variety is used in martinis. sweet vermouth, which is usually red, is often used for Manhattans. Bianco, or blanc, vermouth is an aromatic, sweet white vermouth traditionally served on the rocks.
An intense Hungarian herbal liqueur produced since 1790 from a secret blend of more than 40 herbs and spices.
BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANNEE 2002
BOND’S SPECIAL EDITION CHAMPAGNE
To celebrate 50 years of James Bond and to take a piece of the move endorsement action, Bollinger champagne has created new limited edition packaging for its La Grande Annee 2002 champagne.
This is the second time Bollinger has released limited edition packaging following the release of a James Bond film and after the success of the bullet shaped James Bond bottle, developed for the Quantum of Solace , it was deemed Skyfall was also deserving of such an accolade.
Packaged to reflect elements of James Bonds handgun, the cover of the Bollinger James Bond 002 for 007 is silencer shaped with two easy grip sections and James Bond print running vertically down the box. On the bottle label, the James Bond theme continues with the 007 logo clearly prominent.
This limited edition 30,000 worldwide supply of James Bond Bollinger is sure to be snapped up!
Long known for being 007’s favorite, Champagne Bollinger pays tribute with the extraordinary 2002 vintage. This is a realatively bright, floral Grande Annee with plenty of aromatic lift, inner perfume and no sense of heaviness. A rich, creamy finish add the final note of complexity and pedigree.
The special and exquisite gift packaging gives a nod to the silencer for Bon’s Walther PPK!
Wine Advocate
Mel and Rose Blog 