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HERE YOU WILL FIND DESCRIPTIONS AND INFORMATION ON THE VARIOUS TYPES OF LIQUOR
THAT WE CARRY
 Tequila
All agave-based spirits
from the Oaxaca region of Mexico are known as Mezcal, of which Tequila is a sub-category. "100% Agave" means twice-distilled
juice of the Blue Agave plant. Silver, or "Blanco" Tequilas are bottled within 60 days of distillation at
@ 40% alcohol. "Reposado" or "rested" Tequila is aged from two months to one year in oak barrels,
often used whiskey barrels. Anejo is usually aged one to three years.
Several Tequilas we carry have
recently received the highest (5 stars) rating from reviewer F. Paul Pacult:
Cabo Wabo Reposado
Don Julio
Anejo
El Tesoro Anejo
Herradura Anejo
Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia
Partida Reposado
Mezcal
Most Mezcals are single-distilled, recently in many natural
compounds remaining in the brew. Some of these can be musky or creosote-like. Still, many consider their flavoring
to make Mezcal uniquely different from Tequila. We carry Monte Alban and Dos Gusanos.
Gin
A white grain spirit is distilled with juniper berries to make this dry liquor. It is
usually best compatible with sweeter mixers. These can include tonic, vermouth, orange, cranberry or grapefruit juice,
ginger ale, etc. It's invention is credited to a physician named Franciscus Sylvius in the Netherlands in the 17th century.
Bombay Sapphire, which we carry, is a great award-winning gin. Tanqueray has also won Spirits competitions.
Rum
Rum is made from sugercane juice and it's byproduct, molasses using either
a pot still or column still distillation process. Pot still output contains more congeners but produces a fuller-flavored
rum. It may have evolved from a product called "Brum" which has been produced in Malaysia for thousands of
years. Rums are generally aged from eight months to two years in oak casks.
There
are many different variations and grades of rum. Flavored rums, such as coconut and pineapple are becoming more popular.
Rum-like liquors from South America include "Cachacha" and "Aquadiente".
Premium rums we carry
include Rhum Barbancourt, Appleton, Mt. Gay and Gosling's.
Vodka
The word vodka is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "voda" meaning water. It probably originated
in either Poland or Russia. Strictly speaking, vodka is alcohol & water with minimal flavorings. It is distilled
from any number of fruits, grains or vegetables. Wheat vodkas and those distilled with super-filtration are more popular
these days. Some producers claim that their filtration techniques guarantee greater purity of product. Skyy
and Finlandia come to mind here. Vodka can be from 70 to 100 proof.
Whiskey
Whiskey, also spelled whisky describes a very broad category of alcoholic beverages distilled from fermented
grain mash and aged in oak barrels. The grains most commonly used include barley, rye, wheat & corn.
Scotch whiskey is twice-distilled and aged for three years in oak. Malt whiskey is made entirely from malted barley
and distilled in a pot still. A "single malt" is blended from various casks at the same distillery to get
a flavor typical of that distillery. Irish whiskey is generally distilled three times and aged three years. Canadian
whiskey is predominantly Rye and blended grain whiskey, aged three years.
American Straight Whiskey is from 51-79% of
a single grain. "Bourbon" is at least 51% corn. Corn & Rye are generally the only grains used in
the United States.
See the "New Products" section for some new single malts we've just brought
into the store. Slainte!
Liqueurs
We carry a broad range of
all kinds of liqueurs, cognacs, schnapps, etc. Too numerous to mention!
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