The Liquor Store Podcast

Tasting Notes This blanco tequila from the highlands of Jalisco is finished in California red wine barrels for approximately 8 weeks before bottling, lending a slightly pink hue and a whole host of dark fruit flavors to go with the tropical explosion on the nose. Brick oven roasted, roller-milled, open air fermented with 70% rum yeast and 30% Champagne yeast, then copper pot distilled at NOM 1414,...

Tasting Notes DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH ALERT...this new Bourbon World selection of Whistlepig Piggyback 100% rye bottled at 112.7 proof, distilled in Vermont and aged 6 years is a KNOCKOUT! Oily peppermint and graham cracker on the nose, fresh cut oak, grassy rye and a huge spice KICK! Load this thing up with ice and let it mellow down. I had it as an Old Fashioned and loved every spicy minute of that...

Tasting Notes:  Wildflower honey on the nose with cherry cordial, vanilla bean, and caramel. On the palate, more soft caramels with mint and piney rye spice emerging. Unlike the berry bombs in this year's Bourbon World Buffalo Trace series, this Warehouse L, Floor 4 is soft and elegant, emphasizing sweet mint and softer barrel spices. It just can't be said enough that these Buffalo Trace single ba...

Tasting Notes:  This German gin made with 47 different botanicals, many drawn from the black forest region of southern Germany makes one of the most delicious martinis we've had in years. With an herb and citrus forward profile, the length, depth, and complexity of Monkey are unmatched in the market. On the nose a distinct floral aroma paired with the sweetening juniper. Underlying citrus notes as...

Tasting Notes:  Melly Barajas takes special pride in her female-owned and operated NOM, especially her La Gritona brand which is now available in Indiana. The 10yr old agaves are harvested from the mineral-rich Highlands and placed in clay ovens 24 hours after harvest. The pinas are cooked in the most traditional manner, then rested for 24 hours like a good steak to let the sugars absorb the most...

Tasting Notes: Made with an MGP recipe that's not readily available on the bulk market, this single barrel is about as "high rye" as they come, with a mashbill of 51% corn, 39% rye, and 10% malted barley. Bottled at 113.2 proof, the nose is straightforward spice with a touch of orchard fruit and citrus. The palate is an explosion of tropical fruit and spice. This is like an OBSK from Four Roses on...

Tasting Notes: Made with real fruit juice, 95 calories, and 4.5% alcohol from the folks who brought you Dail's pouches comes SUNNY D vodka seltzer. We've sold more of these in the past two months than any other new RTD we carry. Why? Because it really does taste like delicious Sunny D!

Tasting Notes: In the ever forward march of the Jack Daniel's brand, the rerelease of Jack Daniel's Barrel Proof Single Barrel Rye is another reason to celebrate. This particular bottling clocks in at 132.3 proof and packs a punch. Completely mature oak, fruit, and leather notes along with baking spices round out the nose. On the palate, mouthwatering dollops of rye spice, with a deep woodsy bitte...

Tasting Notes: The 4th barrel in our 2023 Buffalo Trace single barrel series is a HIGH FLOOR oak and spice bomb. It's the 7th floor of a 9-floor concrete and tile building, so soft, balanced, regulated heat is likely the condition relative to other warehouses/floor combos. Most mature oak profile of the set so far. Bourbon candy aroma, deep set oak with some caramel corn as well. On the palate, lo...

Tasting Notes: Many competitors have tried to knock off Captain Morgan. In the spiced rum category, there's basically Captain, Sailor Jerry, and the more affordable Admiral Nelson. But now along comes Kraken Gold, a spiced rum with the perfect balance of sweet, oak, and spice to maybe make a dent in the Captain's ship. Rich vanillas and caramel up front with a really pleasant oak mid-palate remini...

Tasting Notes: The latest Bourbon World Knob Creek pick is a Warehouse P, floor 6. Soft and creamy nose with vanilla, orange, and floral leading the way. On the palate, chewy oak spice with fresh cut oak, toffee, and a touch of chocolate at the end. Light on the nose, but a monster on the tongue.

Tasting Notes: Exploding herbs, leather, and fruit on the nose. Warehoue P, Floor 5. Unlike the berry driven Warehouse O and L, this P warehouse, floor 5 really brings the lighter, more floral and elegant notes to the party. Silky and soft on the mid-palate with more emerging florals, rock candy, pez, vanilla milkshake and a lightly peppermint finish. Get this one slightly chilled, no ice, and ENJ...

Tasting Notes:  Our latest "Bourbon World" selection of New Riff rye whiskey is their 95% rye bottled at 113.3 proof. Big spring mint, along with lavender, Earl Grey, and a touch of dill on the nose. On the palate, mint chocolate chip ice cream with some drying herbs thrown into the mix, really juicy and herb-forward, this stuff is getting complex in the best kind of way. Seek this bottle out.

Tasting Notes:  This 100% Canadian rye is unique in that it's produced at the Pernod/Canadian Club distillery in Windsor on Vendome copper pot stills. Canadian whisky portfolios haven't gotten a lot of love lately from their owners, except a little bit here and there by Beam, but that just means it's a truly underappreciated and underpriced category with some awesome whiskies worthy of attention....

Tasting Notes:  The latest Russell's Reserve 13yr is actually a blend of 13, 15, and 21-year-old Wild Turkey bottled at 114.8 proof. Even though it took a STEEP price increase, it's still one of the most sought-after bourbon releases of the year, so let's dig in. On the nose, a very complex and rich blend of vanilla bean, Jamaican pot-still rum, raisins, and leather. On the palate, a leather whips...

Stagg Jr. Batch 17 128.7 "The Last Batch" Before they took the "Jr" off the label, they released this 17th batch of Stagg Jr. at 128.7 proof, unfiltered. This WILL go down as a historic bottling. Rich berry and vanilla aromas, almost cassis, blackberry liqueur-like with a touch of cinnamon spice. On the palate, very richly spiced with more dark fruit on the finish. Fantastic depth and mouth-feel f...

Tasting Notes: 100% Highland Blue Weber Agave with 50/50 autoclave/brick oven roasting, roller mill extraction, and open-air ferment, aged for 8 months in second-fill bourbon barrels, then 3 months in ex-California Cabernet barrels, the result is a silky, fruit-forward repo with light cream and cinnamon and a decent amount of cooked agave. This is the new house Repo for the entire Cunningham Resta...

Tasting Notes:  In warehouse L, a reinforced concrete frame warehouse, floor 5 IS the TOP floor, so essentially you are getting the hottest barrel from one of the cooler ageing warehouse at Buffalo Trace. On the nose lifted floral aromas, nuts, chocolate, and cinnamon. On the palate, orange zest, apple skins, light butterscotch, pie crust, and a silky cinnamon finish.

Tasting Notes:  Blood Oath Pact 9 is a blend of 16yr and 12yr old Kentucky straight bourbon along with a 7yr old finished in Oloroso sherry casks, bottled at 98.6 proof. Intensely lifted herbal notes on the nose with mint, pine, and honey emerging, some yellow fruit as well. On the palate, a very rich and warming center palate, exploding with orange fruit, leather, and spice. Best mid-palate inten...

Tasting Notes: Good old handmade Old Fashioned pot still American vodka from Austin Texas. Made from American corn and naturally gluten-free. Say what you want, but 20 years ago the vodka category was dominated by pricey imported brands in fancy bottles. Tito Beveridge changed all that, going door to door during the early days of the "craft spirits" movement, and hitching a ride on the way to beco...

Tasting Notes:  This is the first release of the 2023 Bourbon World Buffalo Trace Single Barrels, from Warehouse "O", floor 3, barrel #067. Nutty to start with peanut brittle, cinnamon butter, and caramel apple. On the palate, extremely sweet with TONS of spice/sugar depth. Much more complex than other BTs I've had in the best. Lengthy, spice-driven finish.

Tasting Notes: This tequila produced at Casa Cuervo for Kevin Hart starts out with a silky earthiness, add to that vanilla bean, and an almost Kahlua coffee intensity.

  This traditional wormwood based shot liqueur from Chicago hasn't changed much since Carl Jeppson founded the brand in the 1930s. Our barrel aged version, bottled exclusively for Bourbon World is just the thing you need. Earth, citrus, gasoline, month-old potato, with a dash of pinesol. On the palate, an all consuming dry herbal assault, kinda makes you hungry for any encased meat within reach. L...

Tasting Notes: "El Cielo" or "Heaven" is the latest ultra-premium expression from Patron, a 4 times distilled Blanco with volcanic gold top built to be club ready. This "Los Altos" or highlands expression of agave is a touch sweeter, more floral, and generally more fruity than it's lowland counterpart. In this case, the four distillations further refine the floral elements into an ethereal sweetne...

Tasting Notes:  Right on the heels of their exit to MGP, we thought we'd take a look at Penelope Barrel Strength, a "four-grain" whiskey that's a blend of 4yr old MGP mash bills, presumably the 21% rye, 36% rye, and wheated mash bills from MGP, bottled at 56% alc. Lots of honey, malt, fruit, and cinnamon on the nose, some classic MGP notes for sure. On the palate a balanced blend of spicy fruit, B...