The Liquor Store Podcast

Tasting Notes:  Produced at the El Viejito Distillery, this 100% blue weber, 100% additive-free tequila presents crisp cooked agave on the nose with touches of citrus throughout and the perfect amount of pepper. The palate is buttercream soft vanilla with a splash of sweet lime to finish things off.

Tasting Notes:  The Old Oak Biscuit I call this, flakey, buttery, and with a massive dollop of old oak, smoothed over with cinnamon and spice, sweet red fruits emerge as well upon second and third sniffs. On the palate, a divergence from the regular small batch profile, highlighting minty, herbal notes with a creamy bourbon candy finish. Lots of caramel and toffee in between the herbs. A very Than...

Tasting Notes:  This year's 2023 Weller Special Reserve single barrel is a sweet treat. Nose of honey and half melted Skittles with lemon and leather as well. On the palate, soft fruit gives way to ripe oak, orange blossom, and mixed nuts. Long finish for the lowest proof and youngest Weller. Win the right to buy this and other bottles. Bottles rotate monthly. Visit here for details:  https://bit....

Tasting Notes:  The Louis Vuitton of vodka (actually owned by LVMH, so there's that) is made with 100% organic Polish rye and distilled in Poland. At the top of the luxury imported vodka game, it was always French Wheat vodka in the form of Grey Goose, or rye-based Polish vodka in the form of Belvedere. Widely known for it's smoothness compared to other vodkas in its category, Belvedere truly is o...

Tasting Notes:  With all the over-hyped finished and MGP bottled brands on the market, it's nice to see a measured, value-driven, age-stated release from a major distillery that has the juice to back it up, and that's EXACTLY what you get in Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7yr, a 100 proof bourbon from HH that pulls no punches. Even though it's priced relatively higher than Evan Williams or Elijah Cra...

Tasting Notes:  The perfect companion to an iced coffee or a chai, Rum Chata's smooth and creamy base goes REALLY well with just about any fall beverage. Grab a bottle or three before they are gone!

Tasting Notes:  The Old Fitzgerald BIB decanter is one of my favorite releases of the year. The 17yr is still one of my all-time favorites, and even when they haven't been sublime, they've always been really good. Enter this year's 10-year-old expression at 100 proof. Rich peanut and red fruit on the nose with maple and toffee. On the palate, intense spice with cardamom, leather, and a rich orchar...

Fort Wayne's Biggest Bourbon Tasting is coming to the Memorial Coliseum… Cap n' Cork Bourbon Expo & Rare Bourbon Lottery! Saturday, October 21st. Taste hundreds of Bourbons AND be entered into the FREE Rare Bourbon Lottery to win the right to buy the most coveted whiskies. Fort Wayne, THIS IS YOUR BEST SHOT AT PAPPY and other rare bourbons! October 21st! Coliseum.

Tasting Notes:  One of the best 100% agave tequilas on the market. We've got this on RED HOT DEAL through the end of the year for less than $25. Made at Campari's wholly owned NOM in the Highlands of Jalisco, Espolon may be the PERFECT margarita blanco. It's got enough pepper, citrus, sweet lime, and cooked agave to simultaneously stand out and blend into any marg. Fresh, lifted agave on the nose,...

Tasting Notes:  Sourced from five different rickhouse locations and bottled at 128.8 proof, the 2023 release of Parker's Heritage eschews any fancy wood tricks or secondary aging and simply falls back on a 10yr, barrel-proof rye whiskey to do the talking. And THANK GOD because this is the best Parker's Heritage release in years. Step aside Van Winkle Rye 13, you've got some competition. Smoked mea...

Tasting Notes: This 94.8 proof, 5-year-old expression of Ardbeg for $54.99 challenges the assumption that all scotch has to be aged at least 10 years to present a fully finished whiskey. While 5 years in Kentucky may be average, and 5 in Jalisco may be ancient, for the cold, rocky shores of Scotland, a 5-year-old is still relatively young. That being said, I think Wee Beastie does better than most...

Tasting notes:  The 103 barrels that make up this year's 2023 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon release were all barreled on May 5th, 2011 and stored on the 5th floor of Warehouse I, released this year as a 12-year-old at 96 proof. Beautifully perfumed nose, oak, dark, ripe fruit, fig, cherry, and plum with dark brown sugar, molasses, and leather. On the palate, as elegant and as rich as they come. So...

Tasting Notes:  Right in the heart of bourbon country lies the bucolic Abbey at Gethsamane, home to cheese and fruit cake-making monks and the one-time home of Thomas Merton, one of America's intellectual giants. If you are visiting any of the countryside distilleries, it's worth a stop, as the chapel itself is a true place of respite among Kentucky's rolling bluegrass. And NOW, just a few hundred...

Tasting Notes:  Good ole Southern Comfort, a New Orleans bartender's idea of a "flavored whiskey" stretching back to the 1870s, combining fruit, spices and sugar over a whiskey base. Having gone completely neutral under the Brown Forman years, Soco is now back with Sazerac (Buffalo Trace) and contains at least 5% whiskey (aka Spirit Whiskey) along with natural flavors. Strong fruit and steeped bla...

Tasting Notes:  People still view Willett as relatively scarce, especially some of the bourbons, but hiding in plain sight is Old Bardstown estate, a 4-5 year bottling of Willett Estate bourbon bottled at 101 proof. Peanut butter, vanilla, and maple on the nose. On the palate, a rich, chewy, biscuit and orange marmalade note persists. Almost the PERFECT bourbon for an Old Fashioned.

Tasting Notes:  Absolut Vodka, now owned by French giant Pernod Ricard, was at one time the official monopolistic vodka of Sweden where every bottle is still produced today. The beneficiary of one of the world's greatest ad campaigns. Absolut Vodka launched into the US market and was eventually sold to Pernod in 08. A Swedish-based wheat vodka, Absolut is famous for its pure, clean taste. If you'v...

Tasting Notes:  Locally owned and blended from a small batch of 5 barrels, this CLASSIC 21% rye MGP bourbon is as good as it gets at 100 proof. Full on cinnamon spice with orange, pine, and maple on the nose. On the palate, softest spice you'll ever taste with lifting notes of red hots, silky vanilla, and lingering mint with herbal oak.

Tasting Notes:  The latest from High West is a Cask Strength blend of straight bourbon whiskies bottled at 117.4 proof. The nose is fresh oak, marmalade, apple cider, and rye bread. On the palate, a punch of cinnamon, followed by mellowing oak, then softer fruit. A whip of molasses and leather finish you off!

Tasting Notes: Bailey's now has a chocolate-flavored liqueur. Need we say more? Bailey's has always been good in our opinion because it really does balance the perfect alcoholic KICK with the smoothest, creamiest liqueur base, and this chocolate version is no exception. RUN to the store to buy it!

Tasting Notes:  A good Old Fashioned is both simple and complicated...booze, sugar, bitters, orange, and cherry, but getting the booze to sweet ratio with just the perfect touch of fruit and bitters is harder than you might think, and even harder when you're doing it in a pre-batched cocktail that will need to account for varying levels of ice cubes. On the Rocks Old Fashioned is one of the OGs of...

Tasting Notes:  818 Tequila Blanco is sugary sweet and insanely easy to drink with a sweet citrus mid-palate and a long, vanilla syrup finish. Kendall Jenner's 818 Blanco tequila is 100% blue agave, and one of the most approachable blancos on the market, which is the intent. Premium priced, but try it straight out of the freezer in a shot or a premium version of your favorite margarita.

  The latest from the Coors Whiskey Company, Barmen 1873 is a blend of straight bourbon whiskies, a 5yr MGP wheated and a much loved 5yr Bardstown Four Grain bourbon. Bottled at 92 proof, the result is a surprisingly REALLY delicious bourbon blend. I put this on par with Elmer T Lee in terms of proof, drinkability, approachability, and finish. Soft malt notes on the nose with a little fruit and so...

Tasting Notes:  Want to taste Blantons at 3 years old, then crack open a big plastic jug of Ancient Age 80 proof and have at it. Made from Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2, this higher rye straight bourbon whiskey has recently come back in stock and we can't get enough! Candy corn and dusty oak on the nose with red fruit and light caramel emerging. On the palate, simple, tasty Buff Trace with a decent sh...

Tasting Notes:  The Dorda family has been producing potato vodka a in eastern Poland since 1993, and while imported Euro-style vodkas may be currently out of fashion, the BEST vodka for a martini is still potato vodka, and Chopin makes one of the best, most widely available, and fairly priced ones at that. Unlike American corn based vodkas, Chopin is softer, sweeter, with more body and mouthfeel,...

Tasting Notes:  Sweet mother of mercy if you don't run out and buy a case of this, you're crazy because it's currently the best tasting. perfectly proofed rye whiskey in the market for less than $30! The fresh pine and rock candy rye notes are just sensational with sweet fruits and strawberry syrup emerging along with the spice. On the palate, a fresh shot of rye spice that's youthful and zesty to...