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More expensive whiskey news. This time it is a relatively new bottle selling for the big bucks. A bottle of George Washington's Straight Rye whiskey, number five of a limited edition of 24 bottles, the first ever made at the distillery of one President and signed by former president George H.W. Bush went for $35,000 at a recent gala. The winning bidder was John R. Frank, Vice Chairman of Sidney Frank Importing Co., a company that imports spirits such as Tommy Bahama rum and Jagermeister. The proceeds benefit Historic Mount Vernon's educational programs. I wonder how much it would have fetched if the current President Bush signed it.
Cognac for mixing? That's the pitch behind the new Courvoisier Exclusif a new version of Courvoisier that is designed to be mixed in a cocktail. It is a blend of six to 12-year-old cognacs. The Exclusif will not dilute when served in a cocktail and recommended cocktails include a new version of the cosmopolitan and a champagne cocktail. The Courvoisier Exclusif sells for around $50. The recent launch party in Atlanta included Usher, shown at right. Clearly a move to help introduce the younger crowd to the world of cognac.
With a name like Opulent Vodka, it's hard to ignore the latest launch to the absolutely over-stuffed vodka market. This latest entry is made from Midwestern corn (as if you weren't getting enough corn in your diet already) and is distilled five times. The corn is from various Midwestern farms and is available in Minnesota and South Dakota. The quilted look of the bottle is rather posh though. The vodka is $27.99 for 750 milliliter bottle.
The bottle shown at right just sold for $59,200 at auction. The bottle contains Bowmore single malt that was bottled in 1850. It was sold at McTear's auction house in Scotland on Friday for what is said to be a new world record for Scotch at auction (a businessman paid over $58,000 for a bottle of the Dalmore 62 back in 2005). The bottle exceeded estimates even beating out the Bowmore brand who had bid on the lot but lost out to an anonymous telephone bidder. All this, even though as you can see in the picture, the cork is falling into the bottle. The bottle was presented to William Mutter, one of the founders of the distillery, in 1851 and had remained in the family ever since.
Aging whisky in casks used to age other liquor has become a big trend lately. Crown Royal has created a new whisky with a cognac finish. The Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is Canadian whisky aged in cognac casks made of oak from the renowned Limousin Forest in France. Crown Royal is a blend of more than 50 different individually aged whiskies which are then placed in the casks which give the blend a fruity and spicy finish. The whisky sells for $59.99.
Today marks the official launch of Stiletto Vodka, a new brand from an entirely woman-owned spirits company. The vodka is a wheat-based spirit imported from Kyrgyzstan and distilled six times and filtered five times by Master Distiller Vladimir Stepanovich.The vodka debuts today at Emeril Lagasse's NOLA Restaurant in the New Orleans French Quarter and the brand will donate 25 cents from each bottle sold goes to support breast cancer research and another 25 cents goes to support the Emeril Lagasse Foundation which helps bring mentors and education programs to low income kids. The brand is also available in chocolate, vanilla and mint flavors.
Our pricey-object-reviewing friends at Spungle are on a roll lately. Their most recent review has me all kinds of jealous. I've had the pleasure of drinking Glenrothes whisky before but I have never been able to delve as deeply into the archives as they have this week, sampling a bottle of the Glenrothes Single Cask Vintage 1979. At $1,000 a bottle this requires a rare occasion. The tasting notes on the Glenrothes websites mention ranges, marmalade, brazil nuts and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and Spungle's review bears that out remarking of the "velvety carpet of flavors that originate from rich chocolates, sugar reduced fruits, and smatterings of citrus." Spungle cautions that the scotch should only be reserved for the most special of occasions but if I had it in my hands I'd certainly be tempted.
I've mentioned Partida tequila before, now they have unveiled an ultra-premium version for tequila connoisseurs. Partida Tequila Elegante is an extra añejo tequila which is aged more than 36 months in American oak. The tequila is made of 100% blue agave which is hand harvested and cooked in stainless steel autoclaves. The tequila comes in a gift box which includes a crystal top for the bottle so it can serve as a decanter once the tequila is finished. The bottle also has a Mexican sterling silver Partida Tequila Spirit Bird on a black leather strap tied around the neck. It sells for $350 and will be available this fall.
Shopping on eBay is supposed to be about finding bargains, and this summer a guy from Oklahoma ended up finding quite the deal. He was the winning bidder of a bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale in which the seller made a typo in his auction and spelled it "Allsops." The auction ended with very little interest and only 2 bids for the bottle that was obviously worth so much more than the winning bid of $304. And to make the mistake even more painful, that winning bidder turned around and listed the bottle again on eBay, but this time with the name spelled correctly, and got a whopping 157 bidders and a sale price of $503,300.
Vodka connoisseur? Or maybe I should say vodka collector? There are any number of top-of-the-line varieties out there but when it comes to style and unique design a few of them stick way out of the crowd. Here are 7 of the most outrageous luxury vodkas:
DIVA Triple distilled and filtered through crushed diamonds and gemstones, it also has a pillar containing precious gems running up through the center of the bottle.
Tommy Gun Vodka It comes in a glass bottle shaped like a machine gun. And sorry, the gun doesn't actually fire vodka (yet).
Go Wodka Extreme Comes in toothpaste tube-type bottles and is available in 3 flavors. Currently only sold in Austria and Germany.
Garlic Vodka Yikes (not a good drink for a date!). Touted as both enhancing the flavors of certain meals and warding off illness, you can also opt for horseradish flavored vodka, if you prefer.
Cactus Vodka It's the only "prickly pear" flavored vodka in the world, which means it's slightly sweet and slightly pink.
Twistee Shots Uses the idea of yin and yang and is meant to mix two distinct and different flavors in one drink.
Say the word "whimsy" and you've got my attention -- I love anything fun and slightly wacky, but not necessarily ridiculously over the top. These Wobble Cognac Glasses are great, I think, because they look interesting without sacrificing any class. They were designed with bouquet, temperature, and volume in mind, and the delicate shape is said to enhance the pleasure, deep color, and movement of the drink (and also the glass to some extent, obviously). Made of hand-blown glass and available in sets of two for $50.
Our friend Rick over at Martini Groove had an interesting new vodka label, another small company. Sub Rosa Spirits is a micro-distillery southwest of Portland, Oregon. They are starting off with two flavors designed to tempt those with adventurous palates: tarragon and saffron. The tarragon flavor is made from fresh French tarragon grown in Oregon with a bit of fennel and mint to create a pale green concoction. The saffron uses eight spices including coriander and cumin and of course saffron, the precious spice made from the stigma of a crocus. The resulting vodka has a golden color. The vodkas should be popping up in the Pacific Northwest soon. Alas their website doesn't yield much except the motto "citius altius fortius" which basically translates to faster, higher, stronger.
Green Mountain Distillers, a Vermont company founded by a pair of micro-brewers with more than twenty years experience has announced their first flavor in a line of organic liqueurs. The first flavor will be Vermont organic maple syrup liqueur. The liqueur is a combination of organic maple syrup and an in-house organic sprit. Green Mountain Distillers already sells Sunshine Vodka, a spirit made from 100% certified organic grain and pure Vermont spring water. The liqueur will be available at Vermont liquor outlets and each decanter is hand-filled, signed and numbered by the distillers. The next flavor planned is Honey and Spice for the winter months.
We've mentioned Modern Spirits and their wacky vodka flavors before (black truffle, pear lavender and celery peppercorn to name a few). Their next flavor is designed to put you into a fall mood: pumpkin pie vodka. The vodka is made with real pumpkin puree and spices. The company reports that it is based on their family pumpkin pie recipe and is suited for dessert cocktails as well as for pairing with braised short ribs, roasted quail and pecan pie. It will be on sale as of October 1 and will sell for $25.99 for a 375ml bottle.
Yesterday I mentioned George Washington's history as a distiller but he wasn't the only historic figure to figure in the America's boozy past. In fact the history of bourbon making is so much a part of U.S. history that the Senate has declared September National Bourbon Heritage Month. Castle Brands, takes this opportunity to remind us that they have two bourbons named after Thomas Jefferson and one for Sam Houston. The bourbons are all small batch bourbons. The Jefferson's bourbon is a very small batch bourbon with taste of vanilla and caramel. The Sam Houston has flavors of nutmeg, wood resin, corn mash, rye bread and dry cereal. The Jefferson's Reserve is a complex bourbon aged 15 years and has flavors of vanilla and caramel as well as hints of fruits such as date and orange. The Jefferson's Reserve sells for around $60.
