Joe Riley

Scotch malt whisky impresario Gordon Wright will be presenting his Alchemist Scotch malt whiskies (plus a few other bottlings, I think) at the Georgetown Club on Wednesday, October 14th at 6:30. It's $50 per guest, and if you are planning to go, please PM me with your name so that I can pass this along to the General Manager. If you are a lover of single malt Scotch whisky, then this ought to be a serious treat for you. Gordon is quite the raconteur, a genuinely nice guy, and his whisky bottlings are always compelling. Hope to see you there!

Yep, we carry it at Ace.

Just arrived, and very cool: G-Vine Nouaison

15 = aprox. $94 18 = aprox. $139

If you are a whisky/whiskey lover, then this is the week for you. By the end of this week, we will have the following: Laphroaig 18-yr Single Malt (replaces the 15-year, so if you like the 15-year, grab it while you still can) Tullamore Dew 10-year Single Malt Irish (only 400 cases for the entire U.S.A.) High West Rye whiskies (supposedly sourced for them by Jim Rutledge, Master Distiller at Four Roses for the past 40+ years) Death's Door white whiskey (from Wisconsin) Jefferson's Presidential Select 17-yr Bourbon (the last gasp of the great Stitzel-Weller distillery, long since closed) Parker's Heritage "Golden Anniversary" Bourbon (with Bourbons from each of Parker Beam's five decades at Heaven Hill) The 2009 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (Almost as rare as hen's teeth.) Gosh. I THINK that's all. If not, well hey, it's a darned good start!

Yes, we carry it at Ace.

Amarula is in flux right now. They are either changing U.S. importers, or their U.S. importer has been bought by another company. All I know is, I cannot order any as my former supplier for it is sold-out.

The Palm is doing a series of these at several of their restaurants around the country, and the one for D.C. is next Tuesday, October 13th. More info here: The Palm and Appleton Rum dinner They even have the 21-year available. That's about $115/bottle, so this is a cool opportunity to try that. I'm a big Appleton fan. As they say at the distillery, Appleton is "Jamaica's finest LEGAL export"

I find Vichy water very "liberating"

I really like Irish whiskey, but I confess that I rarely drink it. This may change, though, with the introduction of John L. Sullivan Irish Whiskey to our market. I was expecting a full-on punch of a whiskey taste, but it was MUCH more mild than I'd anticipated. Perhaps it's due to the aging in single-use Bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill? It's very reasonably priced, too. The "sporting man's" whiskey

Too late for "Talk Like a Pirate Day", but hey: Death's Door Spirits Gin, Whiskey, and Vodka. Yar!

I really like Gerolsteiner, but Perrier is way harsh. Ever tried to guzzle a chilled bottle of Perrier on a hot day? It feels like it tears at your throat.

Call Wagner's at 1717 Wisconsin Avenue (just below the Safeway)and special-order whatever you need. Should only take them a day or two to get it, assuming that they don't have any in stock. Wagner's is D.C.'s busiest keg store, and their keg prices are also the best I've seen here.

You mean what comes in the PVC 1.0-liter bottles? I think it's just cheaper packaging, but come by the store and I can sell you a bottle so you can compare.

Damnit, but this thread is making me thirsty. For Virginia, you also have to include Restaurant Eve, since P.X.'s hours are more limited, and that is where Mr. Thrasher spends most of his time. In D.C.: Proof, PS7, The Tabard Inn, The Gibson, Bourbon (Adams-Morgan), Central, The W Hotel, Room 11, Cork, Rasika, Wisdom... The good news is, the list keeps growing

Give them time. Maryland isn't as tough a state to do alcohol business in as Virginia or Pennsylvania, but it will get there soon enough. Can't tell you how these decisions are made as to which markets get products ahead of others, there are so many variables, but this also might be a "slow growth" business model.

I can't believe that it's taken this long for P.X. to get mentioned here, but really, my Sazerac at P.X. Lounge last night was a thing of beauty. Jason made it for me, and I think that Mr. Thrasher would have been proud. Jason prefers to use Sazerac 6-yr Rye, but they were out (thanks, Virginia ABC ) but Old Overholt didn't disappoint.

I could have sworn that there was a dedicated Bell's beer thread here, but.... Anyway, some good news: Bell's Two-Hearted Ale is now available in 5.0-liter mini kegs! I believe that another of their beers is also available in that size, but I'm fixated on Two-Hearted.

The Kentucky Breakfast Stout is a seasonal. I believe that it is due to be released in January. I just tried the Breakfast Stout today - yum!

*Ahem....*

Maybe the best neighborhood bar ever. Wish I lived a whole lot closer. The patio rocks. The cocktails rock. Dan Searing rocks. The staff rocks. The 3-cheese panini rocks. (Oh, and Don Rocks )

This looks promising: Holy Brew It's available in Virginia and D.C. so far.

Badoit water in GLASS bottles, has finally arrived in Washington, D.C. It has been available in PVC liters via one or two food distributors for some time, and some of you may have seen it at restaurants, but the glass bottles haven't been available here through "normal" channels as far as I know. I've been looking for this for nine years. This has now changed. Evian (or their parent company, Group Danone) controls the U.S. distribution for Badoit now (they've always owned it or distributed it in France)and it's funny because nine years ago, I asked an Evian representative about Badoit and he informed me that "Evian will never bring Badoit to the U.S. because the U.S. could absorb the entire annual production." Seriously, that's what he said. Better scientific minds than my own can expound upon the health benefits of Badoit (it does have a decent magnesium and calcium content. All I know is, it doesn't have a "hard" mineral taste, it's softer, if that makes any sense. I personally put Badoit up at the top, along with Gerolsteiner (Germany), Highland Park (Scotland), and Saratoga (New York) as my favorite mineral waters. No, it isn't cheap, but it IS a different sparkling mineral water experience, and I think, a better one. Available in 11.2 oz bottles (might be PVC), and 25.4 oz (750ml) glass. Official Site (in French): Badoit

Now carrying the following: Silver Tree Vodka Small Batch Gin Absinthe Verte Single Barrel Dark Rum New England Cranberry Liqueur Michigan Tart Cherry Liqueur More to come.

Some of you may remember seeing Jason Wilson's column about this last month: Jason Wilson on Karlsson's Gold vodka More info, and cocktail recipes, here: Karlssonsvodka.com Natalie Bovis-Nelsen (The Liquid Muse) gave this a nice write-up on her cocktail blog, too. Obviously, learned cocktail people disagree with the Karlsson's distiller about it's role in cocktails.