Joe Riley

This isn't a "new" product, but it is new to D.C. It got a lot of play in certain markets around the time that the last Indiana Jones movie came out. Crystal Head vodka Home website with Dan Ayckroyd video: Crystal Head home Due in very soon. Probably around $50/bottle.

A new vodka from a Virginia spirits company (though the vodka itself is contract-distilled at Bend Distillery, in Bend, Oregon) Black Lab Vodka I'll confess, I bought it for the bottle (hey, I'm an old Labrador man, my last one was black and she was the best dog I've ever owned) I say, give up the "Goose" and love the Lab instead

Yep. We carry it

These look like they might be worth sending away for: http://www.builtburger.com/

I carry all that you can drink, and then some.

I just saw where their new Sweetflow Mobile (a grownup ice cream truck) will be parked behind the DuPont Sweetgreen location (1512 Connecticut Ave. NW) giving away cones if you mention Thrillist:

So the folks at Jim Beam have just released Red Stag, which is essentially Jim Beam 80-proof Bourbon infused with Black Cherry flavor. Legally, it is not "Bourbon", since Bourbon cannot have anything added to it after distillation, except water, but it can be called "flavored Bourbon". (I know, I know, splitting hairs, but still...) I've been reading about this for months. Noted American whiskey authority Chuck Cowdery initially said that this product was either completely insane or genius, he couldn't decide which. I'm trying it right now. Drinking it straight, it has all of the harshness of Jim Beam, with a little treacly-sweet cherry flavor, to me. Mixed with Coca-Cola, it is rather pleasant. It might make for an interesting Manhattan shortcut for someone who eschews rye for their Manhattans. Not bad, not bad at all, but not something that I, personally, find really appealing. I like that they gave it it's own name, to establish a new identity, rather than being lazy and calling it Jim Beam Black Cherry, or something along those lines. It's a dignified product. If you are a hard-core Bourbon enthusiast as I am, well, this product isn't aimed at "us". Rather, it's a "gateway" or entry-level product designed to appeal to the non-traditional Bourbon drinker. I'm sold, though. I honestly believe that there is a place in the market for this. If you're curious to try it, I'm sure that Bourbon in Adams-Morgan and Glover Park will be places where you can try a taste. If you are a Jim Beam buyer, you may purchase a 750ml bottle of Jim Beam 4-yr Bourbon with a 50ml "hitchhiker" bottle on the neck at no extra cost. From the AP (via HuffingtonPost): For other views on Red Stag, just Google around, you'll find plenty of blog posts from people who've gotten to try it already. John Hansell, editor of The Malt Advocate, had some interesting serving suggestions:

Ladieeeeeeeesss and GENT-elmen, almost-live from the west coast, DonRockwell.com is proud to present, "Ferment Everything! Excellent work, Smithers. Glad you're staying in touch.

Vicki, I would swear that Jocelyn Cambier has a Blanche de Bruges, but I'm at a loss to remember the name. Darn that Denman, running off to San Francisco right when his expertise is needed.

Chris happened to wander into the store recently, and he had a bottle of his Petit Verdot with him (open, not certain for how long). I liked it. This was pretty wine, and I'll happily recommend it. I don't remember the price, but I remember a general impression of it being reasonable. It sounds as though Chris is a "grape whisperer" ("vine whisperer"? Gotta be a term there somewhere...) who is helping to make Virginia wines better. Great to hear!

What fascinates me about this thread is the apparent decline in the influence of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, as Parker used to make exactly this sort of list frequently and no one has brought this up until now. I haven't had a subscription to the Wine Advocate for years (a late-relative first gave me a subscription ages ago and when they passed on, I renewed it for a while then stopped. Nothing to read into that, I also gave up my subscriptions to W/S, CGCW, The Vine, et. al. Probably because too many issues went unread. There are only so many hours in the day.) I think that it began with the explosion in use of the World Wide Web and ubiquitous Internet access. Consumers now have more wine information at their fingertips than ever before and more diverse opinions. Peter Weygandt's selections are (were?) routinely featured in the Wine Advocate. Many other importers wines were also routinely reviewed. I have to give props to the folks at Bassins for having, on their home webpage, the following list of boutique wine importers: Boutique Importers * Cape Classics * Chapin Cellars * Classical Wines * Neil Empson * Epicurean Wines * Eric Solomon * Christopher Cannan * Rudi Wiest * Grateful Palate * Grapes of Spain * Dan Kravitz * Kermit Lynch * Fran Kysela * Joe Dressner * Neal Rosenthal * Marc De Grazia * Peter Vezan * Ole * Robert Kacher * Langdon Shiverick * Terry Thiese * The Australian Premium Collection * Vineyard Brands * Roy Cloud * Leonardo LoCasio (Good grief, or perhaps, "Ach, du lieber!", they mis-spelled Terry Theise's last name) Despite the economy, these are boon times for wine consumers, especially if you are in such a dynamic market as Washington, D.C.

Yum.

This is great news for wine lovers. Peter is extending the tradition of importers with a retail store, such as Kermit Lynch in Berkley, California, and Neal Rosenthal in New York City. Since Peter lives and works in Pennsylvania (one of the most onerous of control states) this will make things much easier for him by being here in D.C. I doubt that the state would allow him to do this anywhere in Pennsylvania. For a better idea of what his portfolio has, go here: Weygandt-Metzler Wine Importing But don't expect to find floor-stacks of Dugat-Py or Truchot Burgundies

We've carried it often over the years. David Schildknecht sold me my first bottle of that wine back in 1988 and it's been a favorite ever since. If you'd like some, please let me know.

Well, since I was grocery shopping right next door today, I took the plunge and visited the Lee-Harrison Elevation Burger. I liked it. I just had the $5.99 burger (the Elevation Burger? Can't remember) and an order of fries. The fries were perfectly decent, but I was disappointed that the order wasn't a little larger and that they were such a skinny cut. My order came to a little over $9.00, so yes, that was a rather expensive lunch as a burger with fries goes, but I'll probably go back. I'd rank it behind Five Guys and In-and-Out (virtually a moot point, since I-a-O is a west-coast-only chain) but it isn't a "distant" third. I'll try a different burger or toppings next time. The service was good, and I'm sure that it will make money hand-over-fist when the Arlington County schools let out and parents are grocery shopping with their kids.

Brilliantly. A little different. Smaller bottle (125ml vs. 200ml for F.T.) A bit more expensive. Delicious, though. I'm a fan.

I haven't yet been to E.B. but I noticed the new one at Lee-Harrison shopping center this past Wednesday as I was leaving post-Harris-Teeter grocery shopping, so I didn't stop in. Thought I'd check this thread to see what the story was. I'd completely forgotten about the E.B. in Falls Church, I just thought that this was a brand new burger place. Mostly, I was curious to see just when it had opened, and I had no idea that it had been this week. As a Five Guys fan, and someone who really enjoyed discovering In-and-Out Burger in Indio, California, I'm looking forward to seeing just what this place is like. I'm waaaayy behind the times, I still haven't been to Ray's Hell Burger, and I really want to go there. Probably just as well, I'm sure that I'd get addicted to it, and I don't need any additional lbs 'round my middle at the moment

They're here! They're here! They're here! Including the FANTASTIC Victorian Lemonade. Can summer be far behind?

This is the Millennium spirits-world "New Coke" Yeah, it's a fine product as long as you don't use it for dry Martinis. Eric, I imagine that this situation is almost like an answer to your unspoken prayer. Dolin dry is perfect for classic Martinis and I have to believe that demand for Dolin has spiked since this step was taken by NP. Oh, and welcome to the "Rockweilers"

This is a sad day. I met Chrish Peel here in D.C. ages ago, probably 17(+?) years ago, just after David Schildknecht left Pearson's, and he introduced him to me at an event at New Heights. I almost went down to visit him to ask for a job, I'd actually called Chrish about it. Ultimately, I didn't want to move to North Carolina. D.C. is my home. Many times, I've referred customers to Carolina Wine Company, especially if they needed to ship a wine gift to someone in North Carolina quickly. Since we do almost no shipping, and CWC did it every single day, it just seemed to make sense, especially where time was concerned, and it better ensured that the wine wouldn't be damaged by heat in transit. How I wish it were only chapter 11 proceedings. R.I.P. to the best wine shop in the south and one of the best in the whole country.

I got to try most of these today (all except the lemonade, which is forthcoming) and they are really first-rate: Fentimans natural sodas No HFCS, all sugar-sweetened. Contract-brewed at the Lion Brewery in Pennsylvania. No prices available yet, but look for these around the first week of August.

Somewhere out there, possibly something that could arrive in D.C. given that other products from these folks are available here, is Hound Dog Sweet Tea vodka I can't believe how many of these things are popping up, but I suppose I really shouldn't be so surprised.

I guess I was at the very last one. They're not doing the Thursday-thing any longer. Oh, well.

This is pretty interesting: The eco-guide to responsible drinking Looks like aluminum is the way to go, in the long run.

Well, it's hit our market. Now available in D.C. and, presumably, Virginia and Maryland. Just the tequila you need when you're looking for a quick stiff one.