Charlotte’s Best Liquor Store News!
15 Apr, 16 / 
Hey booze fans, spring is in the air, but everyone is trying to make it Summer! We just got Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest beer, and customers keep telling me they are happy it is Summer. When did we cancel Spring? This weeks rant is brought to you by Keith Haze; when you want someone to complain passionately about something no one else cares about, call Keith! I am a huge fan of seasonal drinking. Some things taste better in certain seasons than other things and that my friends is a fact! Spring is the time for light but still challenging beverages. Whether it be a Saison in beer, a Rose in wine, or a gin with heavy botanicals. I try to apply the same rule to food as well. Yes we live in a wonderful time in which we can have strawberries year round, but they taste the best when they are in season. It makes the whole thing more special. There are people that want to drink egg nog all year long, and that is fine (not fine at all). All I am saying is, mix things up a bit (you say that every week you preachy sob). Just imagine yourself, sitting outside on your balcony, patio, your neighbors patio, a house you broke into because you were pretty sure they were out of town, and there you are sipping on a martini, feeling like a sophisticated adult. You sip and you think, I might have made a lot of mistakes in my life but this ain’t one of them! As I prepare for another birthday, (they just keep coming don’t they??) I find myself thankful to have the wonderful friends and coworkers that I do. Maybe this will be the year that I find a partner in crime? Wow even the optimism of typing that sentence wore me out. Back to booze!
TASTINGS:
FRIDAY WINE 4:00-6:00
POPPY CHARDONNAY: Santa Lucia is a great region for Chardonnay. You get big ripe fruits, perfect for dinner or lunch. At 13.5 abv it is not bombastic.
RIEBEEK SAUVIGNON BLANC: Martha will not give up on South Africa and neither should you!
BLACK STALLION CABERNET: Do you love Cabernet, but not enjoy heavy tannins? Then you will like this wine, with its refined tannins in a modern California style.
THE GUILTY: A big jammy fruit bomb from Australia. Good wine for BBQ!
BEER HI WIRE 4:00-6:30
Come and meet Chris and taste these tasty beers from Asheville, NC. We always try to support the locals, especially when they make good products. We will have the “Man Eater Double IPA” on tap, and you can taste the year round beers as well. A fun time to be had by all!
NO SPIRITS THIS WEEK 🙁 BUT REMEMBER TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR 4/23 HIGH WEST TASTING WITH WHISKEY AMASSADOR JOE ZIEGLER!
KEITH’S CABINET:
CASA NOBLE REPOSADO: Still one of my all time favorites! So smooth, so rich, and special. Drink it straight or make an amazing top shelf margarita.
SMOOTH AMBLER SINGLE BARREL: My bottle is almost gone. My fondness for this has only grown stronger as I sip through it.
GEORGE BOTANIVORE: I am killing all my gin bottles so I can buy all new gin bottles. This one never lets me down!
ICEBERG CUCUMBER VODKA: After my failure with the Suze cocktail, I switched gears and made my famous cucumber vodka and fever tree elderflower tonic combo and wowed everyone with my brilliance! Sometimes when you fail badly you have to play a track from the greatest hits.
GREEN FLASH EVERYTHING!: I have been on a Green Flash kick since my California days and recently they have been outdoing themselves. I already think the WIPA is the pound for pound best IPA and now all of these special releases are just that, SPECIAL! And if you are thinking “Keith, if you love it so much then why don’t you marry it?” I totally would!
NEW ARRIVALS:
NONINO QUINTESSENSIA AMARO: In my never ending quest to make this the best liquor store in the known universe I have been focusing my attention on the adventurous items and this falls into that category. One of the most famous Amaro’s in the world. This can be had straight with a couple of cubes or be used in cocktails. It is superb and I am stoked to have it in the store.
STRONACHIE 18: It is back!! This is the best Scotch I have had this year so far, and it is a worthy addition to any collector. This is spectacular stuff from start to finish. If someone was thinking about this as a birthday present for me, this would be a wonderful choice, no pressure, I am serious no pressure.
DUSTY FANS REJOICE?
A “dusty” is the term that whiskey geeks came up with for bottles of booze that were bottled a long time ago. They are hard to find and whether they are gold or spoiled cabbage is a mystery and somewhat subjective. We have a wide array. Before you start salivating, these are all in ceramic decanters of different designs from different distilleries. I do not run or watch antique road show (that girlfriend and I split up, not because of the show, but because we both agreed that we were not fond of me) so I will not be able to answer questions on them. I would suggest that they work best as decorative items rather than for drinking. While whiskey is pretty indestructible, these are in decorative devices which were made more for decoration than for storing whiskey for 30 plus years. Keith’s rule for booze, and in life in general is always smell something before putting it in your mouth. Your nose will typically let you know if you should proceed to your mouth. If you want a collectors ceramic decanter that does not contain booze, those are available on the beer side.
The Haymarket was not so tasty 🙁 I Apologize for posting a recipe without trying it!!! I have only done it twice and I will NOT do it again because both times were failures.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
After last weeks faux oops with The Haymarket, we are going with a tried and true recipe.
KEITH’S CUCUMBER DELICIOUSNESS!
3 OZ OF CUCUMBER VODKA (ICEBERG, PEARL, RAIN)
6 OZ OF FEVER TREE ELDERFLOWER
GARNISH WITH LIME
