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White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $24.60
6 bottles: $15.00
A cheerful blush color in the glass, this rosé is all pink grapefruit, strawberry jam, and pink lemonade on the...
UBC
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $12.57
12 bottles: $9.51
A cheerful blush color in the glass, this rosé is all pink grapefruit, strawberry jam, and pink lemonade on the...
UBC
91
Sale
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $23.37 $24.60
6 bottles: $15.00
Deep pink hues complement the rich aromas of candied orange peel and strawberry preserves. Flavors of concentrated...
UBC
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $12.57
12 bottles: $9.51
Deep pink hues complement the rich aromas of candied orange peel and strawberry preserves. Flavors of concentrated...
UBC
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $42.00
12 bottles: $41.16
Attractive and nervy nose with white pepper funk, wild berries and grapefruit. Full-bodied and flavorful for a rosé...
12 FREE
JS
94
WA
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.40
12 bottles: $21.95
The 2022 Las Bairetas is a dry white produced with Moscatel grapes from a vineyard planted in 1994 in the village of...
WA
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.32 $19.28
6 bottles: $14.73
A fun, refreshing bubbly with a generous fluffy mousse. It opens with sweet aromas of candied rose petals and peach...
UBC
91
Rapid Ship
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $1199.94
This blended whisky is an ideal sipper, with an enticing crème brûlèe and dried apricot scents. Those notes are...
12 FREE
WE
95
WKY
93
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $93.50
6 bottles: $89.42
Gold color. Aromas and flavors of honey and toasted vienna malt, white flowers and oak dust, orange marmalade, and...
12 FREE
BTI
94
UBC
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $78.17 $82.28
This was aged in Japan's rare Mizunara oak for the entirety of its maturation, which includes three-month ocean...
12 FREE
WE
91
WKY
90
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $86.82 $91.39
The lightly smoky sea-breeze aroma entices on the nose. The palate opens with bolder peat smoke underpinned by...
12 FREE
WE
92
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $71.82 $75.60
Sandalwood aromas are robust and exhilarating on the nose. The cedar cask influence is immediately apparent in the...
12 FREE
UBC
95
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $41.40
Get back to nature; this is a whisky to savor during a spectacular sunrise. Lychee, edamame, pea shoots, green apple,...
12 FREE
WKY
90
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $423.00
3 bottles: $420.00
This offers a wide range of blood orange marmalade, apricot, peach and mango notes all tightly stitched together but...
WS
94
DC
93
White
500ml
Bottle: $134.94
This offers a wide range of blood orange marmalade, apricot, peach and mango notes all tightly stitched together but...
12 FREE
WS
94
DC
93
Sale
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $380.70 $423.00
A gorgeous perfumed nose of rose petals, musk and barley sugar with preserved ginger. The palate is rich and super...
DC
96
WA
96
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $108.00 $120.00
A gorgeous perfumed nose of rose petals, musk and barley sugar with preserved ginger. The palate is rich and super...
12 FREE
DC
96
WA
96
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $393.00
3 bottles: $390.00
Deep mid-gold in colour, with a thick textured mist of scent hinting at grapes, oranges, honey and beeswax. It's...
DC
97
JS
95
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $77.95 $80.00
Deep mid-gold in colour, with a thick textured mist of scent hinting at grapes, oranges, honey and beeswax. It's...
12 FREE
DC
97
JS
95
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $393.00
3 bottles: $390.00
This is world class with lovely floral, spicy, marmalade, barley sugar, apricot and crème brûlée aromatics. The...
DC
96
JS
96

Japanese Whiskey Muscat Sherry

Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.

The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.

Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.

While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.

One of the most widely grown and easily recognized wine grape varietals in the world is the Muscat, an ancient grape with an exceptional amount of versatility. For centuries, Muscat varietal grapes have been used all over Europe for the production of wonderfully fruity wines of many different shades and colors, which, with their strong 'grapey' flavor have come to be known as a quintessential fine wine grape. Their relatively high acidity also means they are ideal for the production of sparkling wines, and the fizzy Muscat wines of Italy are widely agreed to be amongst the best in the world. In more recent years, New World countries have shown a huge amount of flair when it comes to the Muscat grape, and have had plenty of success in allowing its natural and vibrant character to come through in the bottle.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.