Come In Out Of The Rain

On days like this, you need a really good reason to stop in at Joe Canal's. We're prepared to give you several.

You need an easy-drinking red wine to warm you up tonight. Our newest everyday red is the Nicodemi Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Terrana. This wine exhibits impressive, surprisingly delicious and authentic characteristics. With bright fruitiness, good structure, well-rounded character, it can go with any meal, from pizza to pasta to a juicy steak. And at $8.76 in the Bottle Club®, it over-delivers for a weeknight wine.

Cold, raw evenings also suggest Scotch whisky to some people. We've blogged previously about the Lost Distillery, the company that is re-creating some of the long-gone brands from Scotland. The latest line extension is Gerston.

The story of Gerston whisky is a tale of two distilleries, known as Gerston One and Gerston Two. Gerston One was a family-owned farm- house scale distillery, with a typically small output, making high quality spirit that was in demand both at home and further afield. It was enjoyed by the great and good of London society and had customers as far apart as Brazil and India. It existed for over eighty years, and remained in the Swanson family for nearly all of that time.

Gerston Two was an industrial scale distillery with a capacity of 80,000 gallons of spirit per year. The owners hoped to emulate the success of the whisky from Gerston One by building a new distillery, which had a capacity almost ten times the size of Gerston One. When it was opened in 1886 it was arguably the most innovative and modern distillery in Scotland, and certainly the largest distillery in Caithness. Its design utilized a natural fall in the land, which allowed gravity to govern the process and the movement of liquids. Production at Gerston Two lasted for little over two decades – they were unable to replicate the success and, importantly, quality of spirit previously associated with the Gerston name.

We currently have the Gerston Deluxe in stock, and Gerston Vintage will likely be added when it is finally available. Here are the tasting notes on the Deluxe, which comes in at 46% ABV.

Aroma: Light malt loaf to start, with sultanas and a trace of allspice. After a while a very slight steamy/smoky note, and hints of hard toffee. The smoky/maritime note increases over time, but becomes dirty (exhaust fumes) when water is added.

Taste: Smooth texture, sweet taste with smoke in the finish and a mineral twist. Water softens the texture; less sweet but still smoky, and a lingering smokiness in the aftertaste. Available for $56.49.

One quick reminder for each store. Look for samples of Margaritas in Lawrenceville this Saturday, from 10am to 2pm. In Woodbridge, we'll be sampling Woodford Reserve Mint Juleps on Saturday, from 1-3pm.