Happenings This Week

Hopefully those of you reading the blog are also signed up for the Mission Insider Email list (on the right hand margin) because it’s been a doozy of a week already—and we’re just getting started!

Yesterday I allocated out a ton of Russell’s Reserve 13, Jack Daniels 10, and the Blackened x Willett rye whiskey collaboration to more than 100 email list members (at fair pricing, of course), and today we should have a drop of Compass Box Orchard House, along with more Scotch pre-orders from our upcoming shipment.

Today at 4 PM I’ll be back on Instagram Live with Charlotte Holl from Faire La Fête, as we dip into exactly why these inexpensive sparkling wines are sweeping the country (we’ve sold more than 500 bottles at Mission in the last 30 days).

Also, don’t forget that today is Cigar Tuesday at the Pasadena store, meaning you buy 5 cigars and you get the 6th for a penny!

Things are heating up for OND, and—like I said—we’re just getting started!

-David Driscoll

Whisky Season 2021 Begins At Mission

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Back in the day, there was nothing more fun than traveling to Scotland in the early Spring, purchasing a bunch of single barrels, getting them shipped back to the U.S. by Fall, and selling them to our customers right as the chill began to take hold in California.

I always referred to October 1st as the start of “Whisky Season,” as it’s both when Scotch starts to taste its best, and when the barrels start barreling in.

Of course, COVID ruined most of whisky season, as we weren’t able to head across the pond this year, but it didn’t stop us from doing our job!

COVID played a very cruel trick on my friends at Ardnahoe distillery, however.

Imagine this…

You’re opening a new distillery on Islay, you’ve locked down Islay legend Jim McEwan to be your master distiller—the guy who took Bowmore to new heights, and turned Bruichladdich into a cult phenomenon—and you’ve put together the coolest, most insane single cask collection of iconic Islay whiskies to sell in your gift shop to those die-hard single malt fans who brave the trip out to the island. 

And then COVID hits.

It’s a pickle, right? You’ve got the coolest new gift shop exclusive on the planet with The Kinship single casks, many of them hand-chosen by Jim McEwan himself, but you’ve got no tourists.

Then, this past December, the U.S. (out of nowhere) decides to allow the importation of 700ml bottles, reversing course on decades of exclusionary practices that have kept unique and highly-prized whiskies out of the hands of thirsty Americans. 

At that point, we just needed to get around the tariffs. Eventually those fell off, and the magic began to happen. Now we’re here. 

Let’s talk about the Kinship Collection.

The thing about having a good relationship with your suppliers isn’t just about getting an order done, it’s also about getting access to bottles either long sold out, or normally unavailable to the general market. That’s what’s so cool about these 2019 Feis Ile bottlings we’re offering today, as they were originally for the Islay festival goers who made the trip out to the island, launched back in May of 2019 in an announcement here from Hunter Laing.

Wanna know what’s even crazier? We’re gonna offer them for the same price they were sold for back then, not for the crazy $1000+ prices you’ll currently find on the interweb. 

For me personally, this is a dream list of whiskies that I wish I had purchased more of in my youth, and will probably never be able to afford again. Granted, these bottles are not inexpensive, but they're within reach still, unlike much of what’s out there today. I know which ones I'm getting already, so hopefully I don't take the bottle you want!

Given that the Bowmore 30 is sold out at most stores, (other than the Whiskey Shop in Singapore that wants $2000+) that's probably the direction I'm going. And the fact that Jim McEwan picked it out and likely distilled it as well.

We’re just getting started here for Whisky Season 2021, but there’s nothing this epic coming down the pipe. I wanted to start with a bang, so here we go!

BROWSE THE KINSHIP COLLECTION HERE.

-David Driscoll

Instagram Live Repost: The New Basil Hayden Toast Bourbon

It was our first live show in a while, so we had a few technical glitches at the start, but give it a few minutes and we really get the ball rolling. Beam’s new west coast whiskey manager Edwin Cruz gives us an in-depth look at the exciting new toasted barrel expression from Basil Hayden (coming soon to Mission!)

-David Driscoll

The Wine That Will Change Your Mind About Merlot

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I first met Hélène Garcin-Lévêque back in 2016, during a trip to Bordeaux to taste the en primeurs. We hit it off immediately because, while we respect and admire the classic nature of the region and its historic wines, we are both interested in bringing Bordeaux into the modern age. After days and nights of rigid rules-oriented meals, formalized tasting appointments, and pedantic lectures, hanging out with Hélène at her Barde-Haut estate was like a breath of fresh air. Rather than steak and foie gras, we ate fresh salads, light appetizers, and mixed up some cocktails. In a wine genre that can be intimidating and somewhat snobbish, Hélène is friendly, easy-going, and energetic.

For many of us who have spent more than a decade in the business, Bordeaux is still the king of wines. The flavors, the history, the diversity, and the romance of classic French claret incorporates everything cool about drinking, but that being said, there are some serious challenges facing the region as it looks to win over a new generation of drinkers. Today’s budding wine fans aren’t building cellars into their basements, mainly because none of us can afford homes, let alone the rising cost of Bordeaux’s top labels. Given the uncertainty of the times, many of us have no idea where we’re going to be in ten years, so how can we be expected to wait a decade before drinking something?!

But that’s the magic of Hélène’s 2015 Barde-Haut, St. Emilion—a Merlot-based wine with six years of bottle age, that is 100% ready-to-go for tonight’s dinner, with little decanting and no additional maturation needed. Simply put, this is a banging bottle of Bordeaux that delivers the goods for the right price.

If you've been watching Sideways recently, I dare you to tell me you don't like Merlot after drinking the 2015 Barde-Haut from one of the best-drinking Right Bank vintages in recent memory. Plump, but never over the top, the fruit melds seamlessly with ample tannic structure and plenty of earth on the finish, which is why you want it in the first place: that earthiness is what makes St. Emilion so much more satisfying than even the best domestic Merlot expressions.

-David Driscoll

The Original Champagne

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Are you ready for the best "Champagne" deal of the year?

While it’s not legally Champagne, history tells that the Limoux region in Southern France was making sparkling wine in the traditional méthode champenoise more than 100 years before Dom Perignon began playing with bubbles in Champagne. As far back as 1532, the people of Limoux were filling their fountains with sparkling wine, celebrating one of the longest running “fêtes” (parties) in all of Europe!

That’s why Faire La Fête was able to trademark itself as “the original Champagne” earlier this year, bringing a welcome attention back to Limoux, and much to the chagrin of the Champenois. 

Legalities aside, it’s important to note that true Champagne is not only made from classified grapes grown within the region, but that the bubbles themselves are the result of a second fermentation in the bottle, rather than pumped-in CO2 like inexpensive Prosecco and cheap sparklers. It’s part of the reason Champagne is usually more costly than its imitators. 

But Faire La Fête also uses the traditional Champagne method, bringing its bubbles to life with the same tirage used to induce a second fermentation inside the bottle. 

And given the fact that Faire La Fête clocks in at roughly half the price of even the most entry-level Champagne labels, it’s a bargain that’s too good to pass up.

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Just ask the Hollywood stars attending the Emmy awards this past weekend. A number of them were drinking Faire La Fête instead of real Champagne at their pre-parties. I know this because I personally had to make an emergency delivery to the Waldorf Astoria this past Friday, lugging as many cases as I could fit my car to supply the event. 

Or ask master somms like Peter Neptune, who recently wrote: “Faire La Fête offers a sparkling wine experience that is as good or better than most non-vintage Brut Champagne that I’ve tasted, and at a third of the price.” The Brut is clean and vibrant on the palate, made with 65% Chardonnay, 25% Chenin Blanc, and 10% Pinot Noir, finishing dry as a bone. The Brut Rosé is no different, with just a pinch more Pinot Noir for color, it's racy, fresh, and lively from start to finish.

With the Champagne shortage only beginning, we’ve been telling our customers for weeks to start locking down their holiday bubbles. For those seeking out the best bang for your buck, I don’t think there’s a better deal in town than Faire La Fête.

-David Driscoll,

Pure Inspiration

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There are only a handful of major Scottish single malt distilleries I’ve never visited, mainly because they’re located on remote islands that require extensive travel. I’ve never been to Highland Park, nor have I toured Talisker, located on the remote and rugged Isle of Skye off Scotland’s western coast.

If you think Skye is remote, then the Isle of Harris might as well be on the moon. Yet, that hasn’t stopped a few dedicated locals from opening a distillery there.

Sitting even further off the mainland, to the northwest of Skye in the Outer Hebrides, Harris—like Orkney—is old viking territory. The name comes from the Old Norse name Harri, yet a little over half of the population still speaks Gaelic.

In the town of Tarbert (not to be confused with the beautiful town of Tarbert on the Scottish mainland), you’ll find about 500+ Harris residents, along with the Isle of Harris gin and whisky distillery. There, you can purchase a bottle of what is, in my humble opinion, the most inspirational and exciting new gin to hit the market since Four Pillars and Monkey 47.

Not only is the bottle absolutely breathtaking, meant to capture the essence of the sea in its appearance, the gin itself expresses the elements of Harris through its infusion of ocean sugar kelp, foraged locally by hand.

Given simply the gin’s origin, process, and breathtaking package, I would’ve purchased a bottle no matter how it actually tasted. But having finally stirred myself an Isle of Harris Martini last night, I can safely say this gin is worth every penny of its price tag.

I’m not sure what I was ultimately expecting, but I was definitely anticipating seaweed and salt. Yet, rather than bowl your palate over with salinity and sushi, the gin pours over your tongue like a delicate and sensual wave of tranquility. It’s incredibly soft and the flavors themselves are gentle and soothing, nuanced in their expressiveness, only revealing their true nature on the finish.

The kelp is most definitely there, but it’s not singular in anyway, nor is it monotone. How does it ultimately taste? It tastes expensive.

And it’s clearly not inexpensive to produce, given what’s required to collect the kelp and distill a base spirit in the middle of nowhere, handcraft one of the most stunning bottles in booze existence, and then transport those bottles off an island that’s not easy to get to.

I’m heading back into work this morning to purchase a CASE for my personal drinking. I’m fully inspired.

-David Driscoll