A Must-Have Single Barrel Of Single Malt

As all the Sherry heads out there already know: GlenAllachie is the new king of high proof single malt whisky that scratches that decadent itch. Billy Walker, the man who re-established Glendronach in that position previously, took his talents to the independent Highland distillery and achieved nothing less than perfection with their new lineup.

As a result, we made sure that GlenAllachie was our first stop for a barrel selection during our trip to the Highlands last year. We originally tasted and selected barrel number 2864 in May of 2022, but the whisky wasn’t bottled for another five months, allowing it to hit its 15th birthday, which was a welcome surprise! You wouldn’t think 150 extra days in wood would make such a huge difference, but when you’re talking about a PX Sherry Hogshead that extra time most definitely makes a difference.

Back in May, this whisky was like a candied orange ready-to-drink cocktail. Now that it’s finally here in bottle, those citrus notes are far more muted and the decadence of the PX Sherry is now front and center, meandering between toffee, caramel, coffee ice cream, and pecan pie. The 59.5% ABV is big and boisterous, but it mellows out quickly and the finish is like a 30 second ride past a restaurant dessert tray. Only 365 bottles of this were made and you’re going to want more than one, so plan accordingly. Trust me—you’ll drink the first third of it simply chasing that finish, like a junky in need of one more hit.

-David Driscoll

Consumable Luxury & Longstanding Tradition Collide

This coming Valentine’s Day, don’t waste your hard-earned money on some throwaway, heart-shaped trinket or plush stuffed animal that will end up in your supply closet within a week. Give your special someone the delicious pink gift of Donnafugata rosé in a new limited edition package with co-sponsor Dolce & Gabbana!

Consumable luxury and longstanding tradition collide in the new 2021 vintage of Donnafugata’s Rosa Siciliana, showcasing 170 years of the Sicilian winemaker’s craft and know-how. Fourth generation winemaker Giacomo Rallo has long specialized in tailored wines from very specific vineyard sites across the island, each with a unique terroir and character. A blend of Nerello Mascalese from the eastern slope of Mount Etna and Nocera from the Contessa Entellina estate in southwestern Sicily, the minerality of the volcanic soils provides the perfect foundation for the lush stone fruit flavors, balanced by jasmine and rose petal notes.

The collaboration with the iconic Italian design house Dolce & Gabbana presents the bottle in a stylish and elegant package, perfect for gifting. Make no mistake: this is not some inexpensive rosé adorned with a gimmicky label. Both Donnafugata and Dolce & Gabbana are legends in their own worlds. The new vintage of Rosa Siciliana is simply the vehicle to celebrate their achievements. 

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Rosés rarely get critical press of this nature!

91 POINTS: VINOUS - With a pretty, pale pink color and sweetly scented nose, the 2021 Rosa Dolce & Gabbana makes a lovely first impression. Ripe melon, Asian pear, mint and nuances of white smoke create an inviting bouquet. It’s round and elegant in feel, engulfing the palate in mineral-tinged orchard fruits and hints of chamomile. A salty flourish emerges through the finale, as notes of sour citrus and inner wet stone slowly fade. This is a total pleasure to taste. The Rosa Dolce & Gabbana is a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nocera. - Eric Guido

91 POINTS: JAMES SUCKLING: Pretty nose of pomegranates, rose-hips, wild strawberries, grapefruit and herbs. Fresh and crisp with medium body and a bright, fruity finish. Drink now.

Our New Favorite California Chardonnay

A recent article in the New York Times referenced the wine industry’s youth problem, writing “the wine industry as a whole has to take steps to inspire curiosity and intrigue about wine” in order to appeal to younger generations. Clearly, they weren’t talking about Cole Thomas and the team from Madson Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains as part of the issue.

If there’s a cooler, more inspirational young winery that’s making wines this exciting and electrifying in our industry, we haven’t heard of it. Billed as organic in the vineyard and natural in the cellar, the boot-strapped Madson operation is showcasing some of the most impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay expressions to come out of Northern California this year. Madson is the litmus test for credibility and heart at the moment, which has made it a rising star with the wine intelligentsia. 

What makes them so amazing? A commitment to real, hands-on farming with every vineyard they lease, resulting in fresh and zesty flavor profiles with honest intensity. Low in alcohol, vibrant with acidity, and utterly ethereal in their profiles, the entire Madson portfolio is worth getting excited about, but if there’s one singular expression worth diving in for headfirst, we think this is it: the 2021 Misty Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay.

93 POINTS: WINE ENTHUSIAST - Tightly alkaline aromas of chalk and lime pith meet with crushed sandstone and a hint of citrus on the nose of this bottling. The palate is all about the firm structural grip, which weaves through flavors of almond and lemon peel. 

Misty Gulch Vineyard sits in the Portola Valley at the base of a gap that earns the name Windy Hill from the maritime breeze that blows east and west. The salinity and purity of the Chardonnay being grown here has to be tasted to be believed and has garnered rave reviews from critics everywhere, including recently at the Wine Enthusiast. The aromatic notes of white lilies, kiwi, and chamomile are a thing of beauty. There are fewer than 100 cases of Misty Gulch Chardonnay made annually and the winery is already sold out. We hope those of you who take the plunge down this hedonistic rabbit hole enjoy the few bottles we have available today.

All of our current inventory is in our shipping warehouse, if you would like to purchase and pick up at a store, select Shipping at checkout to have the order transferred to your preferred location.

One Of Bourbon's Best Kept Secrets

There are few secrets left in the world of whiskey, with collectors on social media sharing details in realtime, but there's been a hidden gem hiding in plain sight at Mission for the last few months and we're finally ready to blow the whistle on it. It's called Benchmark Bourbon and it's made by Buffalo Trace, the same distillery that produces Blanton's, Weller, Elmer T. Lee, and Pappy Van Winkle. 

For years, Bourbon enthusiasts have relied on the standard Buffalo Trace and Eagle Rare editions for their value-priced labels, but when Buffalo Trace's Benchmark debuted for just $8.99 a bottle, consumers were almost confused: could a Kentucky Bourbon for less than $10 really be all that good?

Things got really interesting a few years back when we noticed a line extension of Benchmark on the shelves of Kentucky retailers during our visits. Rather than just the standard No. 8 brand, there were also Top Floor, Small Batch, Bonded, Single Barrel, and Full Proof options - a veritable smorgasbord of proofs, flavors and concentrations. 

When Buffalo Trace made these releases available in California last year, we snatched up every bottle available to us. The most expensive of the Benchmarks - the ultra-sweet 62.5% ABV Full Proof Edition - tops out at $23.99, which seems almost impossible for cask strength Buffalo Trace Bourbon, but seeing is believing and tasting is the truth. The whiskies are well-made, true-to-style, and unbeatable for cocktail fans. 

If you haven't discovered Buffalo Trace's value-priced Bourbons yet, you're missing out on one of the great whiskey values in the world, hiding in plain sight on our shelves right now. 

Our First Ever Single Barrel of Rittenhouse Rye

From floor seven of rickhouse L, barrel #7989517 was originally barreled in March of 2018 before bottling just before the year’s end. Put this one in the 4 years and 9/10 month old category. It’s bottled at 100 proof just like the standard Rittenhouse, but this one has some unique character. We didn’t have a huge selection of barrels to choose from, but then again it’s not like there’s a bad bottle of Rittenhouse out there. The standard Rittenhouse is pretty much the perfect rye whiskey for cocktails, even if it’s not the world’s most exciting sipper.

Our job was to find the perfect version of Rittenhouse for sipping as most folks buying a bottle will likely be looking for a deviation from the regular formula. This cask was the obvious pick of the litter. There’s more vanilla and actually less rye spice in this whiskey. It’s creamier from front to back and there’s a lift of baking spices on the finish. Upon the first sip of the standard Rittenhouse rye, the peppery and herbaceous character of the rye is generally front and center with the oak playing second fiddle. The oak and the vanilla are what shine in this bottling. 

And it’s just $29.99! Grab yours before they’re gone!

Keep An Eye Out For The Old Scout

It’s been a good three years since Mission purchased a single barrel of Smooth Ambler Old Scout. Given their new six year old stocks and bargain price point for cask strength Bourbon, we knew it was time to pull the trigger once again!

One of the pioneers of the MGP independent scene, Smooth Ambler’s quality has never been in question and with the updated bottle and rustic new label, we think customers are going to go crazy for this one. Six year old cask strength single barrel Bourbon from MGP is always a hit, especially when it’s just $44.99. Orchard fruits on the nose with candied vanilla is a great way to start. The sweetness of the whiskey is pronounced on the first sip, almost syrupy with brown sugar notes, but it’s buttressed by black pepper and some herbaceous characteristics. This is a workhorse of a whiskey as is evident from the harnessed horse on the front label. Can you afford NOT to buy one at this price?

Our First Single Barrel of 2023 - 9 Year MGP!!

With the barrage of 4 to 6 year old MGP Bourbon casks that have been on the market over the last year, we were taken aback by the 9 year old samples (and the pricing!) available to us from Coppercraft this past Fall. Everywhere you look, 4-5 year old barrels of Indiana Bourbon are on the shelf, many with custom labels and quirky graphics, but with that market as saturated as it is we wanted to find something exciting.

That’s when Coppercraft informed us of a small supply of 9+ year old cask strength Bourbon barrels and we didn’t hesitate. Our selection came in at 55.02% ABV and we couldn’t be happier!

You can really the taste the additional aging with every sip, each note lasting longer on the finish and with more richness than many of the other MGP barrels we’ve selected over the last few years. The integration of flavor is what also stands out. There’s honey, vanilla, oak, spice, and pepper, but each note is seamlessly blended into the next, never losing the harmony from front to back. The result is a whiskey that glides across the palate with weight and viscosity even at the 110+ proof.

Don’t wait too long on this one. It’s been a while since we had something this good for this price in the single barrel market.

Our First Ever Angel's Envy-Distilled Single Barrel

If you followed OUR VISIT TO LOUISVILLE THIS PAST AUGUST, you may remember my excitement in tasting Angel's Envy very own aged distillate for the first time. If you're confused as to what that means, let me clear it up: Angel's Envy has—up until very, very recently—purchased Bourbon from another Kentucky distiller and bottled that whiskey under the Angel's Envy label. In 2017 (or circa), they began distilling their own Bourbon. In 2022, that whiskey passed the five year mark.

We're excited to tell you that this barrel is one of the first from that new DNA. And, believe us, you can taste the difference.

While selecting a barrel, we were able to sample each Port-finished cask side by an unfinished cask of the new Angel's Envy Bourbon as a control. Knowing we were choosing from stocks of the new distillate, we wanted to give our customers the chance to taste the whiskey itself in as pure of a state as possible. Hence, we searched around for the Port cask with the least amount of influence, rather than the richest, most dessert-y expression. There was an incredible specimen that lived up to the hedonistic and supple delight that is Angel’s Envy at full proof, brimming with candied fruit and dark chocolate flavors. However, we chose the one that tasted the most like Bourbon and the least like Port. 

​And let me also tell you: the new Angel’s Envy-distilled Bourbon is GOOD. It's deliciously woody, mellow on the palate, rich up the middle, and seductively sweet on the finish—and that's before the port maturation! That little kiss of red fruit on the back end is most certainly present in this single barrel expression, but it's far from the focus. You may not even know it was finished in Port were it not labeled on the front of the bottle. If anything, it just tastes good old fashioned Kentucky Bourbon with a kick from the 110 proof.

We’re excited to be one of the first store's in America to bring you back a barrel directly from the distillery. We hope you love it as much as we do!