Top Picks

• Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Japanese Whiskey 750ml Ships as 1.5L (1 bottle limit) ($64.99)
92 points Wine Enthusiast: “With a little water, this golden blended whisky opens up to delicate, nuanced honey and floral aromas and flavors. Finishes smoky, dry and brisk.” (03/2011) K&L Notes: Malt whiskies matured 12 years or longer are perfectly matched with mellow grain whiskies of the same age to create this Hibiki offering. Also included is some whisky from casks formerly used in long-term aging of Japanese plum liqueur, which helps bring out the sweet floral notes on the nose and palate that Suntory whisky is known for. Adding venerable malt aged more than 30 years further brings out the bouquet and adds body to the palate.

• Suntory Hakushu 12 Year Old Japanese Peated Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $70) ($54.99)
90 points Wine Enthusiast: “Fans of smoky Islay Scotches will enjoy this smoky single malt that’s made at Suntory’s Hakashu Distillery, which is “surrounded by forest at the foot of the Southern Japan Alps.” Despite the delicate aromas of tropical fruit and light peat, the smoke note is considerably amplified on the palate, especially on the resonant finish, where it pushes those dainty fruit tones completely off the map.” (02/2013) K&L Notes: The newest Japanese whisky to hit the U.S. market is Suntory’s Hakushu – known as the “Forest Distillery”. Built in 1973 as a sister distillery to Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery (previously the only Japanese single malt available in the U.S.), the facility is located at a high-elevation site next to the “pristine waters” of the Ojira River, which are used to dilute the whisky itself. Hakushu distillery uses different styles of oak barrel to age their single malt, but mainly Hogshead, which according to the distillery is “suitable to the clear air and cool humid climate.” The 12 year old from Hakushu is lightly peated and very delicate in its flavor profile. The light and fruity style of the whisky is quite similar to the Yamazaki 12, but the smoke really makes up for the lack of richness. Because most of Japan drinks their younger malts with ice and water, the Hakushu is definitely another whisky designed for that purpos e, which may turn off some of the single malt sippers stateside. However, even straight at room temperature, the Hakushu really delivers quality flavors for the price point. Think Talisker, but distinctly less round or supple. So far I’ve really enjoyed tinkering with it in different forms – as a Highball, with an ice cube, and just plain neat. This is one of the most enjoyable bottles I’ve purchased in some time. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer)

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSF (March 2013) Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
Another barrel of Four Roses OBSF, you ask? Yes! And we’ll keep ordering them as well until the distillery runs out of booze! While we continue to expand our lineup of outstanding single malts, brandies, gins, rums, and tequilas, there hasn’t been too much action on the American whiskey front. There are fewer great Bourbons on the market everyday simply because supplies are low. The most sought-after expressions are highly-limited and almost impossible to get and the dependable ones are getting watered down (unless consumers speak out on their own behalf!). After dealing with this ongoing problem for the past two years, we’ve all become a bit jaded. Yet quietly and without a bunch of fanfare, Four Roses distillery has been trucking along, releasing top-shelf single barrel expressions without end. While the thrill seeker in us may tire of purchasing the same brand over and over again, the Bourbon connoisseur in us knows otherwise. This new barrel of OBSF is full of warming spice, cinnamon and sugar, big vanilla, and a healthy dose of oak on the backend. At full proof, this is perfect cocktail whiskey. It’s also great for sipping on the rocks. It’s simply great booze – period! As a buyer and whiskey super-fan, I’m always on the lookout for something new, but I never get tired of greatness. This barrel of Four Roses is as good as Bourbon gets. As long as it’s available you can bet we’ll be bringing it to our customers, who entrust us with finding them the best. (David Driscoll).

• Four Roses K&L Exclusive OBSQ Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 750ml ($59.99)
Every now and again we’ll taste a barrel of Four Roses that really showcases what the yeast can bring to a Bourbon in terms of flavor. While we tend to focus on the inherent grains or the mature flavor imparted from the oak aging, the yeast is commonly overlooked as a major factor. This barrel of OBSQ brings the red fruits and the banana to flavortown. The fantastic part of Four Roses’ single barrel program is that it allows us as consumers to select samples from the five different strains of yeast being employed at the distillery. Cherry and banana aren’t flavors usually associated with corn, rye, or toasted new oak – they’re the result of fermentation. Once distilled into a spirit these fruit-filled distillates are filled into charred wood where they sit for a decade before finding their way into a box of samples. When I catch one of these super-fun whiskies crossing my desk, I’ll almost always pull the trigger. There’s something simply delicious about that combination of barrel spice, rich vanilla, and flavor when it comes to Bourbon. Our customers seem to agree, as these barrels have without a doubt been the most popular in our history. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer).

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Oban 18 Year Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $150) – 12 available ($99.99)
91 points Whisky Advocate: “Drier, less toffee and fruit, more dried spice and oak when compared to the standard Oban 14 year old. A beautiful combination of rich, nutty toffee balanced by polished oak, salt, pepper, seaweed, distant smoke, and dried fruit. Somewhat oily in texture. Wonderful depth, too! An improvement on what is already the biggest-selling Diageo single malt scotch in the U.S. Very exciting and dynamic. (Vol. 17, #4, by John Hansell)” K&L Notes: Always tough to find – this is a limited edition bottling for the US only. As the cannister states, “only so much can be made, it is never enough.”

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Sazerac 90-Proof Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml – 6 available ($26.99)
The K & L Sazerac Cocktail: 1/2 oz Kubler absinthe, 2 oz of Sazerac Straight Rye, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 2 dashes of Peychaud bitters, Lemon – twist as garnish. Fill an old fashioned glass with ice. Add the absinthe to the glass. Combine all other in a shaker and mix over ice. Discard the ice and absinthe from the old fashioned glass, letting the absinthe coat the glass. Strain shaker ingredients into prepared old fashioned glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA