What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🍷 Are you familiar with Georgian wine? Here’s a guide to the wines from this country that has a long tradition of producing some very ageable bottles.

🥃 Nairobi, Kenya is coming into its own as a thriving and exciting cocktail destination, as local bartenders create innovative drinks with African spirits made with indigenous ingredients.

New Bottle Releases

Old Forester 117 Series: Prohibition Era Still Proof

The latest release in Old Forester’s 117 Series is a high-proof tribute to the dark days of the Noble Experiment. Prohibition Era Still Proof is a 130-proof bourbon bottled at the strength that Old Forester was distilled to during the era, when the distillery was one of the few that was granted a medicinal license during Prohibition. 130 proof; SRP $65

Blade and Bow 30-Year-Old

This 30-year–old is one of the oldest American whiskeys released by Diageo. This bourbon was distilled in 1993, and while the source is not revealed, it was aged for a time at the long shuttered Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Some barrels that were nearly empty had to be consolidated to prevent the whiskey from becoming overly oaky while it aged. 109 proof; SRP $1,200

Lock Stock & Barrel 25

This is the oldest rye whiskey currently on the market. Lock Stock & Barrel sources its whiskey from Alberta Distillers in Canada, where it was aged for a quarter century in American oak before bottling. This 100 percent rye strikes a nice balance between spice and fruit notes, and has some pleasantly warming heat on the finish as you sip. 111 proof; SRP $1,000

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Glenmorangie 25 Years Old - The Altus

So many writers describe Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of distilling at Glenmorangie, as the “Willy Wonka of whisky.” But I won’t do that here, because it’s become a lazy cliche that is way overused. That being said, the man is known for creating whimsical whisky experiments that are often not seen anywhere else, and are frequently based on specific flavor and scent combinations like ice cream, the forest, and spice. To be fair, that does kind of remind you of the Roald Dahl character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… But I said I won’t do it, so I’m sticking to it.

Of course, some of the best Glenmorangie whiskies are also the simplest ones, the age statement expressions—although even these often employ a variety of cask finishes that make them stand out. The newest is The Altus, a 25-year-old single malt that is pretty fantastic. It spent most of its time maturing in bourbon barrels, but of course given Lumsden’s predilections these are not just any bourbon barrels. They are “designer bourbon casks," according to the distillery, that were made from slow-growth American oak trees. Also, a bit of the whisky was finished in Malmsey Madeira casks, a reference to the 1995 release that Glenmorangie claims to be the very first Madeira-finished whisky.

The result is a really tasty single malt that, even at a quarter century old, doesn’t lean into heavy tropical fruit notes, as is sometimes the case. That’s a good thing—instead, the whisky is full of vanilla, honey, spice, and fruit notes, but stone fruit and apple instead of mango or pineapple. There’s also a bit of smoke lingering in the background, but presumably there’s no peat involved here so that’s due to the long time spent in oak and combination of flavors. The end result is very delicate, very complex, and very delicious.

So no, this whisky isn’t some fantastical expression that pushes the boundaries of creativity, but that’s not the point. It’s just a really good (and rather expensive) whisky that further solidifies why Glenmorangie is a consistently excellent distillery.

Unicorn Wine Pick of the Week

It’s the holidays, in case you weren’t paying attention, and that means it’s the time of year to bust out the special occasion wines. This is not the only time I drink Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is a crowd pleaser and deeply satisfying on cold nights.

Here are two wines from opposite ends of the Cabernet spectrum. The Minus Tide will feel exotic, redolent of the pine-covered ridges of Mendocino County where it comes from; cool, but not so cool that Cabernet comes off fully ripe and exotic. The Nickel & Nickel, on the other hand, is more classic Napa, but beautifully refined and delineated.

Minus Tide 2022 Yorkville Highlands Vine View Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($60)

Minus Tide, a Mendocino winery founded by Brad Jonas, Miriam Jonas, and Kyle Jeffrey, is named for the low tides of the Pacific Coast which reveal the sea’s treasures. Their focus, not surprisingly, is on cool climate sources, and they’ve placed their emphasis on the cool coastal vineyard sources for Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, and highly perfumed Syrah. This Cabernet comes from the Yorkville Highlands, one of those appellations based on elevation—vineyards must be planted between 850 and 2,500 feet. If you’ve driven on that windy road on the way to Boonville and the Anderson Valley, you’ve passed through the Yorkville Highlands, and yes, they’re as wild as they sound.

These vines, planted in 2012, are at 1,500 feet, and there’s a wildness here too. You’re not wrong to imagine an alpine feel to the wine, with scents of pine frond, sea salt, fresh herbs—all of which, one can imagine, course through the ocean breezes here as they pass over the vines. The fruit is blue—think blueberry, cassis, maybe a lighter note of plum—but the non-fruit notes will make you come back to the glass, a delicate weave of flavors both succulent and firm, an almost Christmasy savor to the tannins here. Suggested pairing: lamb.

Nickel & Nickel John C Sullenger Vineyard 2023 Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon ($100)

You may know Nickel & Nickel as having sprung from the family that brought you Far Niente, a Napa institution founded by Gil Nickel in 1979. When Nickel & Nickel debuted in 1997, it seemed like a sign that the Nickel Family had no intention of resting on their laurels. This brand, with an entirely separate winery, was founded to pursue solely single vineyard bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel.

This bottling, made by Joe Harden, is named for the man whose farmstead where the winery is now located, in the heart of Oakville and a stone’s throw from Opus One and To-Kalon. It is a classic wine in its restraint, leading with a dark wave of black and blue fruit and a hint of purple flowers, dusty and deeply focused, more about concentration than extraction. The flavors are grounded by coffee-like, cocoa nib depth of flavor, with melty tannins and a long, slightly leafy finish. Suggested pairing: herbed roast.