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Another day under an extreme heat wave, another day under an OR hemp. And HH at a new bar for me. Time for a few KC Bier Co Dunkels, a German bock.
Yard beer and summer Stetson.
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I got a couple of heavy 10 sided half pint "The Lantern Tankard" Beer Mugs popular in the 1920s, 30s and 40's. Hot day today. Beer or Root Beer? Well...
Original Big Brother Hard Root Beer in a frosted mug. (Big Brother Brewing in La Crosse, Wisconsin.) I purchased six 12 oz. bottles for $8.00 at Aldi's.
Dark, very sweet 5.8% by volume... might make for a nice float if I had a dollop of vanilla ice cream on hand... I can't help but hear Moe Howard offering me a Sarsaparilla
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Another day under an extreme heat wave, another day under an OR hemp. And HH at a new bar for me. Time for a few KC Bier Co Dunkels, a German bock.
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Gifted to me and fighting well above its price point is this bottle of Slipknot No. 9. A blend of corn, rye and wheat, it’s slightly spicey and sweet. I will be keeping this on hand in the future. Akubra sombrero on the side. View attachment 350872
Great recap & pics, Eric. I enjoyed seeing the place. I didn't know it was under new ownership. The parent company used to be Wine from Water, or something like that. I don't recall the managers name from memory but she helped get me a couple extra bottles of Strathisla after I bought one & they had sold their allocation. I used to deal with a guy named Mason, I think was his name.Interstate shipping of whiskey: I did understand that Ace Spirits sold whiskey (previous owner) during the past couple years without having every state permission to ship. The new owner has applied for all states approval.
Great recap & pics, Eric. I enjoyed seeing the place. I didn't know it was under new ownership. The parent company used to be Wine from Water, or something like that. I don't recall the managers name from memory but she helped get me a couple extra bottles of Strathisla after I bought one & they had sold their allocation. I used to deal with a guy named Mason, I think was his name.
MO changed the law concerning intrastate shipping of several products including Spirits & beer, to limit the number of pkgs coming into the state during the pandemic. I hope the law gets changed back soon & ACE gets licensed for intrastate shipping. I'm sure I did a couple $K with them.
Kilchoman is a good choice. Look forward to your opinion on some of the others I'm not familiar with.
What an amazing place. Do you think they’d consider opening a branch in Wakayama!?I visited Ace Spirits today (Hopkins, MN). They opened at 10:00am and I followed the employee who opened the door into the shop. A whiskey connoisseur's shop is the best description. Not the biggest whiskey specialty shop I have seen, but truly excellent. The employee and proprietor rock!
Interstate shipping of whiskey: I did understand that Ace Spirits sold whiskey (previous owner) during the past couple years without having every state permission to ship. The new owner has applied for all states approval. The employee said today that they are getting permissions slowly from each state. No expectation as to when they will be complete. The new owner described how he was working to be a special place and not just carry the normal whiskeys and work retail from the low margin side. He is working on specialty and purchasing special barrels in order to do special small re-bottled offerings. His interests are in the variety and quality.
Ok the shop.... I recieved permision to share some picks from the walls.
I did miss pics of 2 walls. I stood in front of the variety of bottles in amazement. The bottles that I have seen on this thread and read about or seen on YouTube vids were on the wall. Excellent, but overwhelming after a couple of turns.
While I was shopping I was offered samples of a bunch of whiskey. In my eyes they had a bunch to select from. I asked for help in selecting "different" options. The standard whiskey offerings I suspect we have all sampled in one age category or another. My less experienced whiskey taste has many offerings tasting similar. I was able to be guided through many different options. The tasting cemented some excellent and good offerings. A good example is the Glenallachie 10. After tasting and a comparison I picked up a bottle. It may not be the most expensive, but it is an excellent blended whiskey. The taste and finish is dynamite. I tried the 12 and 15 this morning and today I choose the 10 year old version. I even went to the next door coffee shop got an ice coffee and came back and sampled it again. A winner this morning.
I did pick up some whiskey. Here is packing of some of the bottles.
I will be visiting again. I signed up for newsletters and became a purchasing member eligible (after today's purchase) for some special tasting experiences.
Here is a pic of almost all the bottles from when I got home. I did not include some of the replacement bottles I picked up.
Of course I did need to open a bottle and celebrate my shopping escapade. I opened the bottle of Kilchoman Sanaig single malt whiskey. Being one of the smallest family owned/run distilleries it drew my attention. After a taste I selected the Sanaig. It has no age statement and is placed in sherry and ex-burboun barrels. The taste is rich and bold with a peaty flavor. The interplay between the peat, vanilla and sweet is grand. This Islay I would not have chosen unless I would have sampled it. The Sanaig is my choice of the Islay Kilchoman offerings. I tasted it next to the Machir Bay and it is richer and deeper. Not as creamy, but tastier.
I did get gently teased about using my Waterford tumblers for tasting whiskey by the proprietor and employee. They gifted me some whiskey glasses.
Terrific shopping experience. Thanks to Jack for nudging me off the couch with bonbons, chip and dip to go and experience this whiskey shop. They sell more but I enjoyed the whiskey stuff today.
Cheers, Eric -
PS: a pic from earlier this month.
@Short Balding Guy
Starting to study some of the inventory from enlarging your pics. This Kentucky Straight Bourbon caught my eye, looked it up & it scores well...but I don't think I could ever bring myself to try it.
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Eric, your pics are fine & I enjoy looking at them. I was just looking for bottlings & Brands I'm not familiar with.Jack I should have done a better job with the pics.
LOL, you & me both! "Give me a shot a Chicken Cock!"Yowza, interesting name. I suppose it has a following. I would find it hard to request at a tavern or bar.
Every Friday from 4:00 - 6:00 PM the store closest to me has a beer sampling. They just started again after this pandemic. Each wk features the products of a microbrewery & is conducted by the product rep. The store has a bar area that serves as their growler station & its held in that area. Just small samples. I rarely go.Fellows do your local liquor establishments have whiskeys to sample?
It's a good thing that store is not near me, I would be broke! I really enjoyed this tour. Thanks for posting this wonderful place!I visited Ace Spirits today (Hopkins, MN). They opened at 10:00am and I followed the employee who opened the door into the shop. A whiskey connoisseur's shop is the best description. Not the biggest whiskey specialty shop I have seen, but truly excellent. The employee and proprietor rock!
Interstate shipping of whiskey: I did understand that Ace Spirits sold whiskey (previous owner) during the past couple years without having every state permission to ship. The new owner has applied for all states approval. The employee said today that they are getting permissions slowly from each state. No expectation as to when they will be complete. The new owner described how he was working to be a special place and not just carry the normal whiskeys and work retail from the low margin side. He is working on specialty and purchasing special barrels in order to do special small re-bottled offerings. His interests are in the variety and quality.
Ok the shop.... I recieved permision to share some picks from the walls.
I did miss pics of 2 walls. I stood in front of the variety of bottles in amazement. The bottles that I have seen on this thread and read about or seen on YouTube vids were on the wall. Excellent, but overwhelming after a couple of turns.
While I was shopping I was offered samples of a bunch of whiskey. In my eyes they had a bunch to select from. I asked for help in selecting "different" options. The standard whiskey offerings I suspect we have all sampled in one age category or another. My less experienced whiskey taste has many offerings tasting similar. I was able to be guided through many different options. The tasting cemented some excellent and good offerings. A good example is the Glenallachie 10. After tasting and a comparison I picked up a bottle. It may not be the most expensive, but it is an excellent blended whiskey. The taste and finish is dynamite. I tried the 12 and 15 this morning and today I choose the 10 year old version. I even went to the next door coffee shop got an ice coffee and came back and sampled it again. A winner this morning.
I did pick up some whiskey. Here is packing of some of the bottles.
I will be visiting again. I signed up for newsletters and became a purchasing member eligible (after today's purchase) for some special tasting experiences.
Here is a pic of almost all the bottles from when I got home. I did not include some of the replacement bottles I picked up.
Of course I did need to open a bottle and celebrate my shopping escapade. I opened the bottle of Kilchoman Sanaig single malt whiskey. Being one of the smallest family owned/run distilleries it drew my attention. After a taste I selected the Sanaig. It has no age statement and is placed in sherry and ex-burboun barrels. The taste is rich and bold with a peaty flavor. The interplay between the peat, vanilla and sweet is grand. This Islay I would not have chosen unless I would have sampled it. The Sanaig is my choice of the Islay Kilchoman offerings. I tasted it next to the Machir Bay and it is richer and deeper. Not as creamy, but tastier.
I did get gently teased about using my Waterford tumblers for tasting whiskey by the proprietor and employee. They gifted me some whiskey glasses.
Terrific shopping experience. Thanks to Jack for nudging me off the couch with bonbons, chip and dip to go and experience this whiskey shop. They sell more but I enjoyed the whiskey stuff today.
Cheers, Eric -
It’s cooled down enough to grab my Moore Bulldogger & head out for 3-4 (who’s counter my?) Dunkel’s before the new mask mandate takes hold again.
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It was &’I do. I’m not very good posting from my phone.I know that granite bar was wiped clean before you ever set the Bulldogger there. One of the whitest, non-white hats I’ve ever seen. I hope that makes sense.