The Essential Drinks Cabinet
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MERCHANT MENU 15/3/07 11:07 Page 1 The Essential Drinks Cabinet at Contents Pages Irish Whiskey 2-5 Scotch Whisky 5-7 American Whiskey 7-10 Other Whisk(e)y 10 Cognac 10-12 Armagnac 13 Brandy 13-14 Calvados 14 Grappa/Jenever 15 Gin 16-17 Rum/Cachaca 18-23 Tequila 23-24 Vodka 25-27 Other Spirits 28 Vermouth, Aperitif & Digestif 28-29 Port and Sherry 29 Liqueurs 30-31 Beer 32 MERCHANT MENU 15/3/07 11:07 Page 2 IRISH WHISKEY at The Merchant Bushmills 10yrs 40% Single Malt £3.95 Each drop of Bushmills Malt is carefully distilled three times and is made from 100% malted barley. The single malt Whiskey is matured for at least 10 years in specially selected American bourbon barrels stored in the warehouses adjoining the distillery. Bushmills 16yrs 40% Single Malt £6.50 With “Three Wood” maturation and finishing, a malt of distinction emerges, with a fullness of depth and flavour rarely found. This exceptional whiskey is matured for 16 years or more in a combination of American bourbon barrels and Spanish Oloroso sherry butts. Bushmills 21yrs 40% Single Malt £17.75 Only a very limited number of bottles are available each year. It is matured for a minimum of 21 years in three different types of casks. The whiskey is first aged in American bourbon barrels and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks for 21 years and upward. The malt whiskey is then vatted and married for months in Madeira drums. Bushmills 1975 Millenium 56.5% Single Malt £21.50 In 1975 Bushmills decided to commemorate the millennium with a strictly limited edition of “private cask” 25 Year Old Single Malt whiskey. This unique Malt has come straight from the cask, pure and unfiltered, following the ancient tradition that is whiskey making in Ireland. Connemara Cask Strength 60% Single Malt £4.95 Natural and undiluted, not chill-filtered or coloured in any way, Connemara Cask Strength reflects the rugged nature of the famous region in the West of Ireland. As extraordinary as the landscape, this whiskey is exceptional because it is so natural and undiluted. Connemara 40% Single Malt £3.45 Managing Director of Cooley Distillery, David Hynes and chairman John Teeling resurrected the traditional Irish custom of drying the malted barley over peat fires with this peated single malt. The smoke rising through the malted barley during this drying process confers the whiskey with a distinct peaty flavour and aroma. Connemara 12yrs 40% Single Malt £7.50 A Gold Medal winner at the World Spirit Competition in San Francisco. This magnificent 12 Year Old revives the age-old tradition and heritage of drying malted barley over peat fires. To the smooth, balanced malt and peat flavours of Connemara Peated Single Malt is added the lingering wood aftertaste to produce a whiskey of great complexity and sophistication. Knappogue Castle 1994 40% Single Malt £5.95 This latest vintage in this award-winning series of Irish single malts was distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2004, the oldest vintage to date. Unlike single malt Scotch, no peat is used in the drying of the malt. Knappogue is lightly chill filtered and, unlike many whiskeys, no artificial coloring is added. And, like fine wines, this whiskey is marked with the year of its creation. Tyrconnel 40% Single Malt £5.25 The Watts distillery dates back to 1762 and had a proud tradition of producing good whiskies. Tyrconnell was their flagship brand, which was a best seller in the United States before Prohibition and is named after a very successful racehorse owned by the Watt family. 02 MERCHANT MENU 15/3/07 11:07 Page 3 IRISH WHISKEY at The Merchant Jameson Gold 40% Pure Pot Still £7.75 A deluxe Irish whiskey of exceptional harmony. It takes its unique character from the small selection of traditional pot still whiskeys matured in virgin oak used in the blend. This is the only whiskey in which virgin oak is used for maturation. This unique marriage with whiskeys matured in traditional seasoned oak makes for a superb whiskey at once creamy, spicy and crisp. Old Comber 30yrs 40% Pure Pot Still £75.00 An Irish whiskey distilled in Comber, County Down. Comber Distilleries was established in 1825. At the time of its closure it was the last pot still in Northern Ireland. The whiskey was last distilled in 1956. However some reserves were discovered and bottled in the 1980s as “Old Comber”. Redbreast 12yrs 40% Pure Pot Still £3.75 Launched in 1939 as the brand name given to the pot still whiskey supplied by Jameson to whiskey bonders before bottling at the distillery became the norm in 1968. Stocks of whiskey in bonders’ stores petered out, and thus Redbreast all but disappeared until its re-launch by the distillery in the 1990s as a single pot still whiskey. Green Spot 40% Pure Pot Still £4.50 The pride and joy of Mitchell and Son Wine Merchants. It plays both a major part in the history and tradition of this family business, and in the history of Irish Whiskey. It is one of the only remaining bonded whiskeys left in Ireland, and is now one of the most sought after whiskeys in the world. Bushmills Original 40% Blend £3.25 A blend of single malt Irish whiskey and Irish grain whiskey. Grain whiskey reserved for Bushmills Original is slowly matured in American oak casks that are specially selected to bring out the golden hue and light, yet distinctive, characteristics of the whiskey. Black Bush 40% Blend £3.50 A rich, dark blend from Ireland’s oldest working distillery, Old Bushmills Distillery in County Antrim. It is comprised almost entirely of single malt whiskey. The malt whiskey used to create Black Bush is aged in carefully selected Spanish Oloroso sherry-seasoned oak casks before being blended with a small portion of delicate sweet single grain whiskey. Bushmills 1608 Reserve 40% Blend £5.25 In 1608, the first license to distil whiskey was granted by King James I for the region, which is now County Antrim. The Irish spirit soon became a favourite among the revellers of British King James’s court. In 1784, the Bushmills distillery became an officially registered company. Inishowen 40% Blend £3.25 This is a unique blend as it is very lightly peated. It contains a number of different types of whiskey, which include peated malt, malt, and grain whiskey. The use of peated malt is a distinct characteristic, which ensures that Inishowen is the only peated Irish blend whiskey in the world. Jameson 12yrs 1780 40% Blend £4.25 Jameson 12 year old stays true to the Jameson style in that its defining characteristics are pot still whiskey with overtones of sherry cask maturation. With complex flavours of toasted wood, spice and sherry, Jameson 12 year old is superbly mellowed by age. Jameson 40% Blend £3.35 Blended from a combination of pure pot still and grain whiskeys. Triple distillation and many years of maturation result in an exceptionally smooth whiskey, with hints of spice, sherry and wood. A versatile and accessible whiskey. 03 MERCHANT MENU 15/3/07 11:07 Page 4 IRISH WHISKEY at The Merchant Jameson Crested Ten 40% Blend £3.45 Crested Ten is one of the most distinguished whiskeys from John Jameson & Son. A blend of older whiskeys it boasts a rich Irish Pot Still character, a soft sherry taste, balanced with some warm spicy tones and a hint of sweetness. Jameson 18yrs 40% Blend £9.95 A supreme example of the Jameson tradition of maturing whiskey in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. Rich, complex and truly rare, only limited stocks of this exceptional Jameson 18 year old are available. Kilbeggan 40% Blend £3.25 First appearing as a John Locke’s brand over 100 years ago and was sold successfully until Locke’s distillery ceased production in the 1950’s. Locke’s distillery is the oldest continuously licensed whiskey distillery in the world dating back to 1757. Kilbeggan is Gaelic for “little church”. Cooley 1992 – Acorn’s 40% Blend £9.65 A proof of the huge popularity that whiskey has had in Japan, this whiskey was made at the Cooley distillery in Ireland and then aged in Scotland which makes for this unusual blend. This whiskey has been brought back from Japan in small quantities. Lockes 8 40% Blend £3.45 Made from marrying malt and grain whiskey together. Double distilled and uses only the finest malted barley, maize and the purest Irish spring water. Maturation takes place in the 200 year old warehouses in Kilbeggan. A blend of malt and grain whiskey that has been gently mature in oak casks is used to create the distinct flavour and character that is unique to Locke’s Irish Whiskey. Midleton Very Rare 40% Blend £11.25 This is one of the most exclusive Irish Whiskey in existence. Each year Master Distiller, Barry Crockett, hand picks no more than one hundred casks of the finest distillates to create this magnificent rare old Irish Whiskey. Midelton 1973 30yrs 40% Blend £125.00 In l973 the Master Distiller, set aside a number of casks as his personal selection. This was kept in the Distiller’s private cellar at Midleton and was carefully nurtured over the last thirty years until 2003 when Barry Crockett, decided to release a limited number of bottles to the general public. Paddy 40% Blend £3.35 Named after a gregarious sales representative for Cork Distilleries Company called Paddy Flaherty. His legacy lives on in the whiskey which was named after him in 1912.