Spirits 101

Bourbon and rye, barrel proof, the three ages of tequila, and the one cocktail that belongs to us.

Where we're coming from

Spirits are our deepest category — around 1,400 different bottles across our shelves. The range runs from a fifty-milliliter mini you can buy for pocket change to bottles that get allocated to us a few at a time. A store that stocks both ends of that range has seen enough to just tell you the thing instead of hedging.

On the shelf

Photographed from our own catalog. What each store carries varies — every bottle links to its availability.

The six categories, in one line each

Bourbon

American whiskey, at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak.

The corn brings the sweetness and the new char brings vanilla, caramel and baking spice. There is no minimum age unless the label says “straight” (two years) or carries an age statement.

STAGG BOURBON 750ML

Rye

At least 51% rye.

Drier, peppery, more herbal than bourbon. This is the backbone of a Sazerac, which matters more here than almost anywhere else in the country.

HIGH WEST MIDWINTER NIGHT 750ML

Tequila

Blue agave.

Blanco is unaged and bright, reposado is rested in oak, añejo is aged a year or more and rounder. Blanco for margaritas, añejo for sipping.

DON JULIO 1942 TEQUILLA 750 ML

The three ages of tequila

Blanco, reposado and añejo are not three qualities. They are the same spirit at three points on a clock.

Blanco
Unaged
Bright and peppery. This is your margarita.
Reposado
2–12 months in oak
Rested. Softer edges, a little vanilla.
Añejo
1–3 years in oak
Round and darker. Sip this one.

The Sazerac, properly

The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans and arguably the oldest American cocktail. Peychaud's bitters were created in the French Quarter. We are twenty minutes across the lake from where this drink was invented — so we are going to be particular about it.

1. Rinse
Absinthe in a chilled glass. Coat it, then throw the rest out.
2. Muddle
A sugar cube and several dashes of Peychaud’s.

Other local ground worth standing on: the Hurricane, the French 75, the Ramos Gin Fizz, and a batched cocktail built for a crawfish boil.

Four things worth knowing

Barrel proof is not a dare

Barrel proof or cask strength means undiluted from the barrel, often above 60% ABV. Add water deliberately, a few drops at a time. It opens the aroma rather than watering the whiskey down — this is real technique, not snobbery.

Water added deliberately, a few drops at a time, opens the aroma. It is technique, not a retreat.

Minis are a tasting flight

Four different whiskeys for a few dollars beats guessing on a forty-dollar bottle. Minis are how you try something new, build a home bar one bottle at a time, and pack a cooler without committing. They are the smart move, not a guilty secret — and they are the single busiest part of our spirits shelf.

Batch it before anyone arrives

Mix the pitcher ahead so you enjoy the boil instead of playing bartender for four hours. Batch everything except the bubbles and the ice — those go in at the last second or they go flat and watery.

What “allocated” actually means

Some bottles are not made in quantities that can meet demand, so distributors allocate them to retailers — by the case, sometimes by the single bottle. The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection — George T. Stagg, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, and the E.H. Taylor bottlings — is released once a year in tiny quantities. The Van Winkle lineup works the same way. A fall release can be gone in a day.

We chase these and we do receive them. We also stock Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye, a bottle named for the man who ran the bar the cocktail came from, which is a nice thing to be able to say twenty minutes from the French Quarter.

Allocated, and in the catalog right now

These move fast. What the catalog shows today is not a promise about tomorrow.

Availability on allocated bottles is extremely limited. We can't promise any particular bottle is on a shelf today, and we won't pretend otherwise. If you're hunting something specific, ask in person — that's the only honest answer there is.

Get the next one

We write spirits guides like this one, and post what just landed on the shelf — new arrivals, seasonal releases, and the occasional allocated bottle. Follow along and you'll see it before you drive over.

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You must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol. Please drink responsibly, and never drink and drive.