Collecting whiskey can be a tricky hobby, particularly when it comes to figuring out what bottles are worth hunting down and how much to pay for them. Some of the low-hanging fruit&mdash;think <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/fad1bfb2-3ddc-44f4-bcb7-33f525a44888" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blanton&rsquo;s</a>, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/15d44878-40d2-4955-8175-f9a87c92f60a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pappy</a>, or the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection&mdash;are already on most people&rsquo;s radar. And that includes your local retailer, which is sure to be marking these bottles up way past their suggested retail prices. There is so much whiskey out there to choose from, so part of collecting is figuring out how to chart your own course and develop your own blueprint.
This takes time, of course, not to mention browsing experience, but it&rsquo;s not an impossible task. For me, it starts with ruling out the bottles that most collectors are chasing and determining early on what isn&rsquo;t right for me (or within my budget). For example, I remember seeing <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/8f6b4a1b-82d1-4003-baba-88b990292ff5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yamazaki</a> 12 on the shelf for $125 years ago&mdash;too rich for my blood then&mdash;and now it&rsquo;s up to $175 (and sometimes more). Bottles like this have achieved a near mythical status where they will forever be the objects of fascination for many collectors, so I've tried to direct my sights elsewhere.
And that&rsquo;s part of the fun. Collecting should be about finding great bottles at decent prices and, in some cases, getting to them before others do. Which is not to say that all of the bottles on this list will necessarily represent tremendous values or be sleeper finds. Instead, these groupings are meant to help you navigate the new landscape of modern-day whiskey collecting, guideposts to refine your search and bolster your collection. These include special editions from established or rising brands that are available at a relatively low price. And while they may increase in value over time, go ahead and open them on a special occasion (or even a random weeknight)&mdash;after all, whiskey is meant to be enjoyed.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">The New Ten-Year-Olds</h3>
Westland Garryana 10th Edition/Angel's Envy 10 Year Cask Strength Bourbon
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/d435a00a-1b44-49db-b6e3-6c3c48cd41b3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michter&rsquo;s 10 Year</a> Rye and Bourbon have both become collectors&rsquo; favorites, particularly when the brand held stocks back and opted to let a couple of years lapse between releases. Age isn&rsquo;t everything in whiskey, of course, but there is a new class of 10-year-olds from unexpected brands and distilleries.
In October, Seattle-based American single malt producer Westland released the 10th edition of its Garryana whiskey, and for the first time it came with a 10-year age statement. Garryana is partially matured in Quercus garryana oak, a species native to the Pacific Northwest, and is meant to highlight the effects of this particular type of wood on the flavor of the whiskey.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/828c98e4-0acc-4304-b0ee-a78b9348d2c5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angel&rsquo;s Envy</a>, meanwhile, has been releasing its limited-edition Cask Strength Bourbon since 2012. In October, the Bacardi-owned brand released a 10-year-old version of this whiskey, marking the first Angel&rsquo;s Envy release to carry an age statement.
Even if you can&rsquo;t nab these particular bottles, the standard editions of Westland Garryana and Angel&rsquo;s Envy Cask Strength are both worth seeking out. At auction, various Garryana releases have gone for between $80 and $110, while Cask Strength usually sells for upwards of $125.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Key takeaway: Take note as brands reach significant milestones. 
<h3 dir="ltr">What's Old Is New Again</h3>
Old Overholt Cask Strength/Old Grand-Dad 16 Year
Suntory Global Spirits and the Jim Beam whiskey team have taken these once-forgotten, historic brands and reframed them with an eye towards more collectible status. Old Overholt and Old Grand-Dad are classic bargain bottles, cost-effective whiskeys that you could stock by the handle&mdash;and both are perfect for cocktails and well pours.&nbsp;
Which makes this turn towards premiumization all the more enticing. In November of 2023, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/54f059ae-825d-43d6-8290-0392a9aada35/lot/96278c3b-5f1c-4441-b831-338a12a270e2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Old Overholt</a> released a 10-year-old cask-strength rye, and has followed that up with 11 and 12-year expressions. These are part of Suntory&rsquo;s larger effort to revitalize the Old Overholt brand, including an investment in the West Overton Village and Museum which preserves Abraham Overholt&rsquo;s legacy and contributions to American whiskey.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/ab15c623-c3bc-4346-918e-0fbf7ff27e84/lot/f8fd126b-4f0f-45d0-b912-48bfd41dabfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Old Grand-Dad</a>, meanwhile, released a 16-year-old bourbon in November 2024. A combination of quality and scarcity make this one a fun and high-impact addition to the brand. While vintage dusties of both of these labels often command very high prices at auctions, these new additions are much more attainable. Old Grand-Dad 16 can often be found for around $200, while Old Overholt Cask Strength is going for under $100 in most cases. &nbsp;
Key takeaway: Don&rsquo;t sleep on a brand pivot.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Wild Cards From Mainstream Favorites</h3>
Jack Single Single Barrel Special Release/Macallan Harmony Collection
These well-known brands might seem too normcore for seasoned collectors&mdash;or in the case of the Macallan, too expensive&mdash;to land on your radar. But that is quickly changing.&nbsp;
In recent years, Jack Daniel&rsquo;s has launched a range of new premium products, including a trio of age statements (the first for the distillery in about a century). Concurrently, Jack has been releasing its Single Barrel Special Releases, typically high-proof variants (sometimes even venturing into hazmat territory) like the cult-ish Coy Hill release which debuted in 2021. More recently, Jack moved its <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/30ee5f1b-3fe2-4f79-8a1a-08fa2b72c319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Barrel</a> expression from a special release to part of its core single barrel lineup, proving that the special release collection is a good testing ground for innovation.
Meanwhile, over at Scottish distillery the Macallan, innovation is on display with the brand&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/f8cf223a-a62a-4f50-aa8a-1d3c147c6104" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harmony Collection</a>, which also launched in 2021. The series focuses on evoking specific flavors like coffee, chocolate, and tea through careful cask selection and using different proportions of sherry-seasoned European and American oak. The Harmony Collection can usually be found for about $115 to $150 at auction, while Jack Daniel&rsquo;s single barrels vary based on the release.
Key takeaway: Popular brands can do more than just crowd please. 
<h3 dir="ltr">A Discontinued Series</h3>
Glenmorangie Private Edition/Wild Turkey Master's Keep
From 2009 to 2019, scotch whisky maker <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/c6e4e32b-6dd8-4182-8e12-f0c7ecbd7413" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glenmorangie</a> released an annual Private Edition featuring different innovations cooked up by Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of distilling, whiskey creation, and whiskey stocks. These included special cask finishes, the use of different barley varietals, and even the application of wild yeast during the fermentation process. Glenmorangie has since pivoted to its Tale series&mdash; while fun and enjoyable, it doesn&rsquo;t quite hold the luster of the Private Editions, especially with their now throwback labels.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/76c66e24-3c7e-41dc-b154-7d88b2a03750" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wild Turkey&rsquo;s Master&rsquo;s Keep</a> collection ran from 2015 to 2025, and included some exceptional standouts like Voyage, Unforgotten, and the much celebrated 17-year-old Bottled in Bond. These are going for $300 to $500 at auction, but I think there&rsquo;s a larger principle here: no series lasts forever, so if you like what a distillery is putting out now, it&rsquo;s wise to purchase a bottle at the suggested retail price upon release whenever possible.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Glenmorangie&rsquo;s Private Editions can be found at a more reasonable cost, usually around $125 to $200. It can be hard to target a discontinued series once it's ended, but it&rsquo;s not impossible. And with so much variance between releases, it&rsquo;s always smart to do your research and understand which innovation best fits your palate. Sometimes less popular releases can be easier to find (and more affordable when you do).
Key takeaway: Nothing lasts forever, and rarity only increases with time.
<h3 dir="ltr">Worldly Collabs</h3>
Bardstown x Amrut/Starward x Lagavulin
Given the category&rsquo;s expense and rarity, these days for most people it doesn&rsquo;t make sense to chase Japanese whisky. So the next logical question is&mdash;what country will be next? In general, I like to collect whiskeys from India, Australia, or England&mdash;anywhere that isn&rsquo;t a major producing country. These world whiskeys are often rare without being extremely expensive.&nbsp;
If you aren&rsquo;t sure how to tap into the world whiskey market, a few collaborations between well-known producers have surfaced to help guide you. <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/4c434755-299a-4c7f-b6f3-e3f229495891/lot/8dce70e9-3c53-4362-8812-6294bc03628b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bardstown Bourbon Company</a> teamed up with Amrut Distilleries in 2024 to create a blend of bourbon and rye finished in Indian single malt whisky barrels. A year earlier, Islay powerhouse Lagavulin provided barrels to Australia&rsquo;s Starward distillery, which finished its red-wine-aged single malt in the peated casks for 18 months.&nbsp;
The Bardstown x Amrut collaboration goes for a minimum of $85 at auction, while the Starward and Lagavulin collab clocks in at around $100.
Key takeaway: Collaboration can unlock exploration, especially on a global stage.

A Modern Guide to Collecting Whiskey: The New Class of Bottles to Seek Out

Serious wine collectors are familiar with the treasures of Burgundy, but the area&rsquo;s go-to regions are beginning to change. While coveted bottles have long hailed from the C&ocirc;te de Nuits and C&ocirc;te de Beaune, collectively known as the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or, the past decade has seen a growing interest in the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes sub-region, both from local producers and consumers alike.&nbsp;
Situated high above the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or, the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes of Burgundy comprise a series of elevated plateaus and soaring hills spanning 275 to 480 meters, planted to Aligot&eacute;, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir vineyards. Significantly cooler than most of the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or, the vineyards of the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes had long been overlooked by local and international professionals alike&mdash;that is, until recently. While the cooler temperatures have long corresponded to a lack of ripeness in grapes, in the wake of climate change these vineyards, once deemed second-rate, are now proving to be wildly advantageous.
New York-based wine consultant and educator Raj Vaidya explained that the cooler temperatures that once made the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes a lower-status region are simply gone. &ldquo;In the age of a warming climate, these vineyards are a wonderful source of fresh, old-fashioned wines from Burgundy,&rdquo; he said. Vaidya also noted that the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes is home to a greater diversity of soil types (clay, Bajocian marls, colluvial deposits of sand and flint), beyond the ubiquitous clay-limestone mix found on the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or. The result is more diverse, and often interesting, flavors.
According to Vaidya, grapes in the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes regularly achieve phenolic ripeness at the same time as sugar ripeness&mdash;a key component to balance and age-worthiness in wines. By contrast, sugar ripeness on the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or now tends to outpace phenolic maturity. &ldquo;This means that there is less acidity and freshness due to higher potential alcohols,&rdquo; he said, noting that Hautes-C&ocirc;tes vineyards now offer more balance and harmony for a fraction of the price of those found in the C&ocirc;te&rsquo;s villages-level and cru-designated appellations.&nbsp;
​​Julia Schwartz, wine director at New York-based Stars, also praised Burgundy wines coming from these higher-elevation areas. &ldquo;Land in the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes that was once difficult to farm is now viable, even thriving and affordable,&rdquo; she said, noting that it's a far cry from the prices demanded by plots on the C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Or. That's made vineyards here accessible to younger and newer producers alike.&nbsp;
Matt Turner, wine director at New York-based Lei, agreed: &ldquo;You get expert farming and winemaking applied directly to more value-driven land,&rdquo; he said. He pointed to Domaine Dandelion, Elodie Roy, Sylvain Cathiard, and Ch&acirc;ntereves as being four standout producers showcasing great sites for great value. And according to Schwartz, long-standing growers from the Cote d&rsquo;Or are equally finding wins here. &ldquo;Even established producers like Pierre Boisson [from the Cotes de Beaune] recognized this potential and planted vines in 2016 to a site that had never seen viticulture,&rdquo; she said. The wine, his Cuvee 'Le Chemin de Pierre,&rsquo; is often priced well under $100 on a list.&nbsp;
The Hautes-C&ocirc;tes has also become a place for authentic, wine-focused tourism. Milena Berman and Lo&iuml;c Lamy founded their experience-focused company, aptly named Hautes C&ocirc;tes, back in 2021. Lamy noted that the majority of Burgundy-bound wine lovers stick to busy, touristy areas, and that he and Berman sought to change that. &ldquo;We find the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes super interesting, as this is where you&rsquo;ll find local artisans, new-generation winemakers, cool innovative projects, and hidden gems&mdash;that is, if you know where to look,&rdquo; he said. That&rsquo;s not to mention its natural beauty, which is characterized by lush forests, towering oak trees, and a variety of local flora (linden, acacia, and wild peony).
Lamy and Berman note that the majority of their international visitors don&rsquo;t know much about the area, save for the fact that it&rsquo;s off the beaten path. Generally, the pair kick off their tours with Burgundy&rsquo;s more famous villages&mdash;Puligny-Montrachet, Vosne-Roman&eacute;e, and Gevrey-Chambertin&mdash;prior to bringing guests up to the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes. By the end of the journey, the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes is generally the most memorable. &ldquo;Guests remember the tiny restaurant with no tourists, the traditional breadmaker, the young couple starting a new winery project after training with the most famous winemakers,&rdquo; he said, describing the area as a true, authentic picture of Burgundy, where relationships matter more. And that same sense of soul can be found within the region&rsquo;s wines.&nbsp;
Turner stated that anyone looking for high-quality winemaking can easily search for Hautes-C&ocirc;tes bottlings from top producers or old-vine parcels and find incredible quality to value ratio. &ldquo;If you are also looking to experience a producer style and they make an Hautes-C&ocirc;tes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it can be a good example of how pricier sites may drink.&rdquo; Schwartz agreed. &ldquo;Haute-Cotes wines are an exciting entry for young and curious drinkers who would otherwise ignore Burgundy due to its price point,&rdquo; she said.
Julia Schwartz has observed that experienced collectors, noting their similarities to Old School Burgundy, are also flocking to the wines. &ldquo;The price and increased availability means wines from producers they know and love don't have to be limited to special occasions and &lsquo;serious&rsquo; meals,&rdquo; she said. At the end of the day, Lamy summed it up best: &ldquo;Most people look for an appellation name, leaving the Hautes-C&ocirc;tes overlooked; however, there is so much talent up here.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Four Hautes-C&ocirc;tes Wines to Try Now</h3>
Domaine Pierre Boisson Bourgogne Hautes-C&ocirc;tes de Beaune &lsquo;Le Chemin de Pierre&rsquo; Blanc ($43)
Produced from an organically-farmed plot planted in 2016, this 100% Chardonnay from Pierre Boisson is aged for 15 to 19 months in barrels (mostly used). On the palate, the wine is refreshing and mineral-driven with flavors of lush stone fruit and citrus flavors with harmonious undertones of smoke and baking spice.&nbsp;
Maison Chanter&ecirc;ves Bourgogne Hautes-C&ocirc;tes de Beaune &lsquo;Les Monts de Fussey&rsquo; Blanc ($76)
Fruit for Chanter&ecirc;ves&rsquo; Le Mont de Fussey cuv&eacute;e (100% Chardonnay) comes from a southeast-facing vineyard planted at 400 meters altitude above the village of Echevronne. Here, the soils are mostly stony limestone and marl, with all farming done using organic and biodynamic methods. The wine is vinified with native yeasts and aged for 12 months in 228L and 600L barrels. Lively notes of orchard fruit, bright citrus, and crushed stone lead to a long, persistent finish.
Domaine Hudelot-Baillet Bourgogne Hautes-C&ocirc;tes de Nuits Rouge ($45)
From the celebrated Chambolle-Musigny based Hudelot-Baillet, this Hautes-C&ocirc;tes de Nuits Rouge packs a serious punch. Vinified with a low-intervention mentality and entirely destemmed fruit, the wine ages for 12-18 months in barrels prior to release. Notes of dark fruits, plum, and damp earth are balanced by juicy acidity and grippy, well-integrated tannins.
Domaine de Cassiop&eacute;e Bourgogne Hautes-C&ocirc;tes de Beaune &lsquo;Les C&ocirc;tes&rsquo; Rouge ($65)
From up-and-coming duo Hugo Mathurin and Talloulah Dubourg, who formerly trained with Jean-Marc Roulot and Benjamin Leroux, this structured and high-toned Pinot Noir is drawn&nbsp; from 50-year-old vines rooted in granitic bedrock. In the cellar, the wine is fermented with native yeasts and aged for one year in used barrels prior to bottling without fining or filtration. Fragrant and energetic, the wine offers flavors of red cherry, cranberry, rose petal, and wet granite.

Why the Hautes-Côtes Is the Most Exciting Part of Burgundy Right Now

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">This Week&rsquo;s Unicorn Review Stories</h3>
🍷 Chicago sommelier Thomas Kakalios <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/thomas-kakalios-wine-list">spoke to Gina Pace</a> about his career in the wine world, and offered some of his top wine picks from the various restaurants he oversees.
🥃 LA might be better known for celeb sightings, palm trees, and great Mexican food, but it's also a thriving whiskey city with some top-notch bars that cater to all tastes. Andy Vasoyan <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/los-angeles-whiskey-city">listed some of the best spots to visit</a> to order a dram or two.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Woodford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Finish ($65)
This new bourbon, part of Woodford&rsquo;s limited-edition Distillery Series, is the first Cabernet Sauvignon finish that the distillery has released (other wine cask finishes include Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). Bottled at the same 90.4 proof as classic Woodford bourbon, this is a really well done cask finish that is worth checking out.
Proper No. Twelve Black Reserve ($35)
Proper No. Twelve has its many fans, and just as many detractors. Thankfully, the brand is no longer associated with its celebrity founder, Conor McGregor, and it continues to release some new additions to its small lineup. The latest is called Black Reserve, a blended Irish whiskey that was aged for four years in heavily charred bourbon barrels to bring extra flavors of toasted oak and vanilla to the palate.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week</h3>
Uncharted ($40)
The Ingram Distillery has a gimmick, just like so many other whiskey brands, but apparently it&rsquo;s one that works well. The whiskey is all &ldquo;river aged,&rdquo; meaning that the liquid is matured in a floating rickhouse on the Mississippi River in Columbus, Kentucky, a nod to the way that barrels used to be transported to different parts of the country. The point is to increase interaction between wood and whiskey&mdash;in this case, the distillery says that the motion of the river keeps the liquid churning and thereby exposes more surface area to the barrel, and the humidity from the river keeps the casks moist and slows down the angel&rsquo;s share.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/00deb9bd-b74e-45fe-95ad-c076a96fc4c9.png?width=717&amp;height=403" alt="Uncharted Bourbon"> 
This is not an entirely new concept&mdash;Jefferson&rsquo;s has released its Ocean Aged at Sea whiskeys for years now, sending barrels on container ships across the ocean where they are exposed to different temperatures and humidity levels. There is some science to this, of course, but it's also a good story and marketing technique. And in the case of this new wheated bourbon, Uncharted, the result is actually a really good new whiskey.
Like all of Ingram&rsquo;s whiskey, Uncharted was distilled elsewhere in Kentucky (the brand does not operate its own distillery, but past releases have been produced at Green River in Owensboro). The mashbill for Uncharted is not revealed, but as mentioned before it is a wheated bourbon, meaning that wheat is used as the secondary flavoring grain (this could be instead of rye, or this could be in addition to a small amount of rye grain). It was aged for a minimum of four years in the river rickhouse.
Overall, Uncharted is a very solid and affordable wheated bourbon. It does not taste green or young at all (perhaps it&rsquo;s that river magic at work), and there are notes of vanilla, maple, honey, toasted oak, cinnamon, and caramel on the palate. Each bottle is made of 100 percent recycled glass, which is a nice environmental touch, and it comes in two sizes&mdash;standard 750 ml and 1 liter (which is just slightly more expensive at $45). If you&rsquo;re looking for an alternative to Maker&rsquo;s Mark, or you love wheaters but don&rsquo;t want to splurge on a bottle of Weller, give Uncharted a try&mdash;you won&rsquo;t be disappointed.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Wine Pick of the Week</h3>
Hermann J. Wiemer 2022 Seneca Lake HJW Bio Riesling ($45)
Having written about <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/chardonnay-wine-guide">Chardonnay</a> last week, I&rsquo;ve decided to change course. I&rsquo;d like to recommend one of my favorite Rieslings from&nbsp; the team at Hermann Wiemer in the Finger Lakes, New York. When it comes to Riesling, the FLX is ascendant, easily the most exciting source for the variety in this country (though Oregon and Washington can lay claim). In fact, it was just announced that this June the region will host its fourth <a href="https://flxcursion2026.com/">FLXcursion</a>, an international Riesling celebration that draws producers from all over the world.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/aa3c047f-bfc1-43f4-984e-f7f0e70089ca.jpg?width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="Hjw">
Meanwhile&mdash;Wiemer. If you don&rsquo;t know this brand (it was <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/new-york-finger-lakes-wine">covered</a> by Maiah Dunn),&nbsp;you should get acquainted. Wiemer founded his winery in the early &lsquo;70s and became one of the great early craftsmen of vinifera wines in the Finger Lakes, specializing in Riesling. In 2007, he passed the winery onto his assistant winemaker, Fred Merwarth and wife Maressa, along with Oskar Bynke. No winemaker in the FLX is more dedicated to exploring the terroirs of Seneca Lake.
This is especially true of the home vineyards, Josef, Magdalena, and HJW. This last was named for Hermann and planted by him originally in 1977 (it has been expanded to 33 acres in ensuing years). Merwarth has since converted the vineyard to biodynamics, a long and painstaking process in the Finger Lakes where frost, freezing, hail, and rainstorms, as well as various pest pressures, can present daunting challenges to any regenerative approach. And yet, in 2023 HJW was Demeter certified.
All well and good, but the proof is in the glass. Merwarth remains one of the most thoughtful and meticulous winemakers in the FLX&mdash;and indeed, in the country. Among other things, this bottling reflects the care that went into it after an erratic, at times difficult vintage. The wine has an elusive quality&mdash;one of my favorite traits in Merwarth&rsquo;s Rieslings&mdash;it&rsquo;s youthful, attractive, but also a touch diffident, with haunting aromas of honey and Cara Cara orange, golden clarity of flavor, and uncanny, haunting length. Delicious now, it seems to be leaning toward the future, and will age beautifully.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: February 20

Thomas Kakalios approaches wine in a philosophical way&mdash;by asking better questions. Before he became the beverage director overseeing three of <a href="https://www.eatwellhospitality.com">Eat Well Hospitality</a>&rsquo;s restaurants, he was in fact a philosophy student learning how to examine ideas, trace meaning, and build narratives from a set of facts.
That instinct now shapes everything he does, from constructing wine lists to training his team. In his hands, a bottle isn&rsquo;t just for pairing; it&rsquo;s a story about place and the people behind it. And this clarity of thought has made him one of Chicago&rsquo;s most compelling voices in the beverage world, as well as a recent James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
Kakalios started as a barback in a downtown Chicago basement bar before taking his first major step at Daisies, where he helped open the restaurant and build its wine list from the ground up. The role gave him an early window into how a beverage program functions from both the guest and staff perspectives, experience he carried into increasingly demanding positions.
He moved to the Alinea Group&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nextrestaurant.com">NEXT</a>, joining during its French Nouvelle menu period, a meaningful moment for someone who had studied abroad in France and carried a deep affection for the cuisine. At NEXT, he absorbed a level of discipline and attention to detail that still guides his work. &ldquo;Everything is done for a reason,&rdquo; he says.
His next chapter, at the now‑closed Yūgen, expanded his lens even further. Immersing himself in sake added another dimension to his beverage vocabulary, one that would later inform the breadth he brings to Eat Well Hospitality&rsquo;s concepts.
He carried that broadened perspective into <a href="https://www.smythandtheloyalist.com">Smyth and The Loyalist</a>, where his palate sharpened and his sense of narrative deepened. Working closely with chef John Shields and wine director Kevin Goldsmith, he gained a deeper understanding of how wine can carry a narrative through a meal. &ldquo;People connect with stories,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;My job is often to translate a list into terms they can understand.&rdquo;
In 2023, he joined Asador Bastian shortly after its opening, helping to shape its systems and build out its wine program under chef Doug Psaltis. Within a year, his role expanded to overseeing beverage operations across all three Eat Well Hospitality restaurants&mdash;Asador Bastian, Andros Taverna, and Mano a Mano. Across all three restaurants, the lists stay anchored in the cuisine&rsquo;s landscape, leaning into regional depth rather than global breadth.&nbsp;
&ldquo;These cuisines and wines evolved hand in hand,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Owning that identity lets us explore their potential to the fullest.&rdquo;
<h3 dir="ltr">Thomas Kakalios&rsquo;s Wine List</h3>
Kakalios&rsquo;s selections reflect the landscapes and traditions behind each concept, but they also reveal how he guides guests: meet them where they are, then offer something that expands their sense of what a wine can do. These five bottles&mdash;spanning Spain, Italy, Greece, and Champagne&mdash;illustrate the range of his thinking.
Champagne Coessens &ldquo;Largillier&rdquo; Extra Brut (Multi‑Vintage) - $300 (Asador Bastian)
Champagne is one of Kakalios&rsquo;s favorite tools at a steakhouse because he believes it&rsquo;s unexpected. Coessens, a Pinot Noir&ndash;dominant bottling from a single clay‑rich vineyard, is a standout. &ldquo;People are surprised by how well Champagne works in this setting,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It can move from seafood to richer courses without losing its footing.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s a bottle with enough structure and acidity to cut through marbling while still carrying the elegance guests expect from Champagne.
Bodegas Muga &ldquo;Torre Muga&rdquo; Rioja 2005 - $285 (Asador Bastian)
This Tempranillo from Rioja Alta hits what Kakalios calls a &ldquo;Goldilocks&rdquo; balance&mdash;dark fruit at the core, grounded by earthy, savory notes and fine tannins. The 2005 vintage, acquired by one of his team members, brings two decades of evolution without losing its fruit. He also appreciates the personal connection&mdash;the winemaker&rsquo;s family roots in the Basque region echo Asador Bastian&rsquo;s culinary identity. &ldquo;The complexity that&rsquo;s developed over time is remarkable,&rdquo; he says.
C&agrave; Nova Colline Novarese Nebbiolo &ldquo;Bocciolo&rdquo; 2020 - $95 (Mano a Mano)
At Mano a Mano, the goal is to make wine feel democratic, encompassing thoughtful bottles at prices that encourage exploration. This Nebbiolo from Alto Piemonte embodies that philosophy. Higher elevation and volcanic soils give it clarity and precision, while several years of age and a proper decant bring out its more savory tones. &ldquo;Nebbiolo is a great transmitter of terroir,&rdquo; he says, and this bottling shows exactly why. It&rsquo;s a natural fit for the restaurant&rsquo;s richer dishes and a compelling alternative for guests who love Piedmont but want something outside the Barolo/Barbaresco lane.
Oenos Mittas Naoussa Xinomavro 2022 - $115 (Andros Taverna)
Greek wines are a personal passion for Kakalios, and this Xinomavro from Macedonia is one of the bottles he&rsquo;s most excited about. The grape is notoriously difficult to work with, but this winemaker handles it with finesse. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the most compelling examples I&rsquo;ve seen of the grape,&rdquo; he says. The wine&rsquo;s prominent acidity and elevated tannins make it ideal for hearty, mountain‑inspired dishes &mdash; lamb, mutton, stews &mdash; and its flavor profile stands entirely on its own. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not trying to be Nebbiolo or Burgundy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It has its own identity.&rdquo;
Estate Argyros Santorini Assyrtiko &ldquo;Cuvee Palatia&rdquo; 2022 - $35 by the glass (Andros Taverna)
Offering a bottle‑worthy wine by the glass is a signature across all three restaurants, and this Assyrtiko from Santorini is the standout. The vines, many between 200 and 400 years old, grow in volcanic ash on an island that&rsquo;s essentially a desert. The result is a white wine with tension, precision, and a distinctly Greek character. &ldquo;It would go toe to toe with some of the great wines of the world,&rdquo; Kakalios says.&nbsp;

Chicago Somm Thomas Kakalios’s Wine List

Founded in 2020, Unicorn has facilitated over $175M in lifetime platform sales. With more than 9M bids and 500,000 bottles sold on the platform, we&rsquo;ve built the industry&rsquo;s largest secondary-market database&mdash;capturing pricing trends, demand signals, and buyer behavior that no one else has access to.
The 2025 Unicorn Market Report brings that data to life&mdash;telling the story of bottles after they leave the retail shelf and bringing you closer to the secondary market than ever before. Our goal isn&rsquo;t to tell you what to buy or how to collect, but to help you better understand the market and navigate it with confidence. Inside, you&rsquo;ll find a data-driven look at the macro trends we observed in 2025, alongside deeper dives into the bottles, brands, and categories that defined the year.
$_PDF_LINK:The 2025 Market Report,Explore the latest trends in the industry,View the Report,2025-market-report.pdf

Unicorn 2025 Market Report

You might not necessarily think of Los Angeles as being a whiskey city. That&rsquo;s because its drinking identity has been shaped more by historical tiki institutions, velvet-roped hotel bars, and precision-focused mixology rooms like The Varnish that helped spur the cocktail revolution here. Whiskey never disappeared, but it often existed in the margins while agave and spritz culture claimed the spotlight.
Still, a thriving whiskey world has grown quietly across the city, including a downtown institution, a 75-seat Eastside bar with a deep bottle collection, a Playa Vista lobby bar pouring Japanese single malts, a Santa Monica cocktail haven, and a Beverly Hills spot with a $20,000 Macallan pour. Spread across neighborhoods rather than clustered in one location, these spots have weathered trend cycles by opening the good stuff and serving regulars who are curious to try something new. If you know where to look, LA reveals itself as a genuine whiskey city.
<h3 dir="ltr">Seven Grand (Downtown)</h3>
Seven Grand, which opened in 2007 in a vibrant corridor of DTLA, is arguably the city&rsquo;s most influential whiskey bar,&nbsp; a place where long-term collectors, service-industry lifers, and curious newcomers all drink from the same list. The bar&rsquo;s lively main area can hold upward of 150 people, with a glorious whiskey wall and a selection routinely floating in the hundreds, depending on what general manager Adam Kloos has opened (right now, rarities include <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/060bf156-236f-4858-92f7-adc19b8c749d/lot/ec24dded-4f72-4ab6-b802-7ce72f42b459">Nikka &lsquo;Miyagikiyo&rsquo; 2019</a> and <a href="https://www.bowmore.com/whiskies/timeless-29-years-old">Bowmore 29</a>).
&ldquo;When we first opened, it was really a bunch of whiskey nerds,&rdquo; Kloos says. &ldquo;They cast a wide net, and their interests were varied, so they never really honed in on being &lsquo;the best bourbon bar.&rsquo; They just wanted everything they could get their hands on.&rdquo;&nbsp;
For even more of a niche experience, wait until Bar Jackalope reopens to the public. The 50-person lounge in the back is currently undergoing renovation, but it still hosts whiskey tastings every other week from brands like <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/213cd6df-c228-4492-b4f3-de260132967b/lot/a0e2996b-b862-4afc-b8ff-50988e9a43ab">Balcones</a>, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/a18a842e-e61d-4a43-9448-b49c3795cb3e/lot/df6d4341-d6de-4bb7-baff-d4784b078ae5">Hatozaki</a>, and <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/6c101ebf-fe15-45cd-9b05-5a36894300da/lot/beb1fbc0-ef60-4abc-9fdb-bd144d841894">Wild Turkey</a>. They even have two working highball machines, in case you&rsquo;re in the mood for something bubbly.
<h3 dir="ltr">Grain Whiskey Bar (Playa Vista)</h3>
On the other side of town, so close to the beach that there&rsquo;s actually sand in the parking lot, you&rsquo;ll find Grain. Top Chef winner Brooke Williamson opened the bar in 2014 as part of a food complex that includes a restaurant, cafe, and ice cream counter.
Bar Manager Liam Odien joined in 2019, right around the time a private collector picked through their list and made off with some choice bottles. Luckily, Odien has restocked the shelves with an emphasis on some lesser known names. &ldquo;Smaller, more regionally defined producers are important to me, and those are sort of what we focus on in terms of rarity,&rdquo; he says, referring to releases from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/242ddcf7-641d-498d-9476-a47e7f71da0e/lot/e7e55e49-1c5a-473c-95c8-6ceb22ebba60">Corbin Cash</a> distillery in Merced County, and grain-to-glass distillery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/5907df9f-bcea-405f-a7eb-8778a4140f2c/lot/3c6a9d7e-40a3-4253-b025-8881f6fc92fa">Wright &amp; Brown</a> in Oakland.&nbsp;
That said, the bar also has some rarities like <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/8383c038-da4c-4b6c-bb4e-4fa00340f5cf/lot/f9cc736a-070c-4c24-b6c3-26bc1b00173b">Hibiki 21</a>, E.H. Taylor <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/947ecc59-c7ed-4e67-b2a0-26ac6c90d734/lot/e2c38e24-e8ed-45c9-9b4a-823303b0db23">Amaranth &ldquo;Grain of the Gods,&rdquo;</a> and their very own year-and-a-half-old infinity bottle seeded with around 60 whiskeys, including a big helping of different expressions of Pappy Van Winkle&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">The Chestnut Club (Santa Monica)</h3>
The Chestnut Club, which has been around since 2014, is smack dab in the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard&mdash;a half-hour walk will land you at the iconic Santa Monica Pier. It&rsquo;s known primarily as a polished cocktail room&mdash;date-friendly, stylish, and designed for long, comfortable evenings.
What&rsquo;s less obvious at first glance is that the bar keeps one of the most balanced whiskey lists on the Westside. Pours from around the world include single malts from Brenne (France) and Kavalan (Taiwan), while American classics like Blanton&rsquo;s and private barrel picks from Elijah Craig are also on rotation.
Unlike many of the other bars on this list, Chestnut Club is on the spacious side, so larger groups can often snag a booth or standing room. The extra breathing room also makes it one of the few Westside whiskey spots where you can linger over multiple pours without feeling rushed or crowded.
<h3 dir="ltr">Thirsty Crow (Silver Lake)</h3>
Back across town on the Eastside, the Thirsty Crow is one of Silver Lake&rsquo;s longest-running neighborhood institutions. Opened in 2010 and seating roughly 75 inside (plus a small sidewalk patio), it&rsquo;s a true dive&mdash;dim, intimate, and always ready with a beer-and-a-shot combo.
The crowd can get a little rowdy on weekends, so if you&rsquo;re in the mood for cocktails, expect a bit of jostling for tiramisu-infused rye, a barrel-aged Old Fashioned, or a Paper Plane made with Angel&rsquo;s Envy.
That said, bar staff have also curated a robust whiskey list of tried and true classics from across Scotland, Ireland, and Japan. And on the American side, BTAC labels like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/8383c038-da4c-4b6c-bb4e-4fa00340f5cf/lot/0992dcba-e23a-45de-837b-d89bce8561fd">Thomas H. Handy</a>, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/8383c038-da4c-4b6c-bb4e-4fa00340f5cf/lot/3d39e24c-1fa3-4907-8f9b-c0512cc05751">George T. Stagg</a>, and <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/8383c038-da4c-4b6c-bb4e-4fa00340f5cf/lot/91a17c37-e4fb-4dfb-bb36-6d5bb729de18">William Larue Weller</a> are all available at humane prices.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Something that's good doesn't mean that it should be limited to only those who can afford it,&rdquo; says bar manager Taylor Johnson. At roughly $70 a pour, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re not going to miss rent trying it.&rdquo; Amen to that.
<h3 dir="ltr">Wolf &amp; Crane (Little Tokyo)</h3>
Wolf &amp; Crane opened in 2014 in the heart of the city&rsquo;s historic Little Tokyo, a five minute walk away from the Japanese American National Museum and right next to the very entertaining Japanese Village Plaza.
It should come as no surprise, then, that it remains the city&rsquo;s most committed Japanese whisky bar, with an incredibly deep list including things like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/7510514a-3749-42af-9a58-2a6add5e984f/lot/9546daa5-f0f9-4c4b-8946-ea5687d481de">Hibiki 30 Year Old</a>, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/247cff20-89d4-4343-9bb4-4b90d09b40d2/lot/1ae58d21-6a28-4bcd-b8d8-c928096ce403">Yamazaki 25 Year Old Mizunara Cask</a>, Shinshu Mars <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/9b2247e4-53b5-4dd6-8e17-92650cbc31c6/lot/9576d4fa-9244-4f9a-90b5-147155a49b97">Komagatake 30 Year</a>, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/242ddcf7-641d-498d-9476-a47e7f71da0e/lot/ff2a4ff9-6eee-4125-a5bf-367a058c9afd">Ichiro's Malt 15 Year</a>, Nikka 9 Decades, and many others.
&ldquo;Our whisky program philosophy is pretty simple: keep up to date on new Japanese releases, and keep only the best of the best,&rdquo; says GM Jason Valdez. With that in mind, the bar also makes an effort to keep prices at an affordable level. &ldquo;We want people to try these great whiskies, not have them collect dust on the wall,&rdquo; Valdez says.
The bar also offers pours of private barrel picks from Maker&rsquo;s Mark, Komagatake, and Weller, as well as cocktails ranging from classic (a Japanese Old Fashioned with Hibiki) to refreshing (Toki highballs).
<h3 dir="ltr">The Whisky Bar (Beverly Hills)</h3>
Part of Beverly Hills&rsquo; restaurant-and-hotel corridor, The Whisky Bar opened in 2011 as the Ten Pound Bar, named after the ten-pound Scottish note which had the Macallan distillery printed on it. True to its name, the bar was exclusively a Macallan institution, but after the host hotel changed hands during COVID, the lineup expanded.&nbsp;
That doesn&rsquo;t mean the bar has left its roots behind, however. There&rsquo;s a portrait of the Macallan estate on the wall, and their top shelf currently holds Macallan 62,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/95e1c766-316f-4dfa-8b09-97abfeec5b93/lot/ed966b4b-20c6-437a-baae-b75a56c2f2ae">65</a>, and 72&mdash;their &ldquo;prized possession,&rdquo; according to lead bartender Sean Sugrue. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s our most expensive offering right now, which has to be one of the most expensive in the country [at] $20,000 a pour,&rdquo; he says.
Worry not because there are other, more accessible whisky selections. But they all match the upscale vibe of the Maybourne Hotel, which is The Whisky Bar&rsquo;s home base. Low lighting, a cigar bar (guests only), and an outdoor patio overlooking a villa&mdash;it doesn&rsquo;t get more Beverly Hills than this.

Los Angeles Is a Fantastic Whiskey City—If You Know Where To Look

Rum and whiskey come from different worlds&mdash;the former is rooted in sugarcane, the latter in grain. But both spirits are usually matured in barrels&mdash;whiskey virtually always is, and aged rum touches some type of wood&mdash;meaning they have more in common than you might initially think. Oak, climate, and time shape both spirits in ways that whiskey drinkers will recognize immediately, even if the raw materials and traditions are different. Some rums pick up the dried‑fruit depth of sherry casks, others lean into bourbon‑barrel notes of vanilla and spice, and a few carry just enough funk or smoke to feel familiar. The bottles here aren&rsquo;t meant to replace anyone&rsquo;s favorite scotch or bourbon; they&rsquo;re simply great entry points for whiskey drinkers who want to see how those same levers&mdash;barrel, proof, yeast strains, and maturation environment&mdash;play out in rum, and maybe discover a new favorite along the way.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Brugal&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc&amp;page=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brugal 1888 Doblemente A&ntilde;ejado</a> (Dominican Republic, 40% ABV, $45) Brugal 1888 Doblemente A&ntilde;ejado is a logical match for scotch drinkers who enjoy sherry‑influenced malts, but don&rsquo;t mind a touch more sweetness. It is double-aged in bourbon and sherry casks, which creates a flavor profile in which vanilla, toffee, and red‑fruit richness sit alongside a clear oak presence. The rum is undeniably sweet, yet the tannins and toasted‑spice notes keep it from feeling heavy&mdash;and make it a bit reminiscent of Speyside and Highland whiskies.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Mister+Fogg&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Planteray Mister Fogg Navy Rum Sail N&deg;2</a><a href="https://theliquorbarn.com/products/planteray-mister-fogg-navy-rum-sail-no-2-700ml?srsltid=AfmBOoqOASEIHH5A6QKNIyTZ115qhHJRDv61nEM_CKGORnhLWNXK21G1"> </a>(Caribbean &amp; France, 55.7% ABV, $38) Mister Fogg Sail N&deg;2 is a bold, high‑proof, Navy‑style rum that will resonate with bourbon drinkers who enjoy the intensity of barrel‑strength releases. Aged in ex‑bourbon barrels, matured at sea, and finished in Cognac casks in France, it delivers dense notes of molasses, dark chocolate, dried fruit, and warming spice. There&rsquo;s a noticeable fruity funk here&mdash;not unlike the ferment‑forward character you sometimes find in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wildernesstraildistillery.com/en-us/">Wilderness Trail</a>&rsquo;s whiskeys&mdash;adding dimension without overwhelming the sweetness. Big and warm, it&rsquo;s a natural pick for bourbon fans who like heat and depth.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Mount+Gay&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc&amp;page=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mount Gay Single Estate 25_04 </a>(Barbados, 55% ABV, $350) Mount Gay&rsquo;s Single Estate Series is designed to express terroir in rum, in the same way that whiskeys like <a href="https://www.bruichladdich.com/collections/bruichladdich">Bruichladdich</a> explore the impact of using barley only grown on Islay, or Maker&rsquo;s Mark's experiment with locally-grown wheat for their <a href="https://www.makersmark.com/en-us/whisky/star-hill-farm-whisky">Star Hill Farm Whiskey</a>. Each release is made from estate‑grown sugar cane, distilled on site, and shaped by the character of St. Lucy&rsquo;s (the Mount Gay estate) soils, climate, and a proprietary yeast strain. The 25_04 edition, distilled from the 2019 harvest and double pot distilled, matures five years in ex‑bourbon barrels and is bottled at 55% ABV. Its earthy funk edge, salty smokiness, red‑fruit notes, and intense oak make it an appealing crossover for peated‑scotch drinkers who appreciate layered structure and a sense of place.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Zacapa+Edici%C3%B3n+Negra&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_self">Zacapa Edici&oacute;n Negra</a> (Guatemala, 43% ABV, $70) Zacapa Edici&oacute;n Negra is a strong match for whiskey drinkers who enjoy the smoky‑sweet balance of <a href="https://ship.highwest.com/products/campfire">High West Campfire</a>. Aged in double‑charred American oak, it carries a darker, wood‑driven smokiness rather than peat, wrapped in Zacapa&rsquo;s signature sweetness. Notes of caramelized sugar, vanilla, and a subtle root‑beer&ndash;like spice sit alongside gentle smoke and dried fruit, creating a profile that feels both familiar and new. It&rsquo;s richer and sweeter than Campfire, but the interplay of smoke, oak, and warmth makes it a fit for drinkers who like their whiskey with a touch of char.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Dos+Maderas&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Dos Maderas Origen Thailand</a> (Thailand &amp; Spain, 47% ABC $83) Dos Maderas Origen Thailand is an easy match for whiskey drinkers who love the oloroso‑driven richness of <a href="https://www.redbreastwhiskey.com/en-us/whiskey-collections/redbreast-21-year-old-whiskey/">Redbreast 21</a>. After 12 years aging in bourbon casks in Thailand, followed by a rare finish in 80‑year‑old oloroso barrels in Spain, it shows a deep mix of cocoa, toasted coconut, roasted nuts, and dried fruit, with a subtle aged‑spirit note that almost reads as smoke. The sherry influence is refined rather than heavy, giving the rum a mature, oxidative depth that is like the warmth of long‑aged Irish pot still whiskey.
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Ron+del+Barrilito&amp;state=ENDED&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron del Barrilito Autobiograf&iacute;a Selection III</a> (Puerto Rico, 43.6% ABV, $1,500) Aged 31 years in a single oloroso sherry cask, Selection III offers the kind of depth whiskey drinkers associate with <a href="https://www.glendronachdistillery.com/product/the-glendronach-aged-21-years/">Glendronach 21</a> or the richest batches of <a href="https://www.aberlour.com/en-us/our-whisky/abunadh-scotch-whisky/">Aberlour A&rsquo;Bunadh</a>. The cask yielded just 186 bottles, with concentrated notes of dried fruit, roasted nuts, cocoa, and a refined oxidative warmth. Because the rum enters the barrel just above bottling proof, the cask&rsquo;s sherry character integrates slowly and evenly over decades, creating a profile that mirrors top sherried whiskies while still reflecting the long, tropical aging that defines Barrilito&rsquo;s style.

Curious About Rum? These Bottles Will Appeal to Whiskey Fans Looking to Learn More About the Category

You might not be aware that there is a village named Chardonnay in France, set in a notch between gently swooping hills covered in vine rows. Years ago I drove through it and, if I remember right, it took about 40 seconds. It&rsquo;s astonishing how this tiny village shares its name with the most ubiquitous white wine on the planet.
Chardonnay might be the most omnipresent white wine variety on earth, but it&rsquo;s also one that many people love to hate. So go ahead and hate all you want, but you should realize you can easily avoid the style for which it is reviled&mdash;it&rsquo;s reserved for the bottom shelf at your local supermarket (anyone for a bottle of &ldquo;Butter&rdquo;?). Meanwhile, thoughtfully made Chardonnay is experiencing a global renaissance, and the range of expressions and the creativity they show is more thrilling now than it&rsquo;s been in half a century.
Chardonnay the ville is in the Macon in southern Burgundy, and Macon Chardonnay can serve as a useful baseline for the grape&rsquo;s essential character. It is, after all, an inherently neutral variety that is malleable as clay, and like clay it can be built up into gorgeous, graceful, transcendent constructions&mdash;which is why so many winemakers love it. Unadorned, it can be charming and lively, not especially complex but pure and crystalline, especially when grown in the right place.
Joseph Drouhin&rsquo;s Macon-Villages ($20) is a fine introduction. A large Burgundy producer-negotiant based in Beaune, Drouhin is a proven Chardonnay master, responsible for superb expressions from Chablis to Dundee (Oregon). This Chardonnay is aged mostly in stainless steel tanks; once you remove the prop of oak, the wine&rsquo;s fruit spectrum appears in generous scents of apple and pear, sometimes citrus and peach, with flavors to match that are adorned with traces of nutty lees or honeycomb. Above all, the wine should be lively with acidity, and the texture should be mouthwatering, tense, fresh, and lifted. If it sags or it&rsquo;s cloying or blowsy, move on.
Domestically there are many un-oaked versions. Two of the most reliable for me are the &ldquo;Inox&rdquo; (steel) bottlings from Melville in Santa Barbara County ($50), and Chehalem in Oregon ($25).
Thereafter, the permutations and possibilities are boundless. How ripe do you want your wine? In some places Chardonnay will only get so ripe; in other places you need to guard against too much ripeness. Once harvested, the wines can be aged in steel, concrete eggs, oak barrels, large oak barrels, amphorae, or any combination.
The wines can go through a secondary, malolactic fermentation (most do) which sometimes accounts for flavors (or sensations) of butter or cream. Sometimes the skins are left in the tank to steep like tea for some added heft; sometimes, for the same reason, the wine remains in contact with the dead yeast (lees) which lends it a toasty, nutty flavor. If the wine comes into contact with oxygen, depending on how long it will also affect flavors and textures. Finally, how long it&rsquo;s aged will influence the character.
All of these tools are at a winemaker&rsquo;s disposal, a Rubik&rsquo;s Cube level of elaboration. In a range of expressions as vast as this one, how do we narrow down our parameters as to what makes a great Chardonnay? Well, here are a few rules of thumb.
<h3 dir="ltr">A great Chardonnay must have something to say about place.</h3>
This inherently neutral grape is like a lens through which a region&rsquo;s conditions can be observed&mdash;which is, I might add, one of the thrills of drinking, loving, and collecting wine in the first place. That is why there are crus in Burgundy, and why some wines are Grand Crus, some wines are Premier Crus, some wines are merely ordinaire.
Being on the edge of where a variety can ripen can also make for thrilling statements about place&mdash;Chablis, for example, the thrilling, chalky, green and bracing Chardonnays from the north of Burgundy, can only come from one place. In fact, it&rsquo;s so distinct it&rsquo;s become a comely adjective&mdash;chablisienne&mdash;to describe wines not made in Chablis. No one would use that word for Meursault, where a warmer climate conveys a fleshiness Chablis cannot often attain.
Warm sites too have their unique imprint and result in distinctive, sumptuous profiles. David Ramey makes unbelievably delicious California Chardonnays that are generous but never over the top for his eponymous brand ($85). Elsewhere Kumeu River ($75) in the Auckland suburbs of New Zealand, and Leeuwin Estate&rsquo;s Art Series in Margaret River, Australia ($80) produce arguably two of the southern hemisphere&rsquo;s greatest Chardonnays that are sumptuous, golden, irresistibly sensuous wines.
<h3 dir="ltr">A great Chardonnay should show intention.</h3>
There are plenty of Chardonnays in the market that are there to be thrown down at lunch or uncorked over a Wednesday night chicken dinner. They are simple and fruit-forward with a lipsmacking briskness&mdash;and then poof, they&rsquo;re gone, and you&rsquo;re on to something else.
But a great Chardonnay will have layers, stages, length. It will move across the palate and finish with energy, it will take you somewhere, it alternates flavors and has textural complexity. That layering, that journey is what separates the great from the ordinary. And it&rsquo;s rare, but you&rsquo;ll find it in the wines of Raveneau, Leflaive and Coche-Dury, the pinnacles of French Chardonnay&rsquo;s expression. Uncork a wine from these esteemed producers and you can learn the variety&rsquo;s mysteries at great expense, or perhaps more affordably with a Puligny-Montrachet from Paul Pernot ($99). There&rsquo;s a corollary to the above dictum, and that&rsquo;s this:
<h3 dir="ltr">A great Chardonnay should show some reticence.</h3>
Tasting great Chardonnay can sometimes come with a pang of regret. Great wines unfurl over time, they live and breathe, they change in the glass and the bottle, and inevitably they lead to thoughts about its future. If you can muster the discipline, leave a good wine open for a few days and see where it goes. If it opens and gets better, that&rsquo;s usually a sign it will benefit from aging, and an invitation to lay down the rest.
Two California Chardonnay producers to consider: Au Bon Climat, helmed by the late Jim Clendenon, always made Chardonnays geared toward the future. You can choose from several, but Nuits Blanches au Bouge ($50) is a great place to start. Clendenon&rsquo;s prot&eacute;g&eacute;, Gavin Chanin, also builds his Chardonnays to age&mdash;his Chardonnay bottling from Los Alamos Vineyard ($65) is tightly constructed in a complex weave, built to uncoil for years.
<h3 dir="ltr">Chardonnay for Weirdos</h3>
As we&rsquo;ve seen, Chardonnay&rsquo;s inherent neutrality and structure makes it a wine to build upon. Some of those bottlings are more artistic, or idiosyncratic, or personal than others. In the Cotes de Jura, for example, you can find Chardonnays that have been aged for many years in old oak barrels. Even if they&rsquo;re not made with the oxidized sous voile method (that&rsquo;s usually reserved for the Savagnin variety), the wines often seem exotic and savory.
I&rsquo;m going to close with three wines from Oregon. When I talk about a renaissance in Chardonnay, in this country at least, I&rsquo;m thinking about the Willamette Valley, a place that seems to have recovered its mojo after decades of patchy efforts with the variety (owing more to poorly-selected clones than a lack of technique). The first is The Eyrie, one of the region&rsquo;s first wineries to plant and make Chardonnay. Founder David Lett and his heir, Jason, have maintained a style that feels deeply personal and idiosyncratic ($50). Jason Lett has said that while he&rsquo;s kept his father&rsquo;s deeply traditional winemaking ways, he&rsquo;s cleaned them up a bit. It&rsquo;s always a wine that combines a mushroomy earthiness and boundless core of fruit that feels one of a kind.
For sheer grandeur, look to Josh Bergstr&ouml;m&rsquo;s t&ecirc;te de cuvee, Sigrid ($125), an amalgam of estate fruit sources that is an annual barrel selection of extraordinary complexity and pedigree. Winemaker Josh Bergstr&ouml;m privileges fruit on some days and a flinty minerality on others, all wrapped in nutty lees and a gorgeous, lusty, honeyed texture. It is among the most layered wines I tasted all year, with a length that&rsquo;s fulsome and exhilarating&mdash;and a wine to cellar.
Finally there&rsquo;s a Chardonnay bottling from a winery outfit called Golden Cluster, the brainchild of winemaker Jeff Vejr. For his label On Wine Hill, he makes a bottling called Millerandage (Clone 548) ($35). That word refers to a phenomenon known as hens and chicks where some berries in a grape cluster ripen fully and some lag, remaining small and green. The latter leaves an inimitable and one-of-a-kind spice, cutting against the fruit but somehow giving it definition and a weirdly discordant energy.

A Guide to Chardonnay for the Lovers, the Haters, and Everyone In Between

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
The Unicorn Review: What are the biggest changes that you've seen in the cognac category overall, and has this affected how you&rsquo;ve shepherded the Louis XIII brand during your time as cellar master?
Baptiste Loiseau: It has been quite a long journey. I took the [cellar master] position almost 12 years ago. What I want to push even further is to have people understand what makes cognac so different from other spirits in terms of quality, grapes, location, and terroir. What is key for me is that we help people understand that behind the big brand [Remy Martin], there are lots of different wine growers, master distillers, and coopers that help to maintain consistency.
We have begun a research program on how we will prepare the next generation of wine growers to face new challenges like climate change. My team and I try to understand what the future of the appellation will be in two ways. First, the raw materials and how we can maintain consistency with conditions that are different&mdash;more heat waves, et cetera. Second, how innovation can take us to another level and make the new generation better understand cognac.
<h3 dir="ltr">The Future of Luxury Cognac</h3>
There's been a lot of news about the softening global spirits market, and some companies have pointed to cognac as being a particular challenge right now. How do you feel about the future of the category?
I was born and raised in the Cognac region, but I'm not from a family that made cognac. So I have seen the different cycles that we already faced, with ups and downs in terms of sales and number of hectares that have been planted. Cognac has always been here. We will find solutions, and even with all the strong head winds that we have against us in the next decade, we will still be here, and we will still make Remy Martin.
You have to understand what the origins are of these cycles. It&rsquo;s not a question of doing things differently in terms of qualitative process, because we know that worldwide we have the savoir faire of winemaking and distillation. We have to make people understand that what we are making in Cognac is different in comparison to other spirits, and that cognac can be enjoyed in many different ways.
Obviously, Louis XIII is a very high-end expression, but consumer habits are changing. Do you see a difference in the way people are approaching this brand as opposed to more affordable Remy Martin expressions? Is there still a global desire for luxury brands?
There is always a global desire for iconic brands. Of course, the type of clients that we have for Remy Martin and for Louis XIII are different. What resonates among them is the understanding of what we are doing, the fact that we are even more demanding in the selection [of eaux-de-vie] for Louis XIII because it has to be a longer term vision on the approach. With Louis XIII, it is much more about the experience, pairing it with things like caviar. That makes the experience a little bit different, and maybe less less&hellip; how do you say&hellip; dusty.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Age Statements Ain't Nothing But a Number</h3>
Louis XIII doesn&rsquo;t have an age statement, something that whiskey drinkers are often looking for. So how do you talk to someone who's unfamiliar with the brand about what makes the liquid in the bottle special?
The best way to understand Louis XIII is to taste it, because for me an age statement is just a number. Cognac can be aged for 20 years in the wrong cask, and it might end up tasting like it&rsquo;s five years old. I like to educate people by telling them it's not a question of numbers, it&rsquo;s about taking the time to taste. It's not a question of whether the youngest eaux-de-vie has been aged for 35 or 45 years, that&rsquo;s not my mission. My mission is to make it consistent. If one year I need some eaux-de-vie that are older than&nbsp; what I was using the year before, or even younger, I will use them.
The role of the cellar master is to know the stock and know the cask. We say the average age range of Louis XIII is from 40 to 100 years. But if it's a little bit more some years or less other years, it's not something that we are going to talk about. Because at the end of the day, what's important is the final blend itself and the consistency in the sensation you have while you taste.
I think what could be of interest for the cognac category in the next year is maybe to come back to doing more vintages. At Remy Martin, we have already released three vintages. I have some vintages that, at the moment, are not ready. We are made from grapes, so we have a vintage effect like Armagnac and wine.
<h3 dir="ltr">Blending is a Team Effort</h3>
Take me into the blending room for Louis XIII. How big is the panel? How many samples do you taste?&nbsp;
We have 18 people in the tasting committee, but only three can lead the tasting and make the decision&mdash;myself, as the cellar master, and two women, Laura and Delphine. Laura is responsible for the estate and all the advice we give to the growers. Delphine manages sensory analysis.&nbsp;
We work with almost 800 wine growers. Half of them make the wine, but don't have a pot still, so they send their wine to distilleries to distill for them. The other half grow grapes, make the wine, and distill. They give a twist to their production, trying to put their own feeling, emotion, and sense of terroir in the eaux-de-vie that they will present to the tasting committee.
In total, more than 1,000 samples of un-aged eaux-de-vie come to the tasting committee from November to mid-March. I see the very first step as the most crucial one, which is the detection of the potential of aging, of aromatic singularities that we are tasting during the distillation period. For each sample, we have two glasses, one neat and one reduced with water to express more aromas. It&rsquo;s a blind tasting. We decide if the samples correspond with the house style. If not, we reject the sample and we go to see the grower to find a solution to explain why it doesn't correspond. If it's accepted by the tasting committee, we have a ranking process.
Is the process the same when you're tasting the aged eaux-de-vie?&nbsp;
When it's a young eaux-de-vie, it's the same panel. But when it's much older, we are only five people. I have four experts besides me that help detect the differences or similarities.
I don't want 25 samples to be the same. Otherwise, everything gets accepted and you don't have diversity. What I like is when each sample is different. We code the samples to determine from the very beginning if they will be used for Remy Martin VSOP, XO, or Louis XIII.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Relying on the Past, Looking to the Future</h3>
On the one hand, you're creating something that will ultimately be used by someone in the future. On the other hand, you're working with all these casks that were filled by someone else in the past. So it's this constant trade-off. How do you think about this?
For me, it's something that is disconnected in terms of our mission and the moment. When we are focusing on the un-aged eaux-de-vie, of course, we know that we are preparing for the future&mdash;not only me, but all the tasting team. When we detect an eaux-de-vie ranked in the top ten percent of Grand Champagne, we know that it will be used for Louis XIII. We all have the sensation when we make this decision that we are building the future of the house. But that's a moment that doesn't occur often. Less than one percent of the total samples that we taste that will be selected for Louis XIII.
<h3 dir="ltr">Rare Cask</h3>
Can you talk about Rare Cask? How many releases have there been so far?
The approach is totally different. For Louis XIII, it&rsquo;s all about consistency, but Rare Cask is about the singularity of one cask that the cellar master decides not to blend with others. Rare Cask is really much more of a personal approach. 2023 was only the third time in Louis XIII history that we released a Rare Cask, and for me [as cellar master] it was the very first time [two others were released in 2009 and 2013]. During the last ten years, I have identified new tiercons that could be candidates to be the next Rare Cask. The name of the current release is Rare Cask 42.1, because 42.1 is the ABV of the liquid inside this tiercon. Only 775 decanters have been released.
<h3 dir="ltr">"Small Waters"</h3>
I wanted to end by asking you about the "petits eaux" (small waters) technique&mdash;putting water into a cask to draw out the spirit, and then using that very low-ABV water to proof down the cognac while it ages in the barrel. Some American whiskey distilleries, like Still Austin, use this technique as well. Is petits eaux widely used in the cognac industry?
It&rsquo;s much more, I think, a practice that you find with small producers. Even some wine growers and master distillers that are working for Remy Martin have their own brand or they have their own stock and they make petits eaux. It&rsquo;s not something that we do at Remy Martin because the way we manage casks is a little bit different. You also have to be cautious because when you go below a certain ABV,&nbsp; it can damage the quality of what you have inside.
I think petits eaux is more about cask preservation. It doesn't impact the spirit qualitatively, but it can be interesting. Of course, you have to be cautious.

the Unicorn Review

A Modern Guide to Collecting Whiskey: The New Class of Bottles to Seek Out

Bourbon

A Modern Guide to Collecting Whiskey: The New Class of Bottles to Seek Out

Wine

Why the Hautes-Côtes Is the Most Exciting Part of Burgundy Right Now

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: February 20

Interview

Chicago Somm Thomas Kakalios’s Wine List

Market Intel

Unicorn 2025 Market Report

Where To Go

Los Angeles Is a Fantastic Whiskey City—If You Know Where To Look

Rum

Curious About Rum? These Bottles Will Appeal to Whiskey Fans Looking to Learn More About the Category

Wine

A Guide to Chardonnay for the Lovers, the Haters, and Everyone In Between

Interview

The Present and Future of Luxury Cognac: An Interview With Louis XIII Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau

No matter what you’re looking for, Unicorn is the place to find it.

Buy

Sell

Vault

The modern platform
for spirits & wine

Take unicorn with you

The modern platform
for spirits & wine

the Unicorn Review

A Modern Guide to Collecting Whiskey: The New Class of Bottles to Seek Out

Bourbon

A Modern Guide to Collecting Whiskey: The New Class of Bottles to Seek Out

Wine

Why the Hautes-Côtes Is the Most Exciting Part of Burgundy Right Now

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: February 20

Interview

Chicago Somm Thomas Kakalios’s Wine List

Market Intel

Unicorn 2025 Market Report

Where To Go

Los Angeles Is a Fantastic Whiskey City—If You Know Where To Look

Rum

Curious About Rum? These Bottles Will Appeal to Whiskey Fans Looking to Learn More About the Category

Wine

A Guide to Chardonnay for the Lovers, the Haters, and Everyone In Between

Interview

The Present and Future of Luxury Cognac: An Interview With Louis XIII Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau

No matter what you’re looking for, Unicorn is the place to find it.

Buy

Sell

Vault

The modern platformfor spirits & wine

Take unicorn with you

The modern platformfor spirits & wine

Extended Bidding

What is Extended Bidding and how does it work?

Congrats!

The modern platform
for spirits & wine

The modern platform
for spirits & wine