What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🍷 Despite its worldwide popularity, Chardonnay is still thought to be a mid wine by some. There's plenty to like about this white wine, however, so we've put together a guide to tell you more about it and some of the best bottles to look for.

🥃 Are you a rum-curious whiskey drinker? If you're interested in learning more about this sugarcane-based spirit, but haven't really explored the category yet, here are some excellent examples to try.

New Bottle Releases

Pinhook 10 Year Rye ($100)

Pinhook continues its Vertical Series with this new 10-year-old rye whiskey, the oldest to date. This series explores how a whiskey sourced from the same distillery and lot develops as it ages—in this case, this a blend of just 25 barrels bottled at 106 proof distilled from a mashbill of 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley at MGP. The first release was aged for four years, the final release will reach 16 years, with all maturation taking place at Castle & Key in Kentucky.

Cazcanes No. 7 Rosa Anejo ($140)

This fantastic new limited-edition tequila from Cazcanes might be hard to get your hands on, but it’s certainly worth looking out for. This is an anejo that is a blend of three barrels—two Napa Cabernet French oak casks (24 months), and one Four Roses ex-bourbon barrel (30 months). The combination of casks results in a superb sipping tequila that has notes of berry and spice, but never loses its intrinsic agave character.

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Wyoming Whiskey Barrel Strength Bourbon Whiskey #6429 ($300)

I’m always on the fence when it comes to Wyoming Whiskey. It’s not that the distillery makes anything I think is actually bad. At the same time, nothing has jumped out at me as reaching that extra level of being a truly collectible bottle that you should put in the extra time and effort to seek out (not that that’s required, by the way, whiskey can just be good without being a trophy to hunt for). That being said, the distillery’s new barrel-strength, single barrel release is one that I would say is worth checking for.

Wyoming Whiskey was founded nearly 20 years ago in 2006 in—you guessed it—Wyoming (Kirby, to be exact). While the distillery received a major investment from Edrington in 2023, the Scottish company that owns the Macallan and Highland Park, it still works on a pretty small scale compared to those single malt operations. Ex-Maker’s Mark master distiller Steve Nally oversaw production in the early years, and Nancy Faley has been in the role of master blender for many years, but Brendan Cook took over that role in 2024 while Sam Mead is now head distiller.

The core releases consist of a pair of bourbons, Small Batch and Double Cask, and one whiskey that doesn't qualify as bourbon or rye—Outryder is an American whiskey aged for five years and bottled at 100 proof. Wyoming Whiskey has released various single barrels over the years, and indeed counts a limited expression in its lineup, but this new bourbon goes above and beyond those bottles. Barrel Strength Bourbon Whiskey #6429, which was selected from the top couple of barrels in the distillery’s rickhouses by Cook, was made from a mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley, and aged for ten years before being bottled at 124 proof (62 percent ABV).

This is a rich and flavorful whiskey that has some heat and heft on the palate as you sip, with notes of butterscotch, graham cracker, vanilla pudding, dark chocolate, espresso, and ripe stone fruit. This is not a cheap bottle at $300, but its limited availability and deep flavor might just make it worth the expense—and this is a bourbon that you might start seeing collectors take a lot more notice of over the next year. I look forward to seeing, and tasting, whatever else Wyoming Whiskey has to offer.

Unicorn Wine Pick of the Week

Billecart-Salmon NV Le Rosé ($90)

Not that anyone ever needs an excuse to drink Champagne, but if you are looking for one, Saint Valentine is giving you that “come hither” look. After all, what could be more delightful than enjoying a glass or two of the world’s most graceful wine with someone you love? What could possibly be more romantic?

Before I get all mushy on you I’m going to focus on one of Champagne’s more underappreciated virtues. Namely, it must be savored. It must be sipped. It requires attention. Gulping down a wine as high in acid as Champagne will only result in a peristaltic event neither you nor your date want to be around for. So take it slow. And slow intake gives you time to relish its flavors and tactility, grand in entry, lifted by effervescence, luxurious in its texture, mouthwatering and energizing in its finish. So while you’re drinking in your partner’s eyes, drink the wine with the same appreciation and the same enjoyment.

Many Champagnes merit this kind of attention, but if I have to pick one it’s going to be Billecart-Salmon’s iconic bottling, Le Rosé. Le Rosé is iconic for a reason. For decades, it’s been a model of structure and grace in a sparkling rosé, especially during years when a rosé seemed rare and unusual, even in Champagne. Billecart became a standard-bearer for the category, a benchmark for a region that has since embraced it.

This is a multi-vintage cepage of 45 percent Chardonnay, 35 percent Pinot Noir, and 20 percent Pinot Meunier. The color is a delicate pink, somewhere between copper and salmon, that is remarkably luminous and warm. This is a wine that hits all the pleasure points—a mélange of brioche and citrus, wild strawberries and hazelnut shavings, generous in its aromatics. In the mouth, the flavors are expansive yet firmly presented, with a texture that’s creamy but structured, focused but not rich, persistent and graceful in its finish. It will look good on your Valentine’s Day table, and you’ll look good for having popped the cork.