What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🥃 We spoke to Jim Gaffigan about his new comedy special, The Bourbon Set, and his journey to becoming a true bourbon geek.

🍷 Interested in collecting wine as an investment? Expert Erik Segelbaum thinks you might be better off just enjoying drinking your bottles.

New Bottle Releases

Bardstown Bourbon Company Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish

Bardstown Bourbon Company’s latest cask-finished release is the final Distillery Reserve expression of the year. It’s a blend of bourbons aged between 12 and 13 years that was finished in Calvados barrels for 28 months, adding soft apple notes to the bourbon’s core character. 104.2 proof; SRP $100 (375-ml bottle)

Booker’s Batch 4, Phantom Pipes

This is the last batch of the year from Booker’s, the barrel-proof member of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection. This release was named after a series of pipes that Booker Noe installed in the distillery’s ceiling that didn’t actually lead anywhere. This new batch was aged for seven years, six months, and 15 days, and sits right in the mid range of Booker’s bottling proof. 126.4 proof; SRP $100

Wheel Horse Barrel Master Select Rye

This is the first barrel-proof rye from Wheel Horse and the second release in the Barrel Master Select series. It was distilled in Owensboro, KY  at Green River, and is a blend of nine rye barrels made from a mashbill of 95 percent rye/five percent malted barley that were aged between five and six years—first in Kentucky, then in Rhode Island. 120.4 proof; SRP $40

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Thursday x Leopold Brothers Single Barrel Maryland Style Rye

There have been fashion and whiskey collabs before, so that type of partnership is certainly nothing new. But what makes this latest one stand out is the quality of the whiskey and the reputation of the craft distillery involved (the fashion brand half is pretty good too, it should be noted). Thursday Boots launched a new rye in partnership with PM Spirits that was made at Leopold Bros. in Colorado. This distillery is known for using a recreation of a historic three chamber still to make its rye whiskey, and the result is a spirit that is a favorite of critics and fans alike.

This limited-edition whiskey is called Single Barrel Maryland Style Rye, a name that should clue you into what is going on here. It’s made from a mashbill of 65% rye, 15% corn, and 20% in-house floor malt, a recipe that is close to what was typically used to make rye whiskey in the Old Line State, aged for an undisclosed amount of time in new charred oak barrels, and bottled as a single barrel expression at cask strength of 100 proof. That might seem a bit low for a barrel-proof whiskey, but it’s a very tasty dram nonetheless. Look for notes of cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, menthol, licorice, vanilla, and maple on the palate, making this a great sipper that also works well in cocktails.

The reason for the collab between these two brands is, according to Thursday, because they both embody the same scrappy spirit and respect for craftsmanship. And, indeed, both of these brands have made names for themselves over the years by selling high-quality products that don’t necessarily put a huge dent in your wallet. Even if you're totally out of the loop when it comes to boots, this whiskey is quite good and is an example of a welcome but unexpected partnership that is being done right. While you can’t purchase this whiskey directly from Thursday, you can find it being poured at events at the brand’s NYC stores, and you can also purchase a bottle directly from Bottlerocket (SRP $74).

Unicorn Wine Pick of the Week

Pax 2023 Sonoma Coast Alta Monte Gamay Noir

Sometimes you’re walking around in an outdoor mall, killing time, minding your own business while your wife shops for scarves and wraps and woolen things. Except that sometimes you’re doing this in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, so the outdoor mall in question includes not only clothing and food and kitchenware shops, but wineries as well. We’re talking good wineries, legit wineries, making this the coolest outdoor mall this wine writer has ever encountered.

That’s how, somewhat aimlessly, I ended up at Pax Mahle’s tasting room at the Barlow and was able to try the exceptional Gamay Noir he calls Alta Monte. Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais, and many American producers do their best to approximate the charms of wines from there. This wine comes closer than most. 

Pax makes this wine from a handful of cool, mountainous vineyards in Sonoma County. The fruit comes in crunchy and high in natural acidity. Mahle induces fermentations using indigenous yeasts, and employs 100% whole cluster. This means that the grapes ferment undetached from their stems in a closed tank where, in an anaerobic state, the berries soften, the fruit is amplified, the clusters give off a tealike perfume, and the whole thing becomes irrepressibly charming. The process is called carbonic maceration and many wines these days, including Beaujolais, employ it. Pressed off, it’s aged in neutral barrels then bottled, mostly untouched. The finished product is wholly itself, nothing in the way of the adornment.

It is a wild wine. Village wines from Beaujolais can smell like a walk in the hills through windswept brush. This wine is somehow wilder still, with the addition of seaspray, exotic florals, fruited peppercorn, maybe a hint of smoldering herbs. The fruit is almost plummy dark, succulent, and chewy. It feels like it has an electric pulse coursing through it. The net effect is autumnal, a holiday wine for sure, but really anytime you open it, it’ll give you pleasure. Chill slightly before you pour. SRP $38