Staff Christmas Picks
Destination Cellars Staff Christmas Picks
At Destination Cellars we love talking about and sharing our favourite products with you. This year, to make your Christmas shopping easier, each of our staff have put together their picks for the best gift this Christmas.
Todd
Complex, rich and balanced and much loved around the world. The “perfume bottle” has now become yet another Japanese whisky that is hard to find but is still relatively good value for money. Bottled at 51.4%abv it is a blend of malt whisky from Yoichi Distillery and grain whisky from Miyagikyo distillery. It is beautifully constructed, textured and tastes like a malty, spicy Christmas cake - and dangerously “moreish”. Fill your Christmas stocking with it.
Adored for its stewed fruits, candy apples, spicy, caramel and buttery vanilla flavor notes. This 58.2%ABV Irish Whiskey is carefully distilled at Midleton distillery, Ireland. Creamy, robust and with a long finish it is packed with heaps of character and depth of flavour.
Hugely popular since we launched it in Hobart last year. This gin was inspired by historic gin recipes dating back to 1798, which have been stored at the Midleton Distillery. It's crafted over at the Irish distillery in County Cork and the spirit boasts 16 botanicals, though the stars of this show are black lemon and Irish gorse flower. Big, powerful and extremely flavoursome - great to sip neat, in a martini or G&T.
Since Head Distiller Michael John visited Tasmania around four years ago, we have been in love with the ‘Liquid Gold’ winning range of flavoursome yet affordable drams from Goa, India. I recently revisited 'Edited' and loved its viscous, fruity sweetness mingled with light smoke. Heaps of honey, toffee, vanilla and spice - the peat adds some texture and finish.
Recently crowned as The Best Whisky of 2020 by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This expression is one of our most favourite and popular drams here at Destination Cellars. Re-released in 2018, one of the great Sherry cask drams returned after years of slumber, this relaunched expression embodies The GlenDronach signature style of Spanish Oak maturation in fine Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía.
Winner of the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky Award 2015, it is fully matured in American Oak ex-wine casks to help their Taiwanese single malt develop a bold, expressive flavour profile brimming with berry, plum and caramelised sugar notes. Amazingly complex, rich and balanced. A Bucket List whisky. Affordable luxury. Bottled at 57.1%ABV and packaged in a beautiful gift box.
Chris
El Dorado Butter Pecan Rum Liqueur (In store only!)
Surely the most decadent Cream Liqueur on the market. Seductively smooth, delivering aromas of toffee, vanilla and roasted pecans. Drink it neat, drink it over ice or just pour it all over your Christmas Pudding and ice cream. Forget brandy custard this year.
Kavalan 40th Anniversary Limited Edition 1500ml Gift Box Release Single Malt Whisky
We can’t have Christmas without Kavalan. The 40th Anniversary is a massive 56.3%abv Red Wine cask matured whisky (believed to have been Cabernet Sauvignon from a famous French winery) with great sweetness and surprisingly mellow oak. An absolutely phenomenal whisky. It also happens to be the most impressive presentation of a whisky I’ve ever come across. Also available in a 200ml gift box.
Lark have produced some very good whiskies this year but none better than this amazing release. Bottled exclusively for Destination Cellars 5th Anniversary, the whisky has been matured in Port cask and then finished in a Muscat cask and bottled at 48%ABV. Lark Head Distiller Chris Thompson outdid himself on this one.
This intensely flavoursome whisky is a marriage of whiskies aged in bourbon, oloroso sherry and virgin casks. Bottled at 60.6%, this whisky delivers incredible value and is simply a great every day drinker.
As the weather warms up, more of us are looking for Gins to drink. This is a fantastic small batch Tassie gin produced in a London dry style with a great cardamom spice finish. A very versatile gin that drinks well however you like to have it.
This Barbados rum has a richer and more complex flavour profile than most premium rums thanks to its ABV of 48% and being aged in a mix of Bourbon and Madeira casks. This elegant rum tastes of caramel, tropical fruit, cinnamon and tobacco. Best enjoyed neat.
Adam
A fantastic spirit, and hard to go past its value. It also happens to be a little too easy to drink. If you’ve never had a premium rum, do yourself a favour and try some of this; premium aged spirits are not usually so affordable.
One of the finest whiskies available. Incredibly distinctive and refined. Despite the price, this dram is still an incredible bang for buck. Also winner of best highland single malt at the World Whisky Awards.
Still a wicked whisky, and aptly named after a maelstrom off the coast of the Scottish isle of Jura. Heavily peated, massive personality; a great and essential step on any whisky lover’s adventure.
Gumpara Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz (In store only)
A wonderfully fine wine that speaks volumes louder than its price. 6th Generation winemakers, made from vines around a hundred years old. Although a gentle beast, it will awaken upon decanting.
Captain Bligh’s Black Sparrow Coffee Liqueur - (if I can get another batch done in time; the distiller is a bit of a lazy bugger)
Made with coffee, chocolate and butter in traditional, time-consuming methods. Works well neat, on the rocks, over ice cream as a lazy affogato, as an espresso martini or black or white Russian, or any other way you can think of imbibing it.
Wonderful, creamy gin, designed to be enjoyed neat, but handles mixers very well. A high ABV gin at 55%, but that enhances rather than dominates the character of the botanicals.
Dean
PINEAU DES CHARENTES - Francois Voyer
Brandy mixed with Grape juice. Chill and enjoy all summer long. At 17%ABV it is great as a starting point before dinner or just a great afternoon sipper.
BELLBONNE VINTAGE ROSE – BUBBLES - Natalie Fryer,
Thank You! Such elegant bubbles, “made with beauty and purpose” in Tasmania. Treat yourself and others to one of the absolute best Pinot, traditional method bubbles available.
I love a good cup of green tea, if you do too, you will love this Ki No Tea, Dry gin flavoured with the edition of Gyokuro and Tencha tea and bottled at 45% ABV. Sip neat or with tonic, it's refreshing and full of flavour.
PAPALE – VARVAGLION
Sit down and get comfortable, this sexy, rich Zinfandel from Italy will take you on a journey full of robust, powerful aromas and flavours all delivered on a velvet blanket. Worth every cent for those who love full body and pallet wines!
DC 5th ANNIVERSARY LIMITED RELEASE – OVEREEM PORT CASK 62.2% (NATURAL CASK STRENGTH) - OVEREEEEM!
Truly reminiscent of the old days. Bottled at natural cask strength you won’t be disappointed. Limited and exclusive to Destination Cellars, buy for collecting or buy for drinking, a great investment either way. BTW whisky isn’t made just to look at!!
LAUNCESTON DISTILLERY PEATED SINGLE MALT WHISKY
Here is a dram that has had plenty of thought put into it. The lovely folks at Launceston Distillery have put together a wonderful marriage of casks maturations, Peated Ex Bourbon, Unpeated Ex Bourbon and Ex Tawny, described by distiller Chris Condon as, “A medium peated whisky with a bit of sweetness”. Enjoy one or two drams at the end of the day, or if you are a Peat Monster like me, enjoy whenever you need/want/feel like a great peated whisky!