The Whiskey Hotline

       You don't end up with the Midwest's greatest collection of whiskies and specialty spirits by sitting around. The Whiskey Hotline doesn't just wait for the best spirits in the world to come to us. We go out and find them.

       Brett, for example, is traveling Scotland right now. Check out his notes from the road on the Binny's Blog. Highlights so far include stops at Roseisle Distillery and Maltings, Cardhu and Strathisla, Strahmill, Cragganmore... He's getting around. More reports from Scotland coming soon.

       Pat is cheating on the Whiskey Hotline this week. He's taking the Beer Buzz on the road in Belgium. Hopefully he can get his hands on something distilled while he's there.

       See? We don't just go that extra mile for you, we go around the world. And don't worry, while Brett and Pat roam the globe, Joe is here to take your Hotline calls.

THE WHISKEY HOTLINE 888-817-5898

Congratulations to us! Binny's was named "Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky 2013 Multiple Outlet Whisky Retailer of the Year." Or as we like to call it, WMIOW2013MOWROTY.

Thanks to everyone who showed for Binny's World of Whiskies 2013. It was an incredible night.

What's the next adventure for the Binny's Handpicked Casks program? We have a shot at Handpicked tequila from Corazon, San Matias and others. Any interest from the fanbase?

2 Gingers Irish Whiskey is distilled in Ireland, was only available in Minnesota until recently. Now you can get it at Binny's, eh?

Gran Centenario Anejo is unbelievable, with its rich, oaky finesse. If you're a fan, try their brand new Reposado. A similar style, but less time in wood allows more freshness to shine through.

New flavors of Nuvo? Wow, the girly fizzy liqueur category is really taking off.

Rumor is we're getting three Single Barrel rums from El Dorado, including EHP (from the Wooden Coffey Still!), ICBU (French Savalle Still) and PM (Port Mourant Still). If you know what the heck we're talking about, you are excited. More soon...

New from Duncan Taylor, Big Smoke. Delicious island malt vattings in both cask strength and 92 proof. Also, they're totally affordable.

Grey Goose wants you to golf for free. Check it out.

If you missed Mackinlay's Rare Old Malt, the Shackelton Recreation, you can stop kicking yourself. The second release is here. And Binny's still has some of the first release release, too.

Power's John's Lane 12 year Pure Pot Still. Irish whiskey from a pot still. Murray's Irish of the year. Don't pass it up.

Good Macallan without the Macallan price? Check out this Speymalt 8 year. And heck, there's always this 1970 Speymalt.

Speaking of Macallan, they released art. This thing collects 50mL bottles of Macallan from every decade since the 1930's, plus assorted bric-a-brac. Pop. Art.

White dog from the new Old Pogue distillery. It's kind of rare, and we got some.

The newest from Bulleit is here, nicely aged and from one of our favorite bourbon sources. We can't say who exactly, but it' starts with "Four" and ends with "Roses."

Speaking of Bulleit, Diageo announced it will reopen the legendary Stitzel Weller distillery under the name "Bulleit Distillery." Will they distill from the high-wheat bourbon recipe that originally put the distillery on the map?

Mango Light Sorbet
Raspberry Light Sorbet
Lemon Light Sorbet
Rainbow Sherbet
Orange Cream
Strawberry Colada
Root Beer Float
Gooey Buns
Candy Bar
Apple
Salted Caramel
Cilantro
Moscato
Wild Strawberry
Pomegranate & Acai
Coconut
...

Our newest Handpicked Selection is here, and it's unique to Binny's and the United States. It's a single cask of Balvenie, except we can't call it Balvenie. Why not? Because the cask of Balvenie has a tablespoon of Glenfiddich dumped in, adulterating the whole thing. Meaning two things: one, it's a vatted malt, and two, its name is Burnside. 24 years old, Cask Strength, and yours for 130 bucks. With the price on older Balvenie OB's, this is the best deal in our store. And it helps that it's incredibly delicious, and Handpicked by the best. Us. We're the best.

Another delicious new tequila at Binny's: Casamigos. Famed actor and dreamy man hunk George Clooney's signature is right on the bottle. That's right, the actor-writer-director-producer is adding "tequila making guy" to the list.

The Eighty Six Co. spirits are at select Binny's stores, including Aylesbury Duck Vodka, Cana Brava Rum and Fords Gin. The spirits are designed with the bartender in mind. Well, the bottles are designed with the bartender in mind, anyway, with ergonomics and other things. Check 'em out. We've been getting requests.

Here is the oldest Bunnahabhain ever, clocking in at 40 years old. How else were you going to spend that extra three grand burning a hole in your pocket? The barrel staves were selected one at a time to make the three barrels that were selected for this whisky forty years ago.

Rum from Sorghum? Yes! It's Mississippi River Distilling Company's latest seasonal spirit (a concept we just adore, by the way). They call it SorghRum which is a little labored, but it's fantastic either way. Fermented and distilled from Iowa sorghum syrup, then aged in charred oak. We can't wait to see what's next!

You know what? Death's Door makes quality craft spirits and sells them at a great price, and that's actually pretty cool. Now you can get Death's Door Gin and Vodka in handles, which is cool too. Throw your next big patio party in affordable craft cocktail style.

Cocchi Americano has always been a favorite. We always keep a bottle around, especially in the summer. So we jumped at the chance to get our hands on Cocchi Americana Rosa, too. It tones back the herbs and adds a sweeter balance. And if you're looking for amazing, bittersweet Italian Vermouth, be sure to try their Vermouth di Torino.

Welcome to Binny's, Smooth Ambler! This new kid on the block uses quality sourced spirits when it comes to bourbons, and is producing promising new stuff too. We especially like their barrel aged gin, and that's saying something. It's a standout in an exploding category. Their young bourbon is aged in a combination of barrel sizes, giving it more dimension than most. Keep 'em coming.

The whiskies of English Whiskey Company are finally available here in the US. They offer unchillfiltered, peated and unpeated, each in cask strength or 92 proof. These are English single malts, with profiles sort of along the lines of Speyside or less extreme Islay.

About Glendullan 12 year: Diageo is ending US distribution of this classic. Binny's has your chance to grab some with our exclusive Handpicked Gordon & Macphail 1999 Glendullan. It's 12 years old and cask strength. Don't miss it.

Have we already pitched Fluid Dynamics? If so, here it is again. The talented people at Germain Robin made cocktails, barrel aged them, then bottled them. The 200mL bottles are just adorable, and if the $20 price tag seems steep, think of it as two and a half of the best cocktails you've ever had by some of the greatest mixologists ever. You know you paid more for worse downtown.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

Bruichladdich Laddie 16
Laddies 16 and 22 round out the "The Classic" series, allowing Bruichladdich to flesh out their self portrait. Delicious butterscotch and grainy notes right up front, plus cream and peach on the nose. The palate is all classic Laddie cream, like a milkshake, mature and round.

Bruichladdich Laddie 22
A nose of wonderful graham cracker and spice. Cream, nutmeg and honey define the palate. Honey Teddy Grahams, maybe? Do they still make those? And there's more than that, and it's seamless and round and tough to define. Superb, world-class.

Contratto Vermouth Bianco
When did it become unfashionable to drink vermouth? This stuff is delicious and everybody is missing out. Maybe Gatsby will bring it back, along with bowler hats and ascots. The white vermouth is soft and bright up front. Broadly sweet on the palate, easy and fun to drink, some citric lemon but not too acidic. Delicious and refreshing.

Contratto Vermouth Rosso
The red counterpart is the more complex of the pair. Spicy and complex on the nose. They're not giving away the secret spice recipe, but we can pick out clove, fennel and rose hip (yes, really). Sweetness on the palate, with a great almond shell bitterness. Instead of fresh red fruit, this has a brown sugar, oxidized character. Probably great in cocktails, certainly tasty on its own.

Passion XO Blue, Sun and Pink
Not everything we taste is 30 year old Scotch and XO Cognac, and here's proof. Passion XO Blue starts off citric, which is a nice surprise. It's less sweet than you'd... no. No it isn't. Next, "Sun," because yellow. What is this? Passionfruit? Pineapple? Next, Pink. Pppbtbtbppptb. Possible uses: pinkening cocktails that are already too sweet, attracting ants and bees, etc.
[ intern's note: this stuff is fun and actually tastes pretty good. you guys shouldn't be so mean. ] [ editor's note: nobody let the intern proofread The Whiskey Hotline anymore. ]

Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum
Here's another product that furthers the blackening of the spirits industry. Buttery with big caramel on the nose, before a round, mellow, oily, smoothed out rum. This is pretty good! Black Barrel spends finishing time in bourbon barrels, and it shows as vanilla and caramel.

TUB Gin
Something to do with guns. Their website gruffly admits to including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, licorice, lemon lime and "a pinch of cassia bark." We get a nose full of orange. And a mouth full of orange. This is round, oily, low, soft, easy drinking gin. And orangey. It's good gin. And the graphic design is pretty cool, too.

With all the stuff we do around here, it's easy to forget that the Whiskey Hotline really is a hotline. That you can call. On the telephone. And talk to a human. Remember those?

We were flattered to receive a call from sunny Thermopolis, Wyoming. It seems a posse of cowboys were sitting around the campfire when the topic of whiskey came up. It was bound to. So they did what anybody in the know would do - they called up the Whiskey Hotline. The phone passed from cowboy to cowboy, and all anybody wanted to talk about was single malt. It seems cowboys have mighty fine tastes.

Next time you're sitting around the campfire throwing a few back with friends, don't forget, it's as good a time as any to call The Whiskey Hotline. Whether you're a cowboy or a corporate chieftain, the Whiskey Hotline is here to take your call.