THURSDAY DECEMBER 3, 2020
.. on special, today and everyday.
This Week: We hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving! Onto the next one. Whatever you're celebrating this month, we hope it is full of cheer, cheesy Hallmark movies, good food, and great drinks.

Need some more entertainment for all of this time at home? Amazon Studios is offering tickets to a *free* virtual screening on December 8th for the new film 'I'm Your Woman', a 1970’s crime drama starring Rachel Brosnahan, for our guests of the shop. Space is limited, tickets are first come, first serve. Find more information and the invitation to join the viewing HERE!

Our mission this month is to help with the gift giving ideas, inspire some great holiday cocktails, and help you find the best wines to celebrate the Holidays with. In case you missed it, Somm Gift kits are available all month long. Give the gift of wine + wine education to friends and family - or yourself. See below for more information.

The weekly COVID PSA: limit exposure, use curbside! Pre-order - call or email. Pull up and give us a ring.. we'll run your order out to you. Whether you're a creature of habit or trusting us to pick your selections, keeping interactions and in-person visits to necessity is key to keeping everyone safe. We'd love to see you - but we want to keep you and our staff safe. Stay positive, test negative!

Cheers,
The Team at NL Wine & Spirits
SOMM GIFT KITS: Holiday Shopping Made Easy.
Brought to you by the Wine Workshop + NLWS

Gift giving made easy - Jason Kallsen of the Wine Workshop has partnered up with us here at the shop to offer thoughtfully curated (and presented) wine gift sets. Each set comes packaged and ready to be gifted, complete with a card inside on how to access the accompanying educational content. Contact us for shipping or delivery options!

Each kit contains three hand-selected wines, with six themes to choose from: Beautiful Bubbly, Incredible Italian, Fabulous French, Outstanding Organic, Spectacular Spain, and Pinot Perfection.

A great gift for all of the wine people in your life! Stop in to purchase - we will have the kits on hand and ready to go through the month! Or, call or email to have held, arrange pickup, or arrange shipping/delivery.
PERFECT FOR WINTER:
THE BLACK MANHATTAN

Introducing one of our favorite riffs for the Holidays! And really anytime of the year. The Black Manhattan: created by a bartender at SF's Bourbon & Branch, this recipe swaps Averna in for the sweet vermouth.. creating a deeper, brooding character.

One of the oldest and most well known American classics, the Manhattan is basically a household name as far as cocktails are concerned. The basic recipe is 2:1 whiskey to sweet vermouth with dashes of bitters. Garnished with a cherry and express of a lemon peel.

Traditionally made with rye, you can really use any whiskey you desire - Japanese, Irish, Bourbon. This template offers up a myriad of ways to modify to suit your tastes, the season and the mood just by modifying the whisk(e)y, vermouth or bitters. Or, in this case..

Averna is always a great bottle to keep on the shelf - an excellent digestif on its own & dynamite way to spike your coffee! Swap in with your other favorite dark Amari - Bigallet China China, Braulio - you get the idea.

To make: This is a stirred drink. So, grab your mixing glass, pint glass, or whatever your current bartending situation allows. Add 2 oz Rye (or your preferred, in stock whiskey), 1 oz. Averna (or again, your preferred Amaro) and give it a dash of Angostura bitters and a dash of Orange bitters. Stir - pour into a coupe or a rocks glass, pending your Manhattan preference. Express a lemon peel for aromatics and garnish with a cherry. Then, enjoy!

GOOD THINGS WE'VE BEEN DRINKING
Ideas & Suggestions.

David Duband Hautes Cotes De Nuits Pinot Noir 2016 $41.99
David Duband has slowly but surely become a phenomenal producer of Burgundian wine. The grapes are harvested by hand, and pressed by foot, just as the French intended all wine to be. An affordable bottling coming from a producer such as Duband is sure to please an array of individuals this Holiday Season!   
 -Samuel P.

Larmandier-Bernier, Rose de Saignée, Premier Cru Champagne - $82.99 (95pts Vinous)
This incredible Champagne is made in a unique method where Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris macerate together for a few days. This creates a richer and fruitier version of Champagne that will seduce even the most discerning palate. Tart cranberry and cherry, red flowers and subtle spice. This beautiful Champagne is perfect for a special holiday celebration!
-Mary K.

2019 Teutonic Wine Company, Crab Tomalley, White Wine, Willamette Valley - $18.99
This wine is the result of Cool-Climate Oregon gurus Barnaby and Olga Tuttle to make the perfect seafood-matched wine. They blend at least 12 different old vine, cool climate, dry farmed grape varietals from 7 different Willamette Valley vineyards. Fermentation is alway from wild native yeasts and the juice is left on the lees in neutral oak for 7 months, before bottling. Aromas of Kaffir Lime and sweet basil are wrapped in a light minerally herbal bouquet. The palate is decidedly full and creamy but held together by firm acidity, with flavors of lemon sorbet, verbena, warm brioche, and honey adding to the complexity. All of this is directed at matching this stunner to a classic seafood boil, and the tradition of rich crab fat and lobster liver. One need not look any further for the perfect seafood wine match. You have found it! 
-Patrick D.

Connemara Peated Irish Single Malt - $52.99
The Kilbeggan distillery - most likely known in the Twin Cities as the producers of 2 Gingers - has set out to create a distinctive Irish single malt with their peated expression, the only one of its kind, and a true innovation in the distillery's 200+ year history. This whiskey is kindred with the triple-distilled Lowland Scotches & the myriad other Irish single malts currently in production. Distilled in the oldest working pot still in the world (which had been originally installed in the Old Tullamore distillery, and moved to Kilbeggan in 2007 as part of a rebirth of the distillery), it departs from both traditions by its integration of peat-kilned malt to the Irish pot still process. This results in a whiskey that is flavorful with plenty of body, yet light on its feet, opening with sweet honey & apples as well as clean smoke on the nose and following up on the palate with bright baking spices, vanilla, and an underlying grassiness that leads to a clean finish. Recommended if you like other Irish single malts, apple crumble, and midday campfires in a snowy wood.
-Nick S.
ALSO VERY IMPORTANT...
Just some good dogs that visited us recently.
(We hear dog photos are a great way to spread cheer)
Cheers everyone!
-The Team at North Loop Wine & Spirits