Holiday Spirits in More Ways Than One
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Rhum Clement Cuvee Homere, AOC Martinique, Hors d’Age
A tribute to Homere Clement, founder of Rhum Clement in 1887. ... Also, he was deputy major of Martinique, the first Black person to receive a doctorate in France and early champion of Rhum Agricole. Now AOC Martinique is a controlled appellation designation, like French fine wine. … Rhum Agricole uses only local sugar cane, not processed molasses. … Cuvee Homere, originally created by Homere’s son, is aged technically for a minimum of six years and also contains rums from renegade casks in the distillery that have aged for eight, 10 and 15 years. ... Alcohol By Volume is 44%. ... Surprisingly light on the palate, with fine tannins. Elements of stone fruit, brioche, almonds and peaches yeast add to its complexity, yet nothing is overpowering.
Price: $114.
Shop: Spiribam
OXO Steel Vertical Lever Corkscrew
OXO’s enticingly curvy, vertical corkscrew is fabricated ergonomically, requiring only leverage and not upper-body strength to open a wine bottle. ... Feels solid enough to last through many cases. The devil is in the details: a brushed chrome foil-cutter, which looks like a design element, slips out easily and then stores back in the handle.
Price: $42.
Shop: OXO
2018 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley Red Wine
Joe Phelps began making a red blend at his new winery in 1974, when the term "Napa Valley wine” was all but unknown. … This wine’s signature is — and always has been — elegance. … Purple fruit, a sprinkle of baking spices and fine leather round out the aromas and flavors. In the 2018 vintage, the wine contains four of the five traditional Bordeaux varieties — 87% cabernet sauvignon, 8% petit Verdot, 3% malbec, 2% cabernet franc. ... All of the grapes are estate grown. ... This is a very delicate cabernet sauvignon-based blend and becomes beautifully velvety when paired with food — plain dishes with mild sauces are best.
Price: $315.
Shop: Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Coravin Timeless Six+
Dreaming about saving some of that amazing bottle of wine for later? Coravin makes it possible. The latest and most portable is the Coravin Timeless Six+, which pierces the cork of a bottle of wine to withdraw a glass or two, while seamlessly replacing the liquid with inert argon gas. ... After the Coravin’s medical-grade needle is withdrawn, the bottle’s cork, which is naturally elastic, seals itself up again. And the wine is preserved for months, even years. ... For screw-capped bottles, the Six+ also has a special adapter, preserving the wine for three months, instead of a few days. ... It all packs into a handy, black carrying pouch.
Price: $299.
Shop: Coravin
St. Lucia Distillers Chairman’s Reserve Limited Edition
This Limited Edition 1931 is from the only distillery on the island of St. Lucia. ... A refined blend reminiscent of Scotch whisky that is to be sipped after dinner. It features floral notes, butterscotch and wood. Also, hints of orange and touches of char, but not sweet. ... Six- to 11-year-old rums aged in Port and Bourbon barrels. ... 46% ABV. ... Contains 11% sugar cane juice harvested from the surrounding hills. ... St. Lucia Distillers’ commitment to social responsibility includes access to health and educational systems, interest free loans, literacy programs, and water and sanitation facilities for employees as well as the community.
Price: $114.
Shop: Spiribam
Repour
When you open a bottle of wine, the oxygen that gets in from the atmosphere immediately starts to change the wine, degrade the quality. Repour is a replacement cork that converts the oxygen to a neutral substance. ... And the Repour cork keeps doing its good work every time the bottle is opened to pour a glass. ... Each Repour cork extends the life of one wine bottle at least two weeks. ... A 10-pack averages out to less than $2 per cork. ... Simple, light, portable. No additional gadgets required.
Price: $18 for a 10-pack.
Shop: Repour
Le Grand Verre
Le Grand Verre is a set of single-serve wines literally named “A Large Glass." ... Sustainably crafted, white, red and rose wines packaged in handy tubes with twist-off caps. ... Sourced from small, family wineries in various French wine regions, the wines are produced with organic grapes. ... The website has food-pairing notes. ... Over 20 different wines, nearly all produced by women-led estates or women winemakers.
Price: $20-$30 for a four-pack.
Shop: Le Grand Verre Wines
Coravin Sparking
A new and astounding Coravin Sparkling preserves champagne and other sparkling wines for three to four weeks — instead of the normal three to four days in the refrigerator. ... Special tops allow the device to reinfuse the sparkling wine with carbon dioxide. Keep in mind that the bubbles were originally formed by carbon dioxide dissolved and suspended in the wine over time. Along with the bubbles, the wines’ delicate aromas and flavors are also masterfully conserved.
Price: $399.
Shop: Coravin
2006 Champagne Henriot Cuvee Hemera Brut
Amazingly energetic and crisp, this vintage 2006 Champagne has spent over a dozen years aging in chalk-hewn caves in France’s Champagne region. ... Champagne Henriot was founded in 1808 and is one of the few remaining family-owned Champagne Houses. ... Keep the Champagne well-chilled to enjoy enticing aromas of buttered, toasty yeast, then a hint of white flowers. There is also citron and baked brioche on the palate, with more citrus in the lengthy finish. ... This is the reason vintage Champagne is worth waiting for.
Price: $175.
Shop: Locate online