Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast

What’s New in Beer? As always, the beer shelves are constantly changing and we’re here to help you make sense of the new brands, styles, returning favorites in new packaging and special releases. Firestone Walker XPA Weihenstephaner Braupakt collaboration w/St. Bernardus Maplewood Belle La Vie Stormalong Cider Unfiltered Southern Tier Orange Twist collaboration w/Perry’s Ice Cream Deschutes Black Butte NA Porter Maplewood In Dark Trees AleSmith Speedway Stout New Orleans Café If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

Take a trip to Northern Italy with Barrel to Bottle this week. Chris brought wines from the broader Langhe Hills, along with some everyday drinking wines from the region, and wines from the much-hyped 2019 vintage. As with much of what we feature on the podcast, these wines pair great with a wide variety of food. Ca del Sarto Barbera d’Alba 2021 Vietti Dolcetto d’Alba 2022 Paolo Scavino Langhe Nebbiolo 2022 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiola d’Alba 2020 Silvio Grasso Barolo 2019 GD Vajra Barolo Albe 2019 Broccardo Barolo Bricco San Pietro 2019 If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Celebrities, they’re just like you: they love wine. In some cases they like wine so much they create their own brand or buy an existing brand. Taking us down this Hollywood Walk of Fame of celebrity wines is Ray Denton, from our Elmwood Park store. Viarae Prosecco Invivo X SJP Sauvignon Blanc Sarah Jessica Parker 2023 Plumpjack Chardonnay Reserve 2020 Sun Goddess Pinot Grigio Ramato 2021 Avaline Rosé Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2020 Z Alexander Brown Ole Smoky Whiskey Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Inglenook Rubicon 2018 If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

We’ve covered bocks before on Barrel to Bottle, but as interest in lagers continues to grow at a rapid pace, Roger thought this was the best time to revisit the style.  Ayinger Maibock Roaring Table Maibock Weihenstephaner Korbinian Goldfinger Złotonator Doppelbock Maplewood Dark Trees Sketchbook Illustrator Doppelbock Boulevard Dark Crator Pollyanna Jötunheimr Pollyanna Double Frozen Bourbon Barrel Aged Jötunheimr If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

The Whiskey Hotline is constantly bringing in new and interesting single barrels from your favorite distilleries. Some even Whiskey Hotline Handpicks are the best value in spirits. This week we’re sampling Tequila, Irish Whiskey and Bourbon. Also this week, a question from a listener about adding water to your bourbon or whiskey. El Tesoro Reposado Single Barrel #B024L323 Binny's Handpicked El Tesoro Reposado Single Barrel #B077L315 Binny's Handpicked Teeling Irish Single Malt finished in Virgin Chestnut Wood Cask #77557 Binny's Handpicked Teeling Single Pot Still finished in ex Ginger Beer Cask #79298 Binny's Handpicked Wilderness Trail Wheated Bourbon Single Barrel #771359 Binny's Handpicked Dark Arts Whiskey House Straight Bourbon Barely Legal Finished in ex Madeira Cask #MBL1 Binny's Handpicked Dark Arts Straight Rye Finished with Toasted Amburana Staves in Single ex Maple Syrup Barrel # RM1 Binny's Handpicked If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Even the Barrel to Bottle crew can walk the aisles of Binny’s, with our thousands of bottles and cans, and wonder “What the Hell Does That Taste Like?” Occasionally it behooves us then, to do an episode dedicated to answering this question. Roger, Chris and Pat have assembled a line-up of beer, wine and spirits that are a little esoteric, a little off the beaten path or just plain odd. Plus, a special treat: the first-ever Binny’s Barrel to Bottle Handpicked. Three Floyds Jinx Proof Lager Hopewell Tankbeer Mount Saint Bernard Abbey Tynt Meadow Donna’s Pickle Beer Martin House Brewing Best Made Sour Pickle Beer Destihl Suckerpunch Dill Pickle Sour Evolucio Furmint 2022 Domaine Ostertag Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes 2021 Domaine Chevillon Bourgogne Rouge Passetoutgrains 2020 Domaine Bernard Fleuriet Sancerre Rouge Tradition 2020 Bodega Garzon Marselan Reserva 2020 Elena Walch Lagrein 2022 Koval Organic Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Jackfruit Barrels Binny’s Barrel to Bottle Handpicked Single Barrel Three Floyds Bubblegumhead Straight Malt Whiskey Divine Distillers Pandan Rum Empirical Spirits Doritos Spirit Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka North Shore Distillery Amaro Bakamaro Jean Paul Mette Spiritueux de Ail   If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

This week, we head to Germany for the second in our series of dark larger podcasts. Get ready for Dunkels and Schwarzbierss and Emmenthalers and Thuringers. Roger brought the goods with a Brophy’s worth of beer and the finest meats and cheeses to pair with them. Prost! Hofbräu Munchen Dunkel Hofbräuhaus-Freising Dunkel Weltenburger Barock Dunkel Dovetail Dunkel Lager Flensburger Dunkel Roaring Table Dunkel Ayinger Bavarian Dark Lager Urban Chestnut Dorfbier Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel Goldfinger Dunkel Goldfinger Black Lager Köstritzer Schwarzbier  If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

Bill Foley has irons in a lot of fires. He owns the Las Vegas Golden Knights and AFC Bournemouth in the English Premiere League. More relevant to Barrel to Bottle, he also owns Foley Family Wines, Charles Goodnight Bourbon in Texas, and Lighthouse Gin in New Zealand. This week on Barrel to Bottle we’ll cover the ins and outs of the wine and spirits world as well as the NHL and the EPL. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

We like to get esoteric on Barrel to Bottle, but this might be our most esoteric topic yet: Shochu (not to be confused with Soju). What is it, how is it made, what does it taste like and what do you do with it? This week we welcome Jay, Binny's resident Shochu expert/enthusiast, to answer these questions. He’s here to guide us through Shochu 101, sampling Shochus from four different styles. Furusawa Motoko Honkaku Shochu Made With Rice Yokka Ryukyu Awamori Made With 4 Day Koji Iichiko Shochu Tensei Mugi Hokka Honkaku Shochu Made With Barley Furusawa Masako Honkaku Shochu Made With Barley Mizu Shochu Saga Barley Fukano Cask Strength Japanese Whisky 2023 Edition Shoro Colorful Honkaku Shochu Nishihira Kana Kokuto Sugar Rice Shochu If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Head on down to the RUM SHOW! Over the busy holiday season, we quietly got shipments of six Binny’s Handpicked rums and you’re in luck because we still have them in stock! Forget everything you think you know about rum, because you’ve been missing out on some of the best bang for your buck in the category of aged spirits. El Dorado 10-Year-Old Single Barrel 032/2023 Binny’s Handpicked from Coffey Savalle and Wooden Pot Stills El Dorado 11-Year-Old Single Barrel 031/2023 Binny’s Handpicked from Coffey Savalle and Versailles Wood Pot Stills Foursquare Rum Distillery Single Blended Rum Aged 12 Years in ex-Bourbon Casks Binny’s Private Select Rolling Fork 9-Year-Old Barbados Rum Port Cask Aged #22 4031 Binny’s Handpicked Rolling Fork 13-Year-Old Jamaican Rum Worthy Park Weller Barrel Finished #22 4144 Binny’s Handpicked Rolling Fork 12-Year-Old Brazilian Rum Epris #22 4057 Binny’s Handpicked If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Whose Wine Is It Anyway? Are You Smarter Than a Podcast Host? Wine, Lose or Draw! This week on Barrel to Bottle, Pat, Greg and Roger are competing to see who knows the most about wine. Your hosts, Alicia and Chris, brought along some wine to sample just so Pat wouldn’t get too bored and start complaining. Mary Taylor Cahors 2020 Barista Pinotage 2022 Marc Ollivier Domaine de la Pepiere Clisson Muscadet 2020 Rombauer Chardonnay 2022 Cave Spring Cellars Riesling Icewine 2019 Pra Amarone della Valpolicella 2016 If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

We're back with part 2 of our two-parter covering Whisky Advocate's top 20 of 2023. Check out part 1 on our blog.  10. Glendronach Cask Strength Batch #12 9. Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Foursquare Rum Cask Finish 8. Glenmorangie A Tale of Forest Limited Release #9 Botanical Infusion 7. Dewar’s Double Double 21-Year-Old Mizunara Cask Finished 6. Maker’s Mark 11-Year-Old Cellar Aged 2023 Limited Release4. Little Book Chapter 7 In Retrospect Blended American Whiskey 2023 Limited Release3. Westland Garryana 2023 Edition 8 Native Oak Series2. Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 41. Glenglassaugh Sandend Highland Single Malt If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Every year, Binny’s sees more and more bottles from Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 on our shelves. With seventeen bottles this year, we had to make this a two-parter.   We’ll be counting down from 20 to 11 this week, check back next week for the final ten. 20. Ezra Brooks Straight Rye Whiskey 99 Proof18. Teeling Single Pot Still Portuguese Oak Wonders of Wood17. Crown Royal Noble Collection Barley Edition15. Old Elk Port Cask Finished Bourbon Limited Release14. Glenfiddich 12-Year-Old Sherry Cask 13. Hemingway Rye Signature Edition Blend of Straight Rye Finished in Rum Seasoned Oloroso Sherry Casks12. Blue Run Trifecta 2023 Limited Release 3 Barrel Bourbon Blend11. Barrell Bourbon Batch 035 Aged 6, 7, 8 & 13-Year-Old From IN, KY and TN If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.    

What’s new in beer? There’s ALWAYS something new in beer, because beer drinkers have become accustomed to breweries releasing a new beer every week. One positive that comes from this onslaught of new beers is breweries revisiting classic styles. Roger brought in a slew of new releases, re-releases and one rebrand, plus none of them are Czech Dark Lagers! Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Pollyanna Rustic Route collaboration with Goldfinger and Binny’s Three Floyds Return of the Ancients Firestone Walker Mind Haze Firestone Walker Mind Haze Brain Melter Firestone Walker Mind Haze Cosmic Crusher BuckleDown Barbaric Blood Red Ale collaboration with Vault Comics Revolution Repo Man If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

It’s yet another Whiskey Hotline episode, this must be some kind of record. Owen Martin is master distiller at Angel’s Envy, but his career in the beverage alcohol industry goes back years and covers both brewing and distilling. Studying distilling at the illustrious Harriet Watt and working in Stranahan’s cask-finishing program was a natural precursor to working at Angel’s Envy. Angel’s Envy just released their cask-strength rye to go along with the cask-strength bourbon. We also have five new Binny’s Handpicked single barrels in stores now. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Rye Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Angel's Envy 2-Year Cask Stout Angel's Envy Bourbon Barrel Select #231237 If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

Mark Reynier has a lot to say about terroir, but this isn’t a wine episode. While Mark does have an extensive wine background, his passion now is spirits terroir. After re-establishing Bruichladdich, he founded Waterford Whisky in Ireland and the Renegade Rum Distillery in Grenada. This week on Barrel to Bottle, we’re sampling Waterford single malts and Renegade rum, while Mark shares his thoughts on barley and sugar cane terroir.  Waterford Single Farm Origin Dunbell Irish Single Malt Edition 1.1 Waterford Single Farm Origin Dunmore Irish Single Malt Edition 1.1 Waterford Peated Fenniscourt Irish Single Malt Waterford The Cuvee Irish Single Malt If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

Czech Dark Lager is a thing, Roger isn’t just willing it into existence. Over the past year many local breweries have paid homage to the style. This week, Roger brought in a Brophy’s worth of Czech Dark Lagers, both local and imported, for a blind taste test. We’re also pairing these beers with walnuts, Arkansas Black apples, smoked goose breast and two kinds of cheese. Na zdraví! Lev Lion Dark Lager Dovetail Czech Dark Lager Praga Dark Lager Half Acre Czech Dark Lager Off Color Ten Crowns Czech Dark Lager BrouCzech Dark Lager Art History Vařitace Revolution Pragueress Samson Dark Lager Hopewell Certified Czech Dark Lager Art History Wenceslas If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  

Last week, we welcomed Binny’s team of experienced buyers and asked them to pick their favorite or favorites from 2023. Now, it’s Barrel to Bottle’s turn to tackle this difficult question. Wine, spirits and beer, what are Barrel to Bottle’s favorites from 2023?   Roger’s Picks Off Color Beer for Dealing With Your Family Bell’s Black Note Chris’ Picks Robert Weil Kiedrich Grafenberg Riesling Spatlese 2021 Val de Garrigues Cotes du Rhone Black 2022 Pat’s two and only two Picks Teeling 17-Year-Old Single Malt Finished in Loupiac Cask #16549 Binny’s Handpicked George Remus 6-Year-Old Highest Rye Bourbon 51% Corn 39% Rye 10% Malted Rye Jim’s Picks Ommegang Gnommegang Noon Whistle Your Gummy Vol. 4 collaboration with Binny’s Alicia’s Picks Paul Lato Pinot Noir The Matinee 2021 Pierre Moncuit Millesime 2008 Jenna’s Pick Forge Cellars Riesling Classique 2021 Greg’s Pick di Padrino Rosso Sweet Vermouth Cappelletti Mazzura Aperitivo Bitter Jim’s Honorable Mention Great Lakes Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Every year, Binny’s wine, spirits, beer and cigar buyers sample thousands of products to find the best stuff for the best price. Also every year, we at Barrel to Bottle ask the buyers to answer a nearly impossible question: what was at the best thing you had this year?  Heaven Hill 7-Year-Old Bottled in Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Domaine Tempier Bandol Rouge Cuvée Classique 2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2020   Sierra Nevada Celebration New Scotch, including Lochlea, Ardnamurchan, Torabhaig, Lindores Abbey, Clydeside, Kingsbarns, Nc’nean and The Lakes Lost & Found Cream Machine Alec Bradley Lake Shore Drive Four Star Society Colibri V-Cutter & EVO Lighter Gift Set Val de Garrigues Cotes du Rhone Rouge Ruinart Rosé If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

John Campbell might be a familiar name to Scotch drinkers because of his 27 years at Laphroaig. Now he’s the master distiller of Lochlea, which is part of a wave of new single malt Scotch distilleries that have opened in the last few years. Lochlea grows 100% of the malt for their distillate, making them a true farm distillery. As a lowland distillery, Lochlea doesn’t make peated whisky. It wouldn’t be true to their environment as it is mostly farm land and rolling hills. Lochlea Our Barley Lowland Single Malt Lochlea Sowing Edition Lowland Single Malt Lochlea Fallow Edition Lowland Single Malt Lochlea Ploughing Edition Lowland Single Malt Lochlea Cask Strength Lowland Single Malt If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card! If you like our podcast, subscribe wherever you download podcasts. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.