Staff Pick Brandy
Chateau de Montifaud VS Petite Champagne Cognac $37.96
I’m constantly on the lookout for good-value: under-the-radar bottles that offer great quality without requiring you to drop a lot of $$. When one comes along it feels like finding a first edition of The Great Gatsby in a closeout bin. Chateau Montifaud is my kind of producer: family run for a gazillion generations, small production, and heart-felt care and attention from grape growing to maturation. To give you an example, they press the grapes within 30 minutes of picking to avoid oxidation, ferment at cooler temps to retain fruit and floral notes, and distill on the lees for creaminess. They also age longer than required in French oak (only 10 months new). The result is a soft, luscious sip with spring-like floral notes, buttery pears, and apples. It’s a light, easy sipper and excellent for cocktails. – Amy Miller, Sales Manager
Capovilla Grappa Di Bassano $54.99
If you are looking at our Grappa section and reminiscing on the gasoline like fire-water that was around many of our Family tables. Vittorio Capovilla is an exception. The philosophy of the Capovilla Distillery: the tastier the fruit, the better the final product. That’s where Vittorio Capovilla began in 1986, taking the very best fruit from the four hectares of organically farmed land owned by the estate. Using a slow and labor-intensive distillation process Capovilla is famed for its ability to extract unparalleled aromas and flavors that are both highly refined and remarkably intense. Using the grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Vespaiolo; ‘di Bassano’, designates that this spirit is solely produced from pomace indigenous to the Veneto region. A phenomenal spirit that will revolutionize your experience with Grappa. – Evan Cucciniello, Astor Wines & Spirits Consultant
Distillerio Gualco Grappa Rubinia $59.96
I will confess that I am a sucker for underdogs, and in the world of spirits, grappa might be the equivalent of the Jamaican bobsled team. For a post-prandial sip, Americans are more likely to reach for a whisky, cognac or port. But grappa? I doubt it would inflate even the tiniest of thought bubbles. But let this extraordinary muscat-based grappa make a convert of you. Gualco is a small, family-run distillery that has been operating for more than 300 years and is considered one of the best in all of Italy. One of the keys to their style is the use of a special bain marie.This low, gentle way of heating in a water bath helps retain the aromatic nuances of the grape and retains freshness, but it also allows them to remove the harsh, bitter “tail.” The result is smooth and elegant, full of apricot, floral notes and utterly delicious. – Amy Miller, Sales Manager
Laird’s 7 1/2 yr old Apple Brandy $39.96
Laird & Company is a foundational brand and distillery located in the Colts Neck Township of Monmouth County, New Jersey, just an hours drive south from NYC. In 1780 the Department of Treasury issued Robert Laird the License No. 1, making Laird’s the oldest licensed distillery in the United States. Laird’s Old Apple Brandy is as close an American Calvados as I could ever want. This 100% straight apple brandy is aged in charred oak barrels for 7 ½ years then bottled at 80 proof. Laird’s Old Apple Brandy exudes aromas of baked apple pie and cedar wood, while the fruit profile leans into tart apple, yellow pear and varnished oak on the palate. – Evan Cucciniello, Astor Wines & Spirits Consultant
Château de Pellehaut Astor Select 33yr. Ténarèze Armagnac – 1990 $199.96
Pellehaut comes from the Roman “pila haut”, or high point and that tells us this producer is at the higher elevation than the rest of Tenareze and is known for rich limestone soil. Made with 100% Ugi Blanc and bottled at a cask strength of this is a rare beauty showing everything I have come to love about Armagnac. Rich and expressive with layers of confection and dried fruit but with this age note of leather, herbal cigar box and dusty road. As Armagac ages to moves towards Scotch in some ways, not so much that it tastes like Scotch but it starts to show more esoteric notes that you might not expect. Luckily for you and for me it does not take on the price of Scotch at least not yet! – Josh Mizrahi, Sales Manager