Ya Know Free Rangers,
I don’t want to offend any whiskey bros, if there are any whiskey bros here. … Are there any whiskey bros here? No? Good. Let’s talk about them. And let’s begin with the caveat that not all male humans who dig on the brown spirits are “whiskey bros”. The latter is a specific unfortunate (for the rest of us) subset of the former whose predilections manifest infinite from their collective residence at the intersection of ignorance and certainty. We’ve successfully alienated what we thought was most of them, and brought a few of them into the light who may be reading here with us today, but there’s definitely something going on out there. Lately, there has been an unnerving uptick in dudes coming in, looking around intently at whiskey bottles, usually shunning any human contact, which is sadly better as when they speak it’s often fairly dismissive and/or condescending. They’re generally looking for one of a small handful of fairly well known pricey and/or hard to find Bourbon(s)- particular expressions of Weller, Pappy, Blanton’s, etc. (oddly over the weekend two in a row were looking for Stranahan’s- one only wanted the bottle that’s not released outside of CO). They know what they know, which they believe to be everything that’s important, but they have no idea what they don’t know (which is a lot), and they miss what’s special about this place every time. With any of them that can be coaxed into brief conversation, I always try to squeeze in at least that we have many more bottles than are visible, many whiskeys that are available nowhere else in the world, and that our best prices and rarest bottles go first- if not only- to our e-mail list. There is rarely any response to any part of that, before they say something semi-relevant and largely tangential under the cloud of which to slip out of the room and out of the flow of unwanted information. They say ignorance is bliss, but so many of them look pissy as they flee. Sometimes I feel like a jackass for attempting to engage, but a true student of the game is always learning and occasionally a decent conversation will emerge from such meager beginnings. And that one out of ten (or thirty) who takes a breath, asks a couple of follow-up questions, and starts to understand the depths of what we do here is fairly satisfying. And seriously whiskey bros, just say hi and be a decent guy and you’d be into the free tastes off the bat. Damn, we’re already a chonky paragraph in (yeah, editors, I know it should be 2- or 3), and haven’t even introduced either of the most indelible recent moments with specific bros. Perhaps this will be a two-parter, or three… tune in next week, kids, same bat time, same channel. Unrelated, did you leave coffee cup on the counter at the shop? Identify the writing department printed on it, and it’s yours.
Now, when the last time you heard, “Would you like to taste some free Chartreuse?” Yeah, me neither. This week’s FREE in-store tasting looks to be with our friend, Carolyn, at old school importer/distributor Frederick Wildman, who will be here to show off all that Chartreuse has offer. Yeah, that Chartreuse that was all but unattainable a couple of years back. Allocations are still a little tight, but we’ve hoarded a good amount of the classic Yellow Chartreuse and Green Chartreuse, we’ve also got the more concentrated Chartreuse Vegetal, and the brand spankin’ new Liqueur Gentiane des Pères Chatreux. All four will be open for the tasting this Thursday, April 7th (5-7)pm. All of the above are also 10% off in-store on tasting day only!
And this week’s ONLINE ONLY sale involves my very favorite juice to drink, Chardonnay! While Derek is out of town, this is another one of those old school e-mail offers, so if any of the below floats yer boat, just reply here and let us know what you’d like to claim and we’ll hook you up in the order that said e-mails are received.
So here are two levels of 6-pack(s) of our current favorite Chards at massive discounts (because I bought too much Chard because I love it so much). The first represents exceptional value. Quality/enjoyment per dollar is our guiding light here on the range, and Our Fav Chards 6-pack-where you’ll find 3 White Burgundies, 2 Oregon Chards, and one from New Zealand- exemplifies this. The last mentioned Kumeu Village Chardonnay 2025 is like a Chablis light, fresh, dry, and a wisp of limestone. Henri Dufreres Bourgogne Blanc 2023 is a classic lighter style Bourgogne Blanc with lower acid and easy mouthfeel. Jerome Fornerot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2023 is the most modest offering from one of our favorite small winegrowers in Burgundy, whose clean chiseled whites always punch well above their weight. Jean Dauvissat Chablis 2023 has been ur go-to under $40 Chablis for a few vintages now, and the 2023 release (on which we stocked up profoundly) has all the zippy acidity and limestoney freshness that we expect and love. Most of you know Brittan Chardonnay by now, as we’ve stocked it for years, and their lovely Pinot(s) and Chard(s) have been featured in multiple in-store tasting and online sales for years. Brittan Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 2023 has that classic partially oaked profile; last I checked about 20% was seeing new oak, adding a lovely richness to the texture, without buttering over the fruit and acid. Colene Clemens Chardonnay 2020 is another one of our fav tiny OR producers and this very bottle is an honorable mention for bottles we most often open in the shop for our own pleasure.
The Chards Reserve 6-pack contains 3 Burgundies, 2 Oregon Chards, and one beloved Argentinian great. These represent some of the finest and rarest Chards under $100 of which we are aware in the world. Jerome Fornerot Santenay Blanc Les Charrons 2024 is an absolutely delicious single vineyard chard by the same producer whose intro level resides in the previous pack. Douhairet-Porcheret Monthelie Blanc “Cuvee Miss Armande” 2022 is a super cleanly made old vine wonder of great depth and endless subtly. Jean Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2023 is a premier cru wine sourced from one of the regions most famed vineyard sites, masterful Chard that is a leap above the highly enjoyable village wine in the pack above. Walter Scott Chardonnay Witness Tree 2023 might be my favorite Chard I tasted last year at any price. It’s pure Oregon Sunshine in a chilled bottle. White Walnut Chardonnay Dundee 2021 is another chiseled, precise expression of Oregon Chard by the micro-est of producers. And Chacra Mainqué Chardonnay 2024 is Burgundy style Chard of the highest order, made by Italian wine royalty and the borrowed hand of Jean-Marc Roulot. One of the world’s great Chards every year that we can remember.
Our Fav Chards 6-pack sale: $119 (retail: $191)
Chards Reserve 6-pack sale: $299 (retail: $437)
Reply to this e-mail here (now!) and let us know what we can set aside for you!
Cheers,
Jack
Proprietor
Free Range Wine & Spirits
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