| Hey Free Rangers, First: quick shoutout to our many new friends and e-mail listers! Since even before the pandemic set in, we’ve seen a long slow exodus of a lot of our local regulars from the neighborhood, even though many of you still read these e-mails, and write in to tell us so, from locales far and wide (huge thanks!). In the last couple of months, and specifically in these last three or four weeks, we’ve seen many new faces, and had an almost unprecedented increase in e-mail list sign-ups, and I just wanted to take an extra second to thank you all, before my weird, dark, heart-on-my-sleeve type missives alienate any of you off of said list. Thanks also to all of you who clicked through and got in on our crazy $2 whiskey sale, full of bottles at lowest price on Earth. Less thanks to those who felt the need to call in and bust our chops about certain items, even though at best we were just barely breaking even on the whiskeys in that offer. We’re well aware that no good deed goes unpunished. Bardstown Discovery was above and beyond the winner of the questions per order prize. Two dollars above cost for a product over $100 means we’re not even covering the processing fee on most credit cards. I get that a lot of you hardcore whiskey nerds only want certainly releases of certain labels, but when we’re literally not profiting on anything on that list to begin with, and we’re then asked to put in extra man-hours into the negotiation, the meter is running on the business losing money on these sales literally every second. Yet a number of you called to ask if we still have the series #4 and/or #5 on this one (current release being #7). It wasn’t enough that we were offering the lowest price in the world and not making a penny off of the potential sale, but you only want the older version that’s long sold out just about everywhere on the planet. Not cool guys. I would think you would’ve know that. Given the timing and the purchases, it looks like at least two or three of you purchased the Bardstown Discovery anyway (thanks!), but give a guy a break once in a while. … Jeebus Christmas! All that being said, we did a full inventory check and did find a couple bottles each buried under more recent releases of theBardstown Discovery Series #4 and Bardstown Discovery Series #5 which are now in the system and on the website at prices reflecting their scarcity and your unrelenting desire for them. Limit 1 bottle per customer, and they are not available for any kind of discount, but please feel free to click through and buy online, if you like. You now have current availability information, pricing is available on the website, by clicking the respective links directly above. Please do not call about them, and force us to hang up on you. Cheers! It’s been a weird couple of years around these (and most other) parts, and beyond all of the obvious changes, we have long lamented the loss of our in-store tasting program. Every time we think it might be a good idea to host a tasting or two, some new virus variant, bad old fashioned flu, or new fangled Scary Pox rises from the evil ether and we think better of encouraging people to gather in here and share breathing air and space for longer than necessary. While we still quite often pour a quick taste or two of the many spirits we have open for those making a decision or sometimes just to help take the edge off of the day, I can hardly remember back to our last proper in-store hosted alongside one of our favorite knowledgeable producers, importers, or distributors. One of those we miss the most is Dalibor, an unreasonably affable and deeply informed Croatian fellow from whom we acquire all of our Croatian wine. Though he won’t be in here pouring this week, we’re putting all of his bottles on sale, as if he were, just like we did at least once per week for the vast majority of our collective pre-plague years. Croatia boasts some of the oldest wine growing regions in world, and a significant percentage of their best producers do so naturally, organically, or at the very least sustainably, and I continue to be shocked at how few shops carry any of them. But their loss is your gain, as we have a disproportionate number, and they are absolutely delicious, most at very reasonable prices. And this week only (online only!), get 10% off every Croatian wine in stock, 15% off a 5-pack of our best priced best sellers, or 20% off 12+ bottles of any combination our available bottles! Here’s what’s in that Croatian 5-pack: 1) Kozlovic Malvasia: a close cousin of what many know as Spanish or Portuguese Malvasia, this one is fresh and bright up front, with subtle white fruits and florals in the mid-palate, and a touch of salinity that really ties the room together. 2) Bura Rukatac is a food-friendly skin-contact white, that’s slightly orange in color, though fairly clean, with a dry lightly tannic finish. 3) Bura Plavac is a fresh, medium bodied, un-oaked rendition of this close cousin of Zinfandel, showing good red fruit and salinity (generally served chilled). 4) Pilizota Plavina is a dry cousin of Pinot Noir, which also finishes with an ocean air influence (generally served chilled). 5) Skaramuca Dingac is quite literally the one that started it all for me, when I first tasted it 20+ years ago. This is an older vine, fuller bodied red that is an old-world salty grandfather of the best of old vine Zinfandel we get from CA. For those interested in the very best of old and rare Croatian reds, Zlatan Crljenak 2010 is the Croatian word for Zinfandel, and this is where Zin is originally from. Zlatan is widely regarded as the most important grower in the country, and these bottles have a little extra age. Arguably the second most important grower is Bura, whose Bura Dingac (the most revered old vine region for Plavac Mali) is a legitimate cult wine in Croatia and shows like a burly salty Amarone, and is unlike any other wine I’ve ever tasted. We have several vintages available, going back to 2009. (!) Click here to add hidden coupon code (!) ** DISCOUNT APPLIED IN CART ! ** * 10% off all Croatian wine * 15% off a 5-pack * 20% off 12+ bottles sale: retail: * Croatian 5-pack: $89 $104 *** Online exclusive! *** *** This week only! *** Cheers, Jack Proprietor Free Range Wine & Spirits P.S. Free Range E-mail Archive |
