Rarest Vintage

Not all great whiskey comes from Scotland. It was the Irish, in fact, who taught the Scots how to distill in the first place, and I'll put Midleton Very Rare up against almost any bottle of Scotch. And now there's a new Irish entry that may rank as the finest from the Emerald Isle (and certainly the most expensive): Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve ($250). Jameson has four "masters" in their operation: maturation, distillation, whiskey science and blending. This special bottle is the first project where they have all come together to assemble it. Most of the whiskeys used in the blend are 20 years or older. and only 1000 bottles are available in the entire US. It's a delicious whiskey, with notes of melon, banana and plum, plus a bit of sweetness that leads into a very long finish. And the bottle is classic Jameson, with a very elegant and distinguished label that speaks of centuries of tradition.

Barolo

Wine is practically an infinite subject. Even the few who attain the rarified rank of Master of Wine would admit that no one can possibly know every grape, every region and every wine, especially as new wine producing areas frequently emerge to rival the long-established ones.

I know my California wines, and I’m not bad on Burgundy, Bordeaux and the northern Rhône. But I have to admit that I’m pretty weak when it comes to the wines of Italy. While France and California (and let’s thrown in Australia, South America, Oregon and Washington, too) winemakers typically focus on just a handful of grapes (notably chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, malbec and syrah), producers in Italy have hundreds of different varietals available. And they use them all.

A recent local tasting offered me the chance to improve my knowledge of nebbiolo, a grape grown in Piedmont to produce Barolo – and Barbaresco and a couple of other wines as well. Just over 2000 acres in the regions are planted with nebbiolo, and high quality wineries only get about one bottle per vine, which helps explain the high cost of the stuff. And Barolo, with its red fruit flavors and aromas of spice and tar, is a wine connoisseurs seek out, sending prices ever higher each year. It’s potentially an enormous wine, one that will age well for decades. The recent incorporation of new technology by some winemakers has made the wines more approachable in their youth, inspiring yet more people to purchase and drink them.

Vietti, a venerable producer honoring the tradition of the region while also embracing some modern technology, offers a range of Barolos, everything from a (relatively) reasonably priced bottle for those new to the wine to an older vintage for connoisseurs willing to shell out significant money for a trophy wine. Look to Vietti’s Barolo Castiglione 2004 ($45), a blend from several vineyards, as an introduction to this wine. There’s impressive complexity and finesse for the price. Aficionados might want to pick up Vietti’s Brunate, Lazzarito or Rocche single vineyard bottlings ($130), each of which has its own distinctive flavor profile – and each of which is absolutely delicious. And those with deep pockets should consider Vietti’s Barolo Riserva Villero 2001 ($400), an intense, deeply concentrated expression of the grape and the place it was grown.

A Revelation In Gin

I'm not a huge fan of gin, but here's one that got my attention: Bombay Sapphire Revelation. There are only five bottles, each handmade by Baccarat. These crystal decanters -- you get a bottle of Bombay Sapphire when you purchase the empty Baccarat container and can fill it yourself at home -- are bejeweled with diamonds and sapphires. The price? $200,000.

Designer Karim Rashid is behind the opulent look of the bottles, which were handcrafted at Baccarat's facility in France. The bottles resemble gemstones, cut with ten facets, which represent the ten botanicals that give Bombay Sapphire its unique flavor profile. The diamond- and sapphire-studded stoppers were created by Garrard, the oldest jewelry house in the world.

Profits from these bottles, which will be on display and for sale at five major airports (Heathrow, Singapore, New York, Dubai and Sydney), go to The Smile Train, a travel industry charity that provides plastic surgery for children with facial deformities.

Golden Bubbles

Tiny bottles of sparkling wine have been the rage for a while now, but some -- let's be honest -- really weren't much more than Champagne-flavored soft drinks. Champagne Pommery's POP line is far better than that, and their latest effort, Gold POP, is not only decent bubbly but also comes in the best package to date -- a gorgeous shiny gold bottle. And it represents the first vintage offering in this miniature (187ml) format.

You'll Love U'Luvka

You'll love U'Luvka vodka -- after all, what's not to like? This Polish spirit claims inspiration from 16th century alchemists, blending rye, barley and wheat and then distilling three times. The unexpectedly curvy bottle offers its own appeal, as do legless shot glasses that must be drained completely before being set down.

Better than Gold

Forget the "Gold" standard. When it comes to Jose Cuervo, Platino shines brighter. A new entry in Cuervo's ultra-premium Reserva de la Familia line, which previously had only an extra anejo bottle, Platino represents the silver or plata category of unaged tequila, more or less fresh from the still. Priced at $60, Platino is surprisingly reasonable, especially compared to Patron's Platinum, a similar product that sells for more than $200 and is not nearly as good. The Cuervo family did not dumb down this tequila to sell more of it. Platino is really made for tequila lovers -- it is 100% agave, and it really tastes like its ingredient, with tons of herbaceousness and a hint of smoke. With the holidays approaching, it's also good to know this tequila lover's tequila comes in a lovely bottle and a beautiful box. It's a winner from every angle.

International Wine

In these post-Mondovino days, "international" winemaking gets a bad rap. But open-minded enophiles should open a bottle of Cheval Des Andes, a wine from Bordeaux' Cheval Blanc, one of the most prestigious and highly acclaimed chateaux in France, and Terrazas de los Andes, owned by an old Argentine wine-producing family, and judge for themselves. The vineyard is near Mendoza and the wine, produced only in superior vintages since 1999, is a Bordeaux-style blend with a heavy dose of Malbec, the grape that originated as a supporting player in Bordeaux but has gone on to leading man status in that Latin American country. Providing French cred is winemaker Nicolas Audebert, who worked for Krug Champagne and others before heading to Argentina, bringing many years of French training and tradition with him. This opulent wine is one of South America's most most notable, and the '04 will be soon be on store shelves and wine lists of top restaurants.