The Uncharted Eight

The greatest bottles aren't always on the top shelf at your local liquor store. Sometimes they live in the shadow of famous names — a Texas distillery proving that bourbon doesn't need Kentucky limestone, a Barossa Shiraz that rivals the Northern Rhne, an Irish grain whiskey that exposes what's been quietly carrying every classic blend for a century. Tonight's eight selections reward curiosity over habit. These are the producers who chose a different road and found something extraordinary waiting at the end of it.

Off the beaten path isn't about obscurity for its own sake. Bunnahabhain makes Islay's most personal whisky — from the island's most remote shore — refusing to compete on peat levels when sherry and malt do the work so much better. Cascahuin Tahona crushes agave the way it was done before the industrial revolution. Henri Bourgeois has been making Sancerre for generations when New Zealand barely had a wine industry. The thread running through every selection tonight is simple: when a producer commits to a less-traveled way of doing things, the results speak for themselves.

BOURBON Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Straight Bourbon

Hye, Texas — where summer temperatures soar past 100F and limestone-rich Hill Country water meets locally grown grain, forcing every drop of spirit to mature faster and more intensely than any traditional Kentucky formula would predict. — where Garrison Brothers makes a convincing case that exceptional bourbon doesn't require a Kentucky zip code. The Texas climate does what years of barrel rotation cannot — it pushes the spirit hard against new oak from the first summer, extracting a depth of caramel and vanilla that rivals aged Kentucky expressions at twice the price. The Small Batch is approachable enough for newcomers and complex enough to challenge experienced palates. This is the bourbon that makes you reconsider every assumption about terroir and tradition.

Cocktail — The Lone Star Sour: 2 oz Garrison Brothers Small Batch · oz fresh lemon juice · oz honey syrup (1:1) · 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters · optional egg white. Dry shake all ingredients, add ice and shake again. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube.

Pair with: Texas-style brisket with a brown sugar rub — the smoke and fat amplify the bourbon's caramel core beautifully.

Awards: Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023; Gold, Austin Craft Spirits Competition 2023

SCOTCH WHISKY Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Islay Single Malt

The northern coast of Islay — reachable only by a single-track road — where Bunnahabhain (pronounced boo-na-HAH-ven) sits apart from the island's famous distilleries, drawing water from the Margadale Spring and making the whisky Islay connoisseurs keep for themselves. — where Bunnahabhain is Islay's best-kept secret precisely because it refuses to play the smoke card. While its neighbours compete on peat levels, Bunnahabhain builds complexity through sherry cask maturation and an unpeated spirit that lets the malt character breathe. The 12 Year Old is the entry point to a distillery that rewards loyalty — drink it beside a heavily peated Islay malt and you'll understand the full range of what this island can do. The contrast is revelatory.

Cocktail — The Northern Shore: 2 oz Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old · oz Oloroso sherry · 3 dashes orange bitters · twist of orange peel. Stir over ice 40 seconds, strain into a chilled coupe. Express and garnish with the orange twist.

Pair with: Smoked salmon on oatcakes with crème frache — the maritime character in both pulls the pairing into perfect alignment.

Awards: Gold Medal, International Spirits Challenge 2023; 92 Points, Whisky Advocate

IRISH WHISKEY Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Dublin, Ireland — where the Teeling family opened a distillery in the Liberties district of the city in 2015, and immediately set about proving that grain whiskey, long dismissed as blending filler, deserves to stand on its own with nothing to hide. — where Grain whiskey gets little respect until you taste Teeling's version. Matured in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon casks, this single grain has the silkiness of a premium spirit and the depth of a well-aged whiskey. It's the secret that every Irish blend drinker has been unknowingly appreciating for decades, now bottled on its own terms. Serve it slightly chilled, neat, to anyone who claims Irish whiskey is predictable — this changes the conversation immediately.

Cocktail — The Dublin Rose: 1.5 oz Teeling Single Grain · 1 oz Lillet Blanc · oz elderflower liqueur · squeeze of fresh lemon · ice. Stir gently, strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with a lemon twist.

Pair with: Vanilla panna cotta with fresh cherry compote — the wine-cask influence in the whiskey makes this pairing seamless.

Awards: Gold, International Wine and Spirit Competition 2023; 91 Points, Whisky Advocate

TEQUILA Cascahuin Tahona Blanco

El Arenal, Jalisco — a small Lowlands town in the shadow of the Tequila Volcano where the Rosales family has operated their distillery since 1904, still using a volcanic stone tahona wheel to crush their agave by the most labour-intensive method still practised at commercial scale. — where Tahona production is brutally inefficient — the volcanic stone wheel extracts less juice, takes longer, and demands more labour than a mechanical shredder. Cascahuin does it anyway because the result is a blanco with a weight and mineral complexity that industrial methods cannot replicate. This is tequila at its most expressive — unaged, unfiltered, unapologetic. Drink it neat with a slice of orange and understand why the Rosales family has kept this process unchanged for generations.

Cocktail — The Stone Wheel Paloma: 2 oz Cascahuin Tahona Blanco · 3 oz fresh grapefruit juice · oz fresh lime juice · oz agave nectar · salt rim. Build over ice in a highball glass, stir once, garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

Pair with: Ceviche with fresh lime and cilantro — the mineral agave and citrus notes in the tequila amplify every element of the dish.

Awards: Gold, Tequila and Mezcal Masters 2023; 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast

GIN Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland — a quiet town on the shores of Lough Allen where distiller PJ Rigney spent years developing a gin that draws on Irish botanicals and hand-rolled Gunpowder green tea from China, creating a flavour profile the world hadn't tasted before. — where The Gunpowder tea botanical is the masterstroke here — it binds the citrus and juniper elements into something cohesive and unmistakably different from any London Dry. Drumshanbo Gunpowder is the gin that makes craft spirit sceptics take a second look. The distinctive spherical bottle is famous in Irish bars, but the real story is inside it: a carefully developed recipe, an unexpected Chinese tea leaf, and a distillery that chose character over convention at every turn. Serve in a copa glass over ice with tonic, sliced pink grapefruit, and a twist of lime.

Cocktail — The Gunpowder and Tea Tonic: 50ml Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin · premium Indian tonic water · slice of grapefruit · slice of lime · sprig of lemon thyme. Build in a copa glass over ice, add tonic slowly, garnish generously. Let the botanicals bloom undisturbed.

Pair with: Smoked trout pté on rye crisp — the tea tannin and citrus cut through the fat while the juniper echoes the gentle smoke.

Awards: Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2022; Master, The Gin Masters 2023

RUM Doorly's XO Barbados Rum

Bridgetown, Barbados — the island that has been producing rum for centuries and arguably still makes some of the world's finest, where the Foursquare Distillery quietly bottles one of the most underrated rums on the planet under the Doorly's label. — where Doorly's XO is the insider's choice from Foursquare — the same distillery, the same master blender, the same dedication, at a price that makes you wonder if the industry has got its pricing backwards. It outperforms rums at twice its cost and rewards anyone patient enough to nose it properly before sipping. This is the rum that converts whisky drinkers. Serve neat or over a single large cube, take your time, and don't be surprised when you reach for a second glass.

Cocktail — The Bajan Daiquiri: 2 oz Doorly's XO · oz fresh lime juice · oz simple syrup. Shake hard with ice, double-strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish — let the rum speak for itself.

Pair with: Crème brlée with caramelised orange — the toffee and vanilla in the rum trace every note of the dessert.

Awards: Gold Medal, International Rum Conference 2023; Highly Recommended, World Rum Awards 2023

RED WINE Torbreck The Struie Shiraz 2021

The Barossa Valley, South Australia — where David Powell founded Torbreck in 1994 after years spent working ancient, dry-farmed Shiraz vineyards, and set out to prove that old vine Barossa fruit, treated with Northern Rhne respect, could produce world-class wine. — where Torbreck's The Struie is the Barossa wine that converts sceptics — people who dismiss Australian Shiraz as jammy and overblown take one sip of this and reassess everything. Powell's commitment to old vine fruit and French oak restraint produces a wine with both the power of the Barossa and the elegance of a great Southern Rhne. It over-delivers at its price point and ages beautifully for a decade. Decant for 45 minutes before serving and watch it open up in layers.

Cocktail — The Barossa Spritz: 3 oz Torbreck The Struie · 1 oz Aperol · 2 oz chilled soda water · large orange wedge. Build in a large wine glass over ice, stir once gently.

Pair with: Braised lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic — the pepper and dark fruit in the wine echo every herb and fat note in the lamb.

Awards: 93 Points, James Halliday Wine Companion 2024; Gold, Decanter World Wine Awards 2023

WHITE WINE Henri Bourgeois Sancerre La Bourgeoise 2022

Chavignol, Loire Valley, France — the same village that produces world-class Crottin de Chavignol goat's cheese, and has been producing exceptional Sauvignon Blanc from Kimmeridgian limestone soils for generations. — where The Bourgeois family has been cultivating Sancerre vines for more than ten generations, and La Bourgeoise is the expression that captures everything the appellation stands for. When people discover that Sauvignon Blanc this complex and age-worthy exists in France, their relationship with the grape changes permanently. This is the wine that makes you understand why Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc occupies a category of its own — one that rewards patience and educated appreciation in equal measure. Serve at 10C with nothing in the way.

Cocktail — The Chavignol Spritz: 4 oz Henri Bourgeois Sancerre La Bourgeoise · 1 oz elderflower cordial · 2 oz chilled sparkling water · thin cucumber slices. Build in a large wine glass over ice, stir gently.

Pair with: Fresh goat's cheese on toasted brioche with honey — the wine and Chavignol cheese are a classic pairing; together they produce something greater than either alone.

Awards: 93 Points, Wine Spectator 2023; Gold, Decanter World Wine Awards 2023

Train Your Nose — Issue 15

The eight selections in tonight's issue share a quality that separates the curious from the casual: they reward the nose that lingers. Each product has been paired with specific aromas from the School of Wine and Spirits aroma kits — grab yours and work through each before taking a sip. The differences will surprise you.

Start with the spirits. Line up the Garrison Brothers, Bunnahabhain, and Drumshanbo Gunpowder gin and nose them blind. Before you reach for any reference, ask yourself: which is the warmest? Which has the most botanical brightness? Which feels closest to something baked? Once you've written your impressions, open your Bourbon kit and find Corn and Charred Oak — check them against the Garrison Brothers and notice how Texas heat accelerates the vanilla and spice extraction normally associated with much longer maturation.

Now move to the wines. Open the Torbreck Struie beside the Henri Bourgeois Sancerre and nose them simultaneously. One gives you dark plum and cracked pepper; the other delivers cut grass and white flowers. In the Wine aroma kit, locate Blackcurrant and Green (Cut Grass) and hold each under your nose, then return to the glasses. Which wine carries fruit from a hot climate and which from a cool one? Write it down — this is the terroir conversation in its clearest possible form.

Today's Kit Reference

Explore the School of Wine and Spirits

Every bottle in tonight's issue carries a lesson about looking beyond the expected. Our books on Amazon take you deeper into those places — from the limestone hollows of Kentucky in America's Spirit, the misty distilleries of Scotland's Spirit and Ireland's Spirit, the volcanic highlands of The Tequila y Mezcal Revolution, the ancient vineyards of The Ultimate Northern Italian Wine Journey, and the fossilized seabeds of Burgundy in our Chablis and Cte d'Or pocket guides.

Explore our Aroma Masterclass kits and books at schoolofwineandspirits.com

Explore our Aroma Masterclass kits and books at schoolofwineandspirits.com

Our kits make the perfect gift for the curious drinker in your life — because once you learn to identify aromas, you never taste the same way again.

Know someone who would enjoy The Still & The Vine? Forward this issue to a fellow enthusiast — or share it on social media and tag @SchoolofWineandSpirits. We grow by word of mouth.

Until tomorrow's pour — cheers.