Our spirits inventory has seen a tidal wave of new arrivals, and not just in the familiar categories. Of course, Scotch is on fire lately with a treasure trove of spectacular bottlings from Redacted Bros. (aka Thompson Bros.) and Dramfool, but we've also just taken in a jaw-dropping line-up of rare Armagnacs, and a long-anticipated trio of stunning craft gins from Sweden.
Read MoreGetting Hernö from Sweden’s rugged High Coast onto K&L’s shelves has been years in the making. Their story with K&L begins with our relationship with Four Pillars—the phenomenal Yarra Valley, Australia, gin producer who stole our hearts back in 2016. Four Pillars has been at the core of our gin lineup and a customer favorite since its first day on our shelves. We have even collaborated in the production of K&L’s most popular gin; Four Pillars - Faultline Gin. During our collaborations, we were able to sample some gins that otherwise had never made it to the United States. Enter Hernö.
Read MoreWe launched our AI-somm earlier this year and struck a nerve with the traditional wine world. While some purists raised their glasses in disdain, many others toasted to the future.
Read MoreSimply put, the Claverie family, who owns Domaine de Baraillon, is sitting on the absolute finest brandy-producing land in the world.
Read MoreDramfool has been bottling independent casks since 2015. Across scores of bottlings, they’ve earned a phenomenal reputation for quality and for their ability to bottle unique casks that simply cannot be had from any other source.
Read MoreThere’s something about the boys in Dornoch that just gets people to open doors for them. The Thompson brothers are the real deal. They’ve been the proprietors of one of Scotland’s finest whisky bars for many years now, and, in their spare time, they’ve built an incredible distillery in the back shed, which is pushing the limits of modern single malt back to its heyday.… They get access to quality stock where others have faltered. Whether that’s due to the good will they’ve garnered behind the bar at the Dornoch Hotel or simply because they’re pretty groovy guys, no one will ever know, but their cask selections have always over-delivered at extremely reasonable price points.
Read MoreOne of the truly great things we accomplished at K&L this year was bringing our wine, spirits, and beer delivery service in-house. Rather than relying on external vendors to deliver orders to our local customers, we hired a first-rate team of drivers to our staff and built a system that provides real-time tracking and SMS notifications. We are so pleased with the improved service we can offer—all at little to no cost—and hope you are too.
Read MoreThere's a never a shortage of new developments to share on the domestic wine front. Starting with our Key Accounts Team's Northern California Report, we dive into some of the benchmark properties in Napa and Sonoma to see what's on the horizon for collectors. Then Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse shines the spotlight on three of his favorite boutique projects making waves among the most clued-in connoisseurs. Finally, a tantalizing sneak peek at Napa's upcoming 2021 releases has everyone in a festive mood for the upcoming holiday season.
Read MoreAll in all, 2021 is potentially an exceptional vintage; its only downside is limited availability due to low yields and the giant void left in the market from many wineries deciding not to produce any red wines in 2020. It's still fairly early days in the 2021 release cycle, but the wines that have already hit the market are showing this is potentially a vintage for the ages.
Read MoreWeatherEye Vineyard, on the ridgeline of Red Mountain in Washington, is without doubt one of the most exciting vineyards anywhere in the United States: a site so radical, its implementation has been 15 years in the making! The incredibly rocky, volcanic soils, constant wind, elevation, and lengthy growing season give the wines immense concentration and structure. Even though the vines are relatively young, the intensity of the wines here is already formidable.
Read MoreOne of the favorite things about my job is seeking out small producers making interesting wines. I love working with people who are really just beginning on their journey and climbing on board with them to see where it goes. I first met Cody and Emily Rasmussen of Desire Lines Wines back in May of 2019 at a very memorable “Shades of Shake Ridge” event in the Sierra Foothills. … There is something so authentic and genuine about them as people and that in turn is encapsulated in their wines. The wines embody a true passion and love for the craft of making wines with a palpable sense of place. They are soulful wines of minimal intervention, yet are also precise and refined. Every part of the process from the selection of vineyard sites, meticulous farming, astute subtle winemaking, hand-drawn label art… everything is done with the utmost care and deliberate attention to detail.
Read MoreI have long believed that the Santa Cruz Mountains are a truly special place to grow grapes. This rugged coastal range forced up by the collision of two tectonic plates has an incredible bounty of complex soils. It’s a geological kaleidoscope of ancient uplifted seabed, volcanic deposits, and metamorphic rock bent and twisted by the immense pressures below. All of this is churned up by the San Andreas fault and weathered down by several millennia of coastal storms.
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