The Cellars Wine & Spirits, a premier spirits store with locations in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, recently collaborated with our team and the Minnesota Whiskey Elite whiskey club to hand select one of our private barrels. Our team interviewed Kimberleigh Taylor, operations manager at The Cellars Wine & Spirits, to learn more about the club’s wishes for their private barrel selection. Read more below:
What do your customers look for when they ask you for private barrel recommendations?
Our customers are asking for something different. They don’t want run-of-the-mill whiskey. They’re looking for whiskeys that are special, but of those requests, we often have customers looking for whiskeys with a sweet finish. Most customers are genuinely interested in tasting notes and sampling the pick.
How many barrel picks do you do every year?
We’ve done four picks in the past year or so and have a few coming yet this year, but we’ve recently gotten into picking more and more. Our goal is to have a new pick every couple of months.
What has the feedback been from customers?
We’ve received great feedback regarding our picks, in general, but the Magnus barrel sold-out the same day we put it out for sale.
What makes The Cellars Wine & Spirits a unique shop in your community?
We provide outstanding customer service and have a little bit of everything, in regards to selection. If we don’t stock it and you want it, we will do everything we can to get our hands on it. We’ve worked extremely hard on our whiskey selection in the past year, and due to that, we’ve received a reputation of being a local whiskey heaven.
Joseph Magnus Private Barrel Selection tasting notes:
Nose: Graham cracker, browned and sugared pie crust, cinnamon, lots of toasted oak, black tea. Hints of green apple, but you have to search for it, maybe a tiny bit of spearmint.
Mouthfeel: Dry. Nice coating on the mouth that lingers, a little oily.
Palate and Finish: Dose of black pepper, a very sharp, but brief ethanol hit, lots of oak, some vanilla with a little more graham cracker (toasted, like a campfire), more hints of tea, but more herbal, burnt sugar, and nutmeg. Finish lingers for a few minutes.
Many thanks to our friends at The Cellars Wine & Spirits and the Minnesota Whiskey Elite whiskey club for their support of our team and our craft. Looking forward to highlighting additional private barrel selections throughout 2020, while also launching a new Private Barrel Selection Program. Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on this program, new releases, and more in the coming weeks and months.
