It is officially December 2020, and we have made it through the year. The spirits team at France 44 has officially decided Single Malt Scotch Whisky is the cocktail of December. Single Malt Scotch usually spends a decade in the barrel, slowly turning into a fantastic, flavorful, and complex whisky. Even if you know nothing about Scotch, you know it is the king spirit of the world. For good reason.

But now that December is here, and gift giving abounds, what Scotch should you buy? Most people know Macallan, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig (and the prices to match their reputation), but what are the other 100 bottles doing on the shelf? So we created a guide to find lesser known, unique, and just as delicious Scotch for your Whisky loving gift receiver. Whether they love light fruit and vanilla, or big peat and smoke, we can guide you in the right direction.

These are a few off the beaten path options that we love.

GlenAllachie 12 Year – $57.99

GlenAllachie is one of the few remaining independent distillers still standing in Scotland. This scotch is newer to a lot of people, but it is very well worth knowing. Aged for 12 years in Pedro Jiménez and Oloroso sherry casks, as well as Virgin oak casks, this expression has rich notes of vanilla, dark fruit and oak.

Kilchoman Machir Bay – $59.99

Kilchoman brands themselves as the farm distillery of Islay, growing all their own barley through the spring and summer to begin malting and distilling after September harvest. This peated style is made up of 90% bourbon cask and 10% sherry cask aged whiskey. Featuring notes of vanilla and peat on the nose, dried fruit on the palate and a smoky finish. This bottle comes with two branded lowball glasses.

Benriach 10 Year – $44.99

Three cask matured for at least ten years in bourbon barrels, sherry casks and virgin oak, to create layers of luscious orchard fruit and sumptuous honeyed malt and toasted oak. At less than $50, this is the perfect introduction to the classic Speyside style. This scotch contains all the flavor you want in a single malt at half the price.

Benriach 12 Year Horizons – $59.99

One of the few triple distilled whiskies from Scotland. This expression is first matured in ex-bourbon casks and then is finished in Oloroso sherry casks. The palate is smooth, creamy and nutty with subtle dried fruit notes. Unfortunately, this scotch is being discontinued. We will not have this scotch for next year, but fortunately, we have more than enough for the season. Get it while you can!

Port Askaig 110 Proof – $59.99

A classic example of Islay Scotch, this peated whisky is aged exclusively in American oak, adding some spicy notes with the smoky peat. It is bottled at 110 proof to retain as much flavor as possible, this is the scotch to quote “put hair on your chest and then burn it all off”. The perfect balance of smoke and sweetness. This bottle also comes with two branded Glencairn glasses. Believe us when we say, a scotch drinker can never have enough Glencairn glasses.

written by Chaz

Absinthe is a lesser-known spirit with a well-known aura of mystery. The preferred drink of Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh, it has conjured a devout yet specific following historically. This liquor has actually only been legal for 20 years in America and is still confusing to many today. Why? Let’s take a trip.

What is Absinthe

Although at France 44 we keep absinthe in the cordial section, actual absinthe is a stand-alone liquor with no added sugar, generally high ABV, and contains three defining botanicals. Typically, absinthe runs anywhere from 90 – 148 proof, but many sit approximately between 120-130 proof, one of the highest ABV items you can find on a shelf. The main botanicals are star anise, green fennel, and the enigmatic wormwood. Artemisia absinthium, the scientific name for wormwood, is where absinthe derives its name, but also its centuries of misinformation. Wormwood contains a ketone, thujone, which in higher doses can lead to muscle spasms and convulsions. For years, wormwood and thujone were associated with THC and other cannabinoids. With some help from wine makers and other anti-absinthe bodies of power, the general public came to believe wormwood consumption would induce hallucinations. However, the amount of thujone in absinthe never approaches the toxicity level it takes for any of the adverse effects to take place. The notoriety, accompanied with propaganda and bad science, ultimately leading to a world abstinence from the “Green Fairy”.

The Green Hour

Most accounts mark absinthe’s invention sometime around 1790 by either Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, or the Henriod Sisters. Regardless, the wormwood botanical elixir was sold as a medicinal cure, and the drink began to catch on in the 19th century, with the Henriod Sisters starting the Pernod Fils distillery. The second half gave way to an explosion in absinthe drinking. Absinthe, due to its anti-establishment nature of high ABV and misunderstood botanicals, became the symbol of European bohemianism. Bohemianism was a movement of aesthetics, artists, and counter-culturists who poked the eye of the mainstream. Five o’clock was renamed the “Green Hour” in France, because behind wine, absinthe was becoming the drink of choice for many. French wine makers and the law makers began to take notice, and action.

Bad science made people believe absinthe contained toxic levels of thujone inside, causing hallucinations, seizures, and death. Looking back, we see how horribly inaccurate this is. Reports of 19th century absinthe containing lethal levels of thujone have been disproven, and any outrageous or immoral actions could be closer associated with the loose social values of its main drinkers and the high ABV (absinthe drinks easier than 60% ABV). In Edgar Degas portrait L’Absinthe, the melancholy patrons drinking the green drink were vilified by art critics and considered a ghastly portrait of its real drinkers. By the 20th century, laws to ban the drink for its dangerous levels of thujone were introduced. By 1915, America, France, and England had banned the drink. How closely this was followed is questionable, especially with the ease of movement of distilleries to Czechoslovakia and Spain, but for the next 100 years, absinthe struggled to stay around and became a faint infamous drink of another era.

The Return of the Green Fairy

Fast forward to 2007. Absinthe is illegal in America and other parts of Europe, but not impossible to find across the Ocean. The growing cocktail scene in America makes people reopen old cocktail books from before 1900. While anise liquors to replace absinthe were available, people wanted to true thing.  Lucid Absinthe Superiore negotiated with the USDA to keep thujone levels to a low level in the absinthe, and other countries soon followed. In 2007, France and the United States had both lifted their ban, and for the first time in 95 years, absinthe was available for sale in America. In the years prior, St. George spirits in California had been distilling and experimenting with absinthe (distillation was legal, sale was not). When the ban was lifted, St. George released the first American made absinthe in almost a century. 12 years later, more imports have been coming and craft distilleries in America are beginning to experiment more and more.

Although some bad science and lore still follows absinthe in 2020, its comeback is something to note. With a better understanding of chemistry, less judgment on what people drink, the green fairy is here to stay and clear you head.

Absinthe to try after reading; 

Pernod Absinthe 136 proof Liqueur 

St. George Absinthe [200 ML bottle] 

Two James Absinthe Nain Rouge