We’re smack in the middle of the hot heat of summer and the World Cup is upon us, so why don’t we take a little trip to Brazil and drink some cachaça?

It’s finally here folks: patio season. We look forward to this all year long, when we can throw on our shorts and sandals and venture out onto our patios with our friends and neighbors. We’re here to highlight some tequila, mezcal, and related products to bring out the best in your summer cocktails!

Olmeca Altos Plata $21.99/750ML  $39.99/1.75LT

Altos Plata is France 44’s affordable Blanco of choice. Made from 100% highland blue agave and still utilizing a 2-ton volcanic Tahona stone to mill the cooked agave in the old tradition, this Blanco is loaded with flavor. Yes, there is a ton of citrus and agave sweetness, but there is also a layer of tropical fruit as well with tones of mango, papaya, and guava. When you squeeze citrus into this tequila it enhances and stands out instead of just blending in with the lime. It also comes in large 1.75LT bottles of $39.99 that we longingly call our party bricks!

Tres Agaves Margarita Mix  $9.99/LT

We’re going to move though a ton (literally) of margarita mix over the next few months and we want to shout the quality of Tres Agaves from the rooftop. Made from all natural ingredients, lime extract, vitamin C, filtered water, and organic agave nectar, this is the perfect margarita mix. Just use 2oz blanco tequila, one ounce of Tres Agave Margarita Mix, Orange Liqueur optional, and a squeeze of lime and you’re ready to go!

Arette Anejo Tequila  $27.99/750ML

Arette’s high quality tequilas have finally hit Minnesota just in time for summer and their Anejo definitely exceeds its price point by a mile. While their blanco shows a ton of lime ring and mineral spice, their Anejo is aged 14-18 months giving it huge tones of vanilla, caramel, and honey. A sure fire way to turn your whiskey drinker into a tequila drinker for the summer–don’t just sip it and throw it into margaritas, try out an Anejo Old Fashioned simply subbing tequila for bourbon, you won’t be disappointed!

Clase Azul Reposado  $74.99/750ML

Our best-selling high end Reposado, and for good reason. A good Reposado should start to show off those sweeter vanilla and caramel tones while keeping some fruity notes in its back pocket. Clase Azul Reposado toes this line elegantly between tropical tones and toasty vanilla tones from the meticulously hand selected American Oak barrels where it rests for 8 months. Definitely a sipper or with a squeeze of lime for a special occasion or just a hot summer day.

Yuu Baal Mezcal  $41.99/750ML

Mezcal is a rapidly growing space on our shelves as well as nationwide. It is tequila’s smoky, earthy cousin where they use fire pits to cook the agave instead of ovens or kilns, and the agave picks up the smoke from there and runs with it. Definitely not for everyone but the people who love it–scotch drinkers in particular–absolutely adore it. Mezcal is sipped all over Mexico almost like their version of whiskey but the majority of mezcal is mixed into cocktails here in America. Yuu Baal makes a powerful smoky mezcal with light fruit flavors and big earthy smoke. Perfect for the smoke lover but also great for mixing 50/50 with tequila (like Olmeca Altos or Arette) in Margaritas or palomas to add some smoke to your life.

We have all of this and plenty more ideas whether you want a new flavor or orange like mandarin or blood orange (Mandarine Napoleon or Solerno Blood Orange liqueurs), some spice whether it be mole (Corazon bitters) or green pepper spice (Ancho Reyes Verde), or a ton of types of ginger for making Mexican mules or ginger margaritas (one of Tom’s favorites), the agave possibilities are endless for this summer’s cocktail experimenting.

Spring has FINALLY sprung here in Minnesota, and to celebrate the warm weather we have received a few new limited edition gins just in time to celebrate!

Our local Spirits Guide has a few new things you should be aware of…

There’s more to the world of Irish Whiskey than just Jameson…

Here at France 44, we’re always looking for the new and different. We feel we’ve struck gold with our two brand new quarter barrels of scotch from The Lost Distillery Company. The Lost Distillery Company teams up with the Archiving team at the University of Glasgow to recreate classic distilleries that have been lost for the past few centuries. They research things such as locality, water sources, barley and peat type, washback and still type, among many other factors to try and recreate lost distilleries from a blend of different malt whiskies from all parts of Scotland. We grabbed very different whiskies finished in unique casks that are only available here at France 44 and when all 84 bottles (yes, just 84 bottles) are gone, they’re gone for good!

Lost Distillery Towiemore Pedro Ximenez Finish $44.99

Towiemore was a lighter styled Speyside malt whisky that closed due to issues with its water supply in 1931. While known for rich cereal tones from the high quality barley, light orchard fruits and toasty vanilla, they were also known to have used sherry butts whenever possible. The quarter barrel we chose is finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry butts. Starting from a light, fruity/creamy base, this Pedro Ximenez finish can really shine. Big flavors up front of raisin, plum and fig jam, the palate shoes almond cream nuttiness, and an enduring clove spice on the finish really pops. Big, rich and warming.

Lost Distillery Gerston Rum Finish $64.99

Gerston was a distillery in the Caithness area of Scotland along the east side of the far northern part of Scotland that initially closed in 1882. This area would have been known as a finishing dominated area due to the rocky terrain, which would have been bad for farming. The water source would have been very clean with hints of salinity to match the high salt content peat used to malt the barley. We are talking about a coastal area making coastal influenced whisky. Maritime salt, toffee, and subtle hints of smoke and earth would have dominated this lost malt. We chose a rum barrel finish to accentuate the salted toffee vibe this whisky give off adding honey and vanilla to this lightly smoky and spicy whisky.

Get them while they’re hot, there’s not many to go around!