Membership in the Kahnoisseur’s Klub is your all access pass to the hottest deals and the coolest events that Kahn’s Fine Wines offers.  The K Klub is easy to join and costs only $10 per person, PER YEAR.

Here’s what you get for only $10 per year:

• Email invites to over 25 FREE wine, beer and spirits tastings per year.  We don’t promote these events to the general public so if you’re not in the K Klub you’ll miss out on great events like:Grand Tour of South America, Grand Tour of Burgundy Varietals, Grand Tour of Spain and Portugal, Grand Tour of Ste. Michelle, Antinori Tasting with Aldo Rafanelli, Summer Sparklers, Patio Pounders, Scotchathon, Bourbonanza, Brandy Bash, Fantasy Four Pack, Beer and Candy, Battle of Belgium, Midsummer’s Sauntering Supper, Argentinian Wine and Dine, AND MUCH MORE!!!
• K Klub Only Tete de Cuvee Room at Champagne and Shopping! This year K Klub members tasted Perrier Jouet Flower Label, Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes D’or (Brut and Rose), Krug Grand Cuvee, Dom Perignon, Taittinger Comte de Champagne, Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame and Gaston Chiquet Special Club
• Your order is filled FIRST at our signature Diamond in the Rough event!  This benefit came in handy in 2011. K Klub members were assured that if they ordered a wine they loved, they got it!
• Beerocracy: The ultimate reason for Beer Lovers to join the K Klub!  Every couple of months we will host a beer tasting and K Klub members will get a chance to purchase highly allocated beers that are not on shelves, but hidden in our Beerocracy stockpile!  Click for More information about Beerocracy!
• K Klub Head Start.  Special emails that notify K Klub members of highly allocated and hard-to-find wines, beers and spirits.  If you like being on the cutting edge when it comes to new products, then you’ll love K Klub Head Start!  We make it easy for you!
• Extra 10% off all Riedel stemware
• 20-30% discount entry to all events held at restaurants.  Often, if you come to just one restaurant event, your discount will be more than the cost of your K Klub membership!
• Extra 10% off all Accessories and Food

Call 317-228-9463 to join the Kahnoisseur’s Klub today!

It’s that time of year again.  At 12:00 on January 1^, 2012 many of us will find ourselves surrounded by loved ones as we ring in the New Year.  We’ll engage in long-standing New Years traditions like clinking bubbly-filled Champagne flutes together and we may even share a midnight kiss with someone special. 

For many of us, Champagne is a staple for any legitimate New Years Eve celebration, but why?  We’re celebrating a New Year, so why not try something new? 

Ringin’ in the New Year with a Vodka Tasting

Personally, I’m not sure why unflavored Vodka hasn’t become a ‘thing’.  Maybe it’s slowly gaining speed.  A quick browse in almost any liquor store reveals an explosion of flavored vodkas to fuel the current Vodka martini cocktail trend; however, a close look at the Vodka world reveals some excellent choices for Vodka purists.

Here are some helpful tips to make your tasting a success

• Purchase four or five different unflavored vodkas.  Let your interests be the guide, but you could certainly choose vodkas from the same country, same grain, or feature the main Vodka regions: Russia, Poland, Western Europe and U.S. Have fun with it.
• Put the vodkas in the freezer overnight.  Ice cold vodka is different than vodka at room temperature as it has added viscosity.  You’ll also find the aromatics are more apparent.
• Glassware: Serve vodkas in fluted or chimney-style glasses.  Fluted cognac glasses or Champagne flutes work well.  If you’re in the market for stemware, we recommend Winelovers Champagne flutes,   Chill glassware in the freezer for about an hour before the tasting.
• Food: Some classic pairings with vodka include: caviar, oysters, pickled vegetables, oily fish, anchovies, herring, and smoked salmon, spicy and salty food.  Encourage guests to nibble between tastings.
• Serving: Pour an oz. to 1.25 oz. of vodka into the chilled glasses.  Encourage guests to let the vodka warm (a little) in its glass before tasting.  Make sure to smell and note the differences before tasting.  Does the nose match the palate?  What are the differences?    Encourage your guests to drink bottled water to cleanse their palates.
• How should vodka taste?  It depends on what you like, but most tasters agree that smoothness is an important taste characteristic of quality vodka.  I prefer vodkas that are clean, crisp and complex, but you might like something completely different and that’s just fine.

Kahn’s recommends:

• Crystal Head Vodka (Canada) Taste: Slightly sweet aroma and silky smooth.
• Jean Marc XO Vokda (France) Taste: Clean, crisp with loads of mineral
• Stolichnaya Elit Vodka (Russia) Taste: Anise, and spice but smooth and clean.
• Chopin Vodka (Poland): Taste: Mineral, spearmint, crisp.

Regarding Sunday Sales…

I wish the answer was simple, but it is not.  We understand why many consumers are in favor of Sunday Sales, but things  look very different from Kahn's point of view.

If the Sunday sales law passes, then Kahn’s and other package liquor stores in central Indiana have a choice: open and incur 52 days of additional labor, selling, general and administrative expenses and compete with groceries and pharmacies for Sunday sales… or stay closed.  

You know who keeps pushing for this law don’t you?  The media and others sponsoring the bill want you to think it's consumers like you, but Big Box Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, and Convenience Stores are the main proponents of the new law.   We get it.  Essentially, groceries and pharmacies are forced to shrink their normal selling space for the time they are open on Sundays.  If the new law passes, then grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores won’t incur any additional labor costs or other significant expenses.   Since Sunday is one of the biggest grocery shopping days of the week, many consumers will buy alcohol when they do the rest of their shopping because it will be more convenient.

Are Hoosiers going to drink more just because they can buy alcohol on Sundays? Probably not.  Most Hoosiers will consume the same amount of alcohol; they’ll just buy it on the day that’s most convenient for them.  We do not foresee increased sales for Kahn’s... just the current 6 days of business spread over 7 days.  If sales do increase, we certainly do not foresee an increase that will offset the additional costs of being open.  For the small “Mom and Pop” Liquor stores throughout the state, these additional costs could be the kiss of death, as they incur a 7^th day of expenses and little to no increased revenue.

Liquor Stores are fighting hard to limit the exposure of alcohol to minors.  All of our employees must be 21 and pass a training class in the Safe Sales of Alcohol while grocery stores can hire minors. Additionally, you must be 21 to enter a Liquor Store but teens and pre-teens are free to  walk the liquor aisles freely in a grocery store.   In a nutshell…if grocery stores win, minors will have easier access to alcohol and they'll be exposed to alcohol at an earlier age.

Additionally, we would argue that the Sunday law makes an already unfair playing field even more unfair.  For example, if you want to open a package liquor store in Indiana , like Kahn’s, Crown, UPL, Payless, 21^st Amendment, and others, you have to buy a license.   Auctioned licenses can run from $150,000-450,000.  Want to  buy a new license from the government?  Good luck.  New licenses are based on population increases and there have been no new Marion County licenses issued for years. In fact, it is doubtful that there will ever be any new licenses issued (unless the law changes),  since Marion County's population is shrinking.  The final way to obtain a license is to buy a liquor store already in operation.   Most owners value their licenses in the $200,000-$250,000 range, and as you can imagine, no sane owner will just sell you their license.  Compare this to what it costs for grocery licenses (which are unlimited)…and cost only $2,500.  How is that for an unfair playing field?

Make no mistake about it;  grocers are leading the charge on the Sunday sales law.  We just want you to know that there are two sides to every story, and we feel that the Sunday sales law is anti-small business, anti-competition and is all about money for the big grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, and the government.  Kahn’s Fine Wines will adapt and be open for business if and when the new law passes; we just hope you’ll make the extra trip on Sundays, because like always, we’ll still offer the greatest selection around, top-notch service and competitive prices. 

Told you the answer was not simple.  Hopefully this clears things up from the retail side.

CHEERS!