By now, many of you are aware of why beer lovers join the Kahnoisseur’s Klub for the benefit called Beerocracy.  In short, Beerocracy is a raffle that is held at all Kahn’s beer events and allows K Klub members the chance to buy rare and highly sought-after beers.   In case you’re wondering, when we say rare and highly sought-after beers, we mean it.  Recent Beerocracy winners purchased: Cantillon Fou’foune Apricot Lambic, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout, Founders Curmudgeon’s Better Half, Founders Blushing Monk, Founders Nemesis, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island Bourbon County Bramble, Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee, Dogfish Head My Antonia, Birra del Borgo Ducchesic, Three Floyds Behemoth, Victory Dark Intrigue and more…

You get the idea. 

Normally, the more K Klub members present at the Beerocracy raffle, the worse your chances of winning.  The Wrath of Kahn’s is going to turn the tables on that. For the Wrath of Kahn’s tasting, the more people in attendance, the better your chances of winning. PLUS the more people in attendance the better your chances of winning more prized beers. 

Here’s how it will work:

50 attendees = 10 beers for the Beerocracy raffle.  If all of those people are K Klub members, then at worst, K Klub members have a 1 in 5 chance of winning.

100 attendees = 25 beers for the Beerocracy raffle.  If all of those attendees are K Klub members, then at worst, K Klub members have a 1 in 4 chance of winning.

150+ attendees = 50 beers for the Beerocracy raffle!  If all attendees are K Klub members, then at worst, K Klub members have a 1 in 3 chance of winning.

Winner’s names will be removed from the raffle BUT they will be asked if they want to enter round 2.     We will sell every Beerocracy beer that we can without replacing winning tickets...so as you guessed, your odds continue to improve as round 1 progresses.  If we cannot sell all of the beers available, we will replace the winning tickets that wanted to be in round 2 and begin drawing again.  This process will continue until all Beerocracy beers are sold or until no one wants to buy. 

Here’s a handy chart that might help…

The Wrath of Kahn’s Event Details:
Where:   Kahn’s Fine Wines North Willow
                2342 W. 86^th St
                Indianapolis, IN

When:  Tasting 6-8p, Thursday, June 7^th
                *Raffle starts at 6:45p*

The Kahn’s Wine of the Month Club takes you on a new wine adventure every month.  

Our club features high quality, competitively-priced wines from around the world.  If we’ve learned anything from being in the wine business, it’s that there’s always great wine out there; you just have to know where to find it.  With our club, you’re not ‘stuck’ on a specific wine, winemaking style or region and you’re never punished with an inferior wine from a poor vintage.  In fact, the Kahn’s Wine of the Month Club is structured so that you will always get the best wines at the best prices, no matter what club level you join.

In addition, Kahn’s Wine of the Month club gives members a distinct buying advantage.  Wine-club customers can purchase the club wines all month at 10% off the everyday Kahn’s price.   Other customers won’t even know that the wine is 10% off!  Finally, you may cancel your membership without penalty at any time, but we don’t think you’ll want to.  We intend on choosing wines that make you look forward to what’s in store for next month.

Our wine club has three different levels that are tailored to meet your unique needs.

Collector: $100 per month gets you two to three wines that 90+ rated from Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate and/or Wine Enthusiast.  Collector-level wines guarantee Oohs and Ahs from friends.  They might even wonder how you acquired such highly sought-after wine treasure.

Buy this if:

1. ​You love ‘cult’ wines, but have trouble finding the time to keep up with the latest wine trends. 
2. You love trying new things and value the opinions of wine experts from Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.
3. You’re looking for a wine store to help you find great wines outside the regions from which you normally buy.
4. You like getting a great deal.

90+ Under $20: $70 per month gets you two red wines and two white wines rated 90+ pts, are highly recommended by Kahn’s tasting panel, AND cost under $20 a bottle

Buy this if:

1.  Wine is a regular part of your life, i.e. you have wine with dinner at least once a week.
2. You love to try wines from different regions.
3. You are looking to expand your knowledge of wine and like recommendations from the Kahn’s tasting panel and experts from wine industry periodicals
4. You like both white and red wines.

Tasters: $30 per month gets you one red wine and one white wine.  You may opt for all red or all white. 

Buy this if:

1. You’re looking to expand your wine knowledge, but don’t know where to start.
2. You’re ready to try new things.
3. You’ve had great experience with Kahn’s staffers’ recommendations.
4. You want to learn a lot about wine, while you stay in budget.

Start Your Monthly Wine Adventure Today.

Call 317-228-9463 

Bring the Noise : Drink the Funk!

Sours are by no means new, but they seem to be the beer world’s (current) final frontier. First light lagers, then wheats. After that some folks jump into the Belgians. Some opt for pales and India pales, or browns, porters and stouts. Then usually it’s at this point people reach the end of the road and start to look around. What’s left to explore? Sours, baby!

So, what the heck… let’s explore the world of sour beer and listen to funk music! From the mouth-puckering extremes to sweet/sour fruit-forward favorites to light, dry, crisp summertime thirst quenchers…  We are set to run the gamut of what wild ales have to offer. Whether you are hip to this genre of the world’s greatest beverage or not, I have no doubt we will have something open at this tasting you will like… love… and most likely, CRAVE!

*Warning: I’m not kidding. Sours might be the most dangerously addictive branch of beer’s family tree. ‘Sour’ isn’t necessarily the most appetizing word. Brewers risk (and suffer through) full blown wild yeast/bacteria contaminations to make these beers that can take years of attention and aging to mature. And consumers spend significant amounts of money on these heartburn inducing treats. Despite all that, it’s a surprisingly successful business model.

In addition to the diverse range of offerings open for sampling, Drink the Funk will also include a very special Beerocracy Raffle! The rights to buy some of the rarest sour treats will be up for grabs. The raffle roster will feature offerings from: Cantillon (arguably the greatest sour/lambic producer), Drie Fonteinen, Upland (Indiana’s own world class sour brewer) & more!

List of breweries being sampled: Jolly Pumpkin, Upland, Bell's, Lindemans, Liefmans, Goose Island, Fantome, The Bruery, Verhaeghe, Ichtegems, BFM, Van Steenberge, Anchorage & more!

To recap: Sours are good. Come try a bunch of them!

Bring the Noise : Drink the Funk!

Thursday, April 26, 6-8p

Kahn’s North Willow
2342 W 86^th St
Indianapolis, IN 46260

RSVP: 317-228-9463

Members-only events are the best reason to join the Kahnoisseur's Klub.

On March 29, Kahnoisser’s Klub members were treated to the Grand Tour of France, a FREE tasting that featured wines, beer and spirits from France’s most famous regions.  K Klubbers had the opportunity to sample nine Bordeaux wines, and were introduced to the famous 2009 vintage with Chateau Bellisle Mondotte, St. Emilion Grand Cru 2009.  The Bellisle Mondotte represented the much-anticipated 2009 vintage well, boasting aromas of black raspberry, black cherry and earth along with a complex palate, ripe tannins and refreshing acidity.

K Klub members tasted five wines from Alsace, a region known for its world-class single varietal white wines.  The unlikely, but clear star was the Rene Muré Clos St. Landelin Pinot Gris 2003.  Exotic floral aromas leapt from the glass and mingled with a rich, honeyed palate that was surprisingly fresh for a nine year old Pinot Gris!  It was a rare treat for Alsace wine lovers and everyone else. 

Our Champagne table featured four outstanding Grower Champagnes, called so because the grape grower and the winemaker are one in the same.  All four Grower Champagnes tasted were dazzling, but the clear favorite was the René Geoffroy Brut Expression.  The word enchanting is not adequate to describe it.  Tastes of lemon curd, quince, and fresh bread accompanied loads of minerality, and great acidity to make this ‘farm fizz’ absolutely irresistible. 

And then there was Burgundy…lots of it.  An entire table was dedicated to Joseph Drouhin, a second table featured the wines of Louis Jadot, and the final table showcased boutique producers.   There were lots of great wines, but perhaps the most memorable red was the Lecheneaut Morey St. Denis 2007, a scrumptious beauty with pure cherry fruit, earth, mineral and an enticing nose of violets. 

The Cordier Pouilly Fuisse Rare 2006, a Chardonnay-based white Burgundy, was simply one of the finest Pouilly Fuisses we’ve encountered.  It was rich and complex beyond comparison with honey, butter, a touch of spice and ample orchard fruits on a solid frame of acidity.  An absolute wine treasure.

From there, tasters toured the Rhone and the South of France, encountering the wines of Chateau de Nages.  The reserve white, the reserve red, the VV red and the Les Piliers Syrah were purchased frequently, as tasters continued to remark how outstanding they tasted for the price.

Finally, K Klub members were treated to six beers and six brandies.  The Etienne Dupont Bouche Cidre and the Castelian St. Amand French Country Ale were clear favorites among the beer loving members in attendance.  The brandy lovers in the K Klub were treated to VS and VSOP Cognacs and Armagnacs from Monnet, Lucien, Chabot, and Sempe as well as a surprising value-priced Calvados (apple brandy) from Calvaclub.

Remember, we only promoted the Grand Tour of France to K Klub members, so join the K Klub today to make sure you don't miss the next great event!

Don't miss the next great event.

Join the Kahnoisseur’s Klub today for just $10 per person/per year.

Check out other K Klub member benefits.

Call 317-228-9463 to join today!

Day Two of Battle of Belgium 2012 is Complete!

Download the Updated Bracket after Round 2 here!
St. Bernardus Abt 12 produces another strong effort in round 2 as it continues to fight its way through the 2012 BOB bracket.   Abt 12's round 3 matchup is with Goose Island Pere Jacques, a dominant force in this year's Battle of Belgium.  Pere Jacques crushed Houblon Chouffe in round 1 and embarassed Duvel in round 2, wining by over 20 votes in both cases.  Taking down defending BOB champ will be a different matter entirely, as Abt 12 brings richness, complexity and freshness to the table.  Again, we'll have to wait and see, but the stage certainly appears to be set for Abt 12 to repeat as BOB Champ in 2012.

Rochefort 8 and Unibroue Trois Pistoles are matched up in the Bruges regional.  Both beers had strong showings in prior rounds and continue the trend of big beer dominance in BOB 2012.  We expect this to be a hotly contested matchup.

Leffe Brune continues its trimuphant stroll through the Waterloo region after knocking off Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus Trpel in rounds 1 and 2, respectively.  It round 3, it faces Ommegang Brewery's Three Philosophers, a Belgian-style quad brewed with cherries.  While these beers are markedly different in style, we expect the outcome to be dependent on customers in attendance, so if you love either of these beers come out and help vote them through to the final round.

Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, the Antwerp region features Indiana's own Sun King Brewery's Velvet Fog vs. Chimay Blue.  Both beers pack a huge punch, but we'll see where the votes fall tonight in what is sure to be an exciting matchup.  We suspect that once Indiana palates figure out which beer is Sun King that the votes may tend toward our hometown brewery, but who knows.  Either way, your votes will determine the winner in a matchup with two high quality brews.

DON'T FORGET...BEEROCRACY! 

March 9: Goose Island Bramble, Dogfish Head My Antonia, Boulevard Chocolate Ale 2010, Founder's Backwoods Bastard 2011.  Beerocracy is a raffle that we host at the end of all Kahn's Beer Events where K Klub members are entered into a raffle for the chance to purchase rare and hard to find beers.  Joining the K Klub costs just $10 per person, per year and has loads of great benefits.  Find out more about the Kahnoisseur's Klub here!

Day One of Battle of Belgium 2012 is Complete!

Download the Updated Bracket after Round 1 here!

What an interesting night it was! Overall #1 seed St. Bernardus Abt 12 crushed McChouffe by 27 votes, so its chances of repeating as BOB Champ are still alive, but it will have to get past Boulevard's Tank 7 Saison in round 2.  Saisons (like Tank 7) usually have trouble with rich beers like Abt 12, but we'll let your votes decide the winner.

Brackets were busted in the Waterloo region when St. Bernardus Watou Tripel  was knocked out by New Belgium's Belgo IPA, setting up a duel between Belgo and Three Philosophers by Ommegang Brewery.

The #1 seed in the Antwerp region, Chimay Blue, easily dealt with Urthel's Quadrium, so Chimay Blue's potential crash course with Abt 12 in round 4 is still in tact.  Also in Antwerp, newcomer Sun King's Velvet Fog managed to knock out #2 seed New Belgium 1554, though by only a slim margin. This sets Sun King's Velvet Fog up for a matchup with La Fin du Monde, which crushed Urthel's Hop-It by over 30 votes in round 1.

The Bruges region features an interesting contrast of styles with a round 2 matchup between Rochefort 8 and The Bruery's Mischief, which defeated newcomer Great Crescent Brewery's Frosted Fields in round 1. 

All in all it was an interesting round 1, but round 2 should be even more exciting!

DON'T FORGET...

March 8 Beerocracy Beers: Three Floyds Behemoth, Del Borgo Duchessic, Dogfish Head Olde School, Goose Island Bourbon County (2 bottle lot)  Beerocracy is a raffle that we host at the end of all Kahn's Beer Events where K Klub members are entered into a raffle for the chance to purchase rare and hard to find beers.  Joining the K Klub costs just $10 per person, per year and has loads of great benefits.  Find out more about the Kahnoisseur's Klub here!

MPORTANT NEWS: The Battle of Belgium rules committee has decided to replay one of the round 1 matchups tonight.  At the end of round 1, we determined that one matchup contained a flawed beer, and as such, the matchup's outcome may have been skewed.   We beleive that it is fair to replay this matchup with two 'clean,' unflawed beers.

How we'll replay it: We will replay the round 1 matchup and the two potential round 2 matchups tonight.  When the round 1 winner is determined, we will then use the round 2 matchup with the round 1 winner to determine the round 2 winner.  The other round 2 results will be discarded.  If you have any questions, please call 317-228-9463 and talk with Kyle or Todd.

Good news..the Battle of Belgium  is March 7-10 from 6-8 pm at Kahn's North Willow, 2342 W. 86th Street.  In our quest to make the Battle of Belgium the best event it can be, we've decided to add a Beerocracy Raffle at the end of every Battle of Belgium round (around 7:30pm).  .  More Battle of Belgium info here. 

Download the Battle of Belgium Bracket here.

What is Beerocracy?  Beerocracy is a Kahnoisseur's Klub member benefit where members are entered into a raffle for the chance to purchase rare and hard-to-find beers.  See what rare gems K Klub Members purchased at the Beerocracy Kickoff Tasting here. The Kahnoisseur's Klub costs members just $10 a year and is loaded with benefits including:  Beerocracy, a VIP Tete de Cuvee Room at our Champagne and Shopping event, Discounts on all Food and Accessories...and more.  Learn more about the Kahnoisseur's Klub.

The Battle of Belgium Beerocracy Raffle Schedule:

March 7: Goose Island Bourbon County (2 btl lot), Samuel Adams Infinium, Mikkeller 1000 IBU, Ommegang Gnomegang, Bell's Batch 10,000

March 8: Three Floyds Behemoth, Del Borgo Duchessic, Dogfish Head Olde School, Goose Island Bourbon County (2 bottle lot)

March 9: Goose Island Bramble, Dogfish Head My Antonia, Boulevard Chocolate Ale 2010, Founder's Backwoods Bastard 2011

March 10: Goose Island Coffee, Founder's Imperial Stout (2 bottle lot), Bruery Three French Hens, Founder's Nemesis

Remember....

Only Kahnoisseur's Klub members may enter the Beerocracy Raffle. 

If you're not a Kahnoisseur's Klub member, call 317-228-9463 to join  today for just $10!

If you already know about the Battle of Belgium and just need your bracket, here it is:  Download the Battle of Belgium 2012 Bracket here.

If you're new to the Battle of Belgium, we promise that it will be an unforgettable beer experience.  The Battle of Belgium is a 4 day, 32 beer single elimination blind taste-off where customer votes determine the King of Belgian Beer!  Last year's champion was St. Bernardus Abt 12 and as the overall #1 seed in 2012, we think there's at least a decent chance for it to repeat, but just like last year, we'll let the tastings decide...

The Battle of Belgium is March 7-10 from 6-8pm at Kahn's North Willow, 2342 W. 86th Street.

Battle of Belgium Bracket Challenge:

How to Play:  First, pick up a bracket at any Kahn’s location or Download the Battle of Belgium 2012 Bracket here.   Fill out your Battle of Belgium bracket by selecting the beers you think will advance and eventually win.  Brackets must be turned in by March 7th at 6:00 pm to any Kahn's location. Points are awarded for each correct pick and will be equal to the round number, i.e. Round 1 = 1pt, Round 2 = 2pt, etc...The person with the most total points will be anointed the Baron(ess) of Brew and will win an outstanding prize. Follow Kahn’s on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KahnsFineWines and Twitter @ Beer_at_Kahns for round by round updates.

The Tastings:   Initial matchups are based on seeding.  All matchups will be conducted blind. At the tastings, customers vote for their favorite beer in each matchup, and the beer with the most votes will advance to the next round.  In the event of a tie, a Kahn’s staff member will break the tie by tasting and voting for their preferred beer in the tied matchup.   At the end of each day, brown bags will be removed and the beers will be revealed. In the event of a tie in the final round, the winner will be the beer with the greatest number of votes throughout the tournament.

For K-Klub Members: Every Battle of Belgium round will have also have a Beerocracy raffle, where K Klub members  will have the chance to purchase beers from our Beerocracy Stockpile.  Click for Info about Beerocracy.  Only Kahnoisseur's Klub members can enjoy the Beerocracy Benefit, so if you want to have the chance to purchase rare and hard-to-find beers at the Battle of Belgium, then make sure to join the K-Klub.  Click for Other Great Reasons to Join the Kahnoisseur's Klub!

Valentine’s Day can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be, especially if you roll up your sleeves and cook dinner for your Valentine.  We think this is such a great idea that we hunted down some tasty, easy to prepare recipes and paired 'em with wines we know you'll love.  If you've never had a great food and wine pairing, then please try at least one of these! 

Recipe 1: Grilled Steak with herbed butter

Red:  Cabernet Sauvignon, esp. California.  Check out Caymus, but make sure to decant it for around two hours.

White: California Chardonnay.  Try Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve.  You’ll be shocked how well a full-bodied oaky California Chardonnay works with butter sauces, even when there's red meat involved.

Recipe 2: Mini Pork Rack with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans

Red: Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy.  For Burgundy, try Bertrand Ambroise Aries, it's elegant with a touch of earth. For California Pinot Noir, try Donum, a big, mouth-filling Pinot from Carneros.

White: California Chardonnay or Riesling.  Try Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay or Leitz Rudesheim Roseneck Riesling Spätlese.  The Leitz is an absolute rockstar Riesling that will just break your heart.

Recipe 3: Chicken Scallopini

Red: New World Pinot Noir.  Try Donum or Caitec. 

White: White Burgundy or Sauvignon Blanc.  For the Burgundy, try Moreau Chassagne Montrachet Champs Gain .  For the Sauvignon Blanc, try Thomas La Crele Sancerre.  The Burgundy will work with the sauce's richness, while the Sauvignon Blanc will contrast it.

Recipe 4 Garlic Basil Shrimp with Tomatoes

Red: Not recommended.

White: Sauvignon Blanc or Sparkling Wine.  For the Sauvignon Blanc, try Thomas La Crele Sancerre.  The Sancerre will work some zesty magic with the tomatoes and the basil. For the Sparkling wine, try Henriot Brut Souverain.  The Champagne will work beautifully with the shrimp’s delicate flavor and will tie it in with the basil and tomatoes.

Recipe 5: Oven Poached Salmon a la Paige with Dill, Vidalia Onion and Cucumber Relish

Red: Pinot Noir.  Try Donum or Caitec.  Pinot Noir is a classic pairing with Salmon.

White: White Burgundy or Sauvignon Blanc.  For the Burg, try Manciat Petite Bruyeres Pouilly Fuisse.  For the Sauvignon Blanc, check out the Paul Thomas Sancerre Les Comtesses.  The Sancerre will be magnificent with the relish.

If you need help with other food and wine pairings, just email me at todd@kahnsfinewines.com.  I’m happy to help.  Just tell me what you’re cooking and whether you want white or red.  

Cheers!

This election year, the time is ripe to enact change, to learn from our missteps and to build on our successes. At Kahn’s, we are launching a campaign of our own; a crusade to better serve our loyal beer buying constituency. We call it Beerocracy!

Beerocracy is our attempt to handle the distribution of the most limited and sought after beer releases we have to offer. These high demand beers usually sell out before they reach our shelves. So you, growing beer lover, rarely get the chance to try them.  We don’t think that’s fair, so here’s what we’re doing…

We still want to reward loyal patrons who are on their beer release game, so Kahn’s will continue to have sign-up lists for the beer world’s rarest releases.   From now on, Kahn’s will hold back and cellar an undisclosed number of some highly allocated beers for Beerocracy.  Every couple months Kahn’s will host a beer tasting for our Kahnoisseur’s Klub members.  Attendees will be entered into a raffle for a chance to purchase from our Beerocracy treasure stockpile.

OK. We’re ready to kick this bad boy off in style…

Click to download the beer's you'll taste at the Beerocracy Kickoff Tasting

Call 317-228-9463 to join the Kahnoisseur's Klub today for just $10...and we'll tell you the date for Beerocracy I!

Raffle winners at Beerocracy I can purchase these beers...

Founders Blushing Monk

Victory Dark Intrigue

The Bruery + Dogfish Head Faster, Bigger, Better, Bolder (Gradually, Quietly, Steadily)

The Bruery + St. Feuillien Biere De L’Amitie

The Bruery Cuir

Upland Raspberry Lambic

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch

Mikkeller Texas Ranger Chipotle Porter

Mikkeller Sur Monk

Hebrew + Terrapin Reunion Ale

Hoppin’ Frog Barrel Aged Naked Evil Belgian-style Barley Wine

Any questions? Give us a call at 317-228-9463!

We look forward to firmly shaking your hand, kissing your babies and offering you an exclusive opportunity to buy some of the world’s most highly regarded beers.

Classic food and wine pairings don’t just appear out of thin air, they’re discovered. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not.  One day, a lucky human being decided to drink a buttery, full-bodied California Chardonnay with his lobster.  Can you imagine his delight as the Chardonnay’s butter, apple, lemon and tangerine flavors mingled with the lobster’s rich, succulent texture?  If you can’t, then please go buy a lobster and a bottle of Grgich Hills Chardonnay right now.  I’m not kidding.   You can send me a thank you note later, but you owe it to yourself.

The #1 Rule of Food and Wine Pairing is…

If it grows together, it goes together.

Catchy, isn’t it?  In fact, this rule says more about culture than it does about the complementary nature of food and drink produced within close geographic proximity.  Classic food and wine pairings aren’t just born, they’re cultivated.  People stumble upon delicious flavor combinations all the time, sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident.  A classic pairing is born when we share what we’ve discovered with others and then they validate our discovery by sharing it again.  In that spirit, I’d like to share two pairings that I’ve stumbled upon.  I believe that the first is a bona fide classic and the other is well… a little off-the-wall.  I hope you try both and if you agree; I hope you share them with others.

 My Classic Pairing…

Venison Loin: Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir 2009

Venison can be purchased from a variety of online specialty retailers like Broken Arrow Ranch, Elk USA, or Underhill Farms. 

Here’s how to prepare the Venison loin:

Venison Loin 2 lbs.

Olive Oil 4 oz.

Greek plain yogurt, 4 oz.

Cumin, 1 tsp

Cayenne pepper, 1 tsp

Cardamom, 1 tsp

Salt, 2 tsp

Pepper 2 tsp

Garlic 2 tblsp

Two limes, juiced

Combine olive oil, yogurt, cumin, cayenne, cardamom, garlic, salt, pepper and lime juice together in a plastic bag.  Place venison in the bag and work it around with the olive oil, yogurt, spice mixture.  Marinate for three hours.   

Wrap the venison in foil and place in a 350 degree oven for forty minutes to an hour until the red in the meat is gone.  Open foil to reduce the juices and produce a crust.  Serve with roasted potatoes and carrots.

Try this with the Drouhin Pinot Noir 2009 and you’ll know instantly how a classic pairing should taste.  The tart, bright cherries and the Pinot Noir’s wonderful acidity perfectly complement the venison’s rich complexity.  You’ll love it.

My Off-the-wall, yet completely awesome pairing…

Cheez-its Snack Crackers: Grand Marnier

You might think I’m crazy, but oh my goodness…please try this!  The Cheez-its saltiness pairs perfectly with Grand Marnier’s orange-macerated sweetness.  I’m not saying it’s Sauternes and Roquefort, but it’s pretty darn good!

Do you have a food and wine/spirit pairing you’d like to share? 

Post a comment on this blog or on Kahn’s facebook page.  We’d love to hear from you!

Recipe: Courtesy of Mr. C. Smith

By: Bill Cheek, Kahn's North Willow

Let us be upfront and admit that I am NOT yet a wine drinker (or at least, not yet one with a palate to be trusted).  So when Kahn's gave me a day off that just so happened to coincide with Le Grand Tour d'Alsace, I took the hint and headed over to conduct a bit of research.

I figured that to beat the crowd I'd stop in right at the start of the two-hour event; slip in, sample, take notes, slip out...but whoa: apparently when you offer twenty-five wines for the price of the gas it takes to get there (and, uh, maybe a cab, depending on your affinity for spitting) people SHOW UP.  Who knew?

So over the course of an hour I mingled with the 75+ customers on hand and gradually made my way through most of the available wines.  The Alsace region is predominated by several white wine varietals which range from dry to semi-sweet:  Riesling, Gewurtzraminer, and Pinot Gris were clearly the order of the night.

Now we come to the fun part.  Highlights of the night included the Rene Mure lineup of varietals, mid-00s vintages that displayed delicious age-acquired mellowness and subtlety.  [Our manager at North Willow], Todd, was quite enthused by the 2003 Pinot Gris St. Landelin, which he let everyone in earshot know was "drinking like a champ."  In fact, we sold every bottle in the store that night! (I noted only "Gentle tart, ripe apple" to prove that I am a rube)  The ReneMure Pinot Noir V 2005, the only red wine in the tasting, was by no means a token - it was well balanced between ripe berries and tannins, and smelled uncannily like the Upland Lambic Blackberry I recently opened.  Fun beer-wine connection, huh?

Other interesting selections (disclaimer: to me) included the PierreSparr Alsace One, a blend of the aforementioned Alsace varietals that featured a citrus/apple tartness overlaying a distinct perfume-likefloral character, and the 2009 Gustave Lorentz Gewurtzraminer, a lovely concentrated punch of flowers and melons and honey with a finish just dry enough to demand another sip.

I have discovered that I am a great fan of the Gewurtzraminer.  Wine reviews can get pretentious & disturbingly anthropomorphic, but when they say this varietal has a "flamboyant" nose, they ain't lying.  Instantly recognizable, the nose of a Gewurtz is a deep, brooding floral essence which tightly embraces a range of ripe fruits.  And then in the mouth it is...well, various things, but these things tend to highlight a remarkable cooperation between playful and serious, sweet and sassy.  You see what I am doing here.  Anyway, the point is that my favorite wine of the night was  theEhrhart Gewurtzraminer Rosenberg 2004, offering a richly honeyed, perfumed upfront sweetness that u-turned into a surprisingly dry spicy finish.

Of course, my co-worker Shilpa tells me the next day that Todd proclaimedthis particular bottle to have ameasure of undesirable oxidation present.  This is clearly evidence that my palate has yet to reach the scintillating "mediocre" status it holds in my mind.  Or lies.  I'll go with lies, becausethat wine was great fun, regardless.

So, I convinced Paul and Jim to let me sneak out of Keystone for a day and take 3 other highly enthused colleagues up to Chicago for an afternoon of absolutely marvelous fine wine tasting. We left early in the morning about 7am and arrived in Chi-Town about 10:30am.

We didn't have to be at the tasting until 11:00am...This is Kyle now. Unfortunately, Brennan has been pulled away by one of many strings of responsibilities that will most likely not allow him to finish this task, so you'll just have to deal with my perspective of this great day trip.

We arrived in Chi town early and had about an hour to kill so we stopped at Binny's. This is one of the most wonderful locations for fine wine, beer & spirits in the country. The primary reason for our stop was to acquire beers & single malt scotches that aren't distributed in our fair state of Indiana. We found some gems like Green Flash "West Coast IPA" along with Lost Abbey's "Serpent Stout". Kevin with his keen eye spotted the last bottle of Sassicaia barrel finished Edradour 10 year. The distillery only produced 464 total bottles of this glorious single malt. So, as a result we're expecting to have invitations made available to our staff next week to polish off the bottle courtesy of Kevin. Ok, enough with the shameless plugging of Binny's, on to the tasting.

We arrived and we're immediately greeted by our wonderful Bobby Kacher sales rep, Anne Markovich-Girard. She politely explained the layout of the tasting room, showed us the table with available stemware and gave us the green light to begin our three hour adventurous exploration of the beautifully distinct wines from the multitude of unique French appellations that comprise their portfolio.

Well, somehow Brennan has managed to escape the floor to once again engage in this blog. Please enjoy your further reading.

Best Regards,

Kyle

Ok, well, I'm glad I could return just in time to talk with all of you about this fabulous tasting. We began with one of my favorite Non-Vintage Champagnes in the world, LAMIABLE BRUT NV. This Champagne is one of the many "Grower Champagnes" that we carry and is incredibly and uniquely expressive. This wine has a penetratingly deep nose of honey drizzled granny smith apples, lemon-lime zest and graphite as you work your way through to a slight underpinning of subtle and elegant yeasty aroma. The texture is delicate and refreshingly dry with very refined effervescence. If you love sparkling wines as much as I do, and believe me, I can drink sparklers on any day that ends in "Y", so you know if I'm preaching about this wine, then you should seek this one out.

All of our "Grower Champagnes" can be identified by the letters RM, which translates to Recoltant Manipulant. These Champagne houses are small producers that only use the fruit they grow on their estates and are terroir driven with a wonderfully focused purpose of being true representatives of their vineyard sites.

We tasted so many lovely and charming wines throughout the day. Some of the highlights would be from fabulous producers such as Bertrand Ambroise. His family origins date back to the 18^th century in the village of Premeaux-Prissey in the heart of the Cote D'Or. His Echezeaux 2008 and his Clos Vougeot 2008 were two of the best wines we tasted all day. They were remarkably dense, amazingly dark and highly extracted for Pinot Noir, but marvelously refined and elegant at the same time. Their balance and harmony were unmatched. Unfortunately, we don't have them in stock, but rest assured I'll be harassing Jim to purchase them with our next shipment.

Diane De Puymorin is the sole proprietor of Chateau d'Or et de Gueules located in the rolling hills outside the ancient Roman city of Nimes. We tasted several wines from her winery and the show stopper was her Q'es A Quo, which was this wonderful old vine Carignan. We also tasted her PETITE CASSAGNE BLANC 2008. This is a refreshing white comprised of Grenache Blanc, Roussane & Vermentino (called Rolle in Southern France). It has enticing aromas of fresh pears, grapefruits and ripe lemon zest. The acidity is vibrant and compelling enough for you to drink two bottles on the patio and reach for a third in just a few hours. Make sure to pick some up for your outdoor picnics or cookouts.

We also had an opportunity to taste with Philippe & Corinne Ehrhart. Their small estate of 21 hectares is located in the small village of Wettolsheim in the Alsace region of France. The Ehrhart family has been making wine in this region since 1725. Their wines are certified organic by the French government. My personal favorite from their table was at the top of my short list for white wines for the day. Their EHRHART GEWURZTRAMINER "HERRENWEG" 2009 was rich and full bodied. The nose had multiple layers of ripe exotic fruits like kiwi, passion fruit and mango accompanied by spicy notes that you would expect from this varietal. The finish had so much acidity it forced me back for more after every sip.

We finally had our fill of vino and moved to the Cognac & Armagnac table where we tasted the most fantastic Armagnac I've had in quite some time. The Tariquet XO 1994 was rich and full bodied and had marvelous notes of honey, vanilla & spice box along with subtle caramel and toffee notes. There were no noticeable high end fusels on the nose and the finish was superbly long and smooth. If you're an Armagnac aficionado or just starting and want to taste something that you can keep around, this is the one for you. Our everyday price is $99.99 and there are about 12 bottles throughout the three stores.

The tasting was finally over about 3:30pm and we headed out to avec and Publican for more great company, world class cuisine and some of the best beer available in Chicago! It was a great day trip indeed; the only unfortunate aspect was that Kevin had to drive home while the rest of us slept peacefully the whole way back home.

Improving the Kahnoisseur’s Klub has been our collective obsession for the last couple of weeks.  We’ve spent hours in meetings, we’ve brainstormed, we’ve sent hundreds of emails to each other championing various ideas for adding value to it and making it so deliciously tempting that you just can’t wait to sign up.  After weeks of toiling, I can tell you that our new offer is almost ready.  Today, I’m going to give you a sneak peak at some of the New K Klub benefits that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the New K Klub is something you must join…and soon.  In fact, a couple of the benefits I am going to share with you are actually worth more than the price of the K Klub membership!

To pump the K Klub full of value, wanted to do two specific things: lower the New K Klub price, and give you lots of benefits that you really care about. So that’s exactly what we did.

The new K Klub price is now just $10! 

Of course, a low price means nothing unless what it is you’re paying for is worth more than that.  So I’m going to highlight a couple of the new K Klub benefits to show you why $10 for the New K Klub is an absolute steal.

We are kicking off MANY new benefits…here are just a few for now…

New Benefit #1: Perhaps the most popular December Kahn’s Fine Wine event is Champagne and Shopping.  Kahn’s and our distributor partners pour around 50-60 Champagnes and Sparkling wines for no charge; included in those wines are usually about 5-6 Tete de Cuvees.  Some Tete de Cuvees we’ve had in the last couple of years are: Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot “Rare” 1988, Perrier Jouet Flower Label 1996, Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes D’r and others…  Let’s face it…Tete de Cuvees make for long lines and sometimes you don’t even get to taste them before the distributor runs out.  We hate that, so we fixed it.  As part of your $10 New K Klub Membership, there will be a K Klub only Tete de Cuvee Hour where you’ll get to taste at least 5 Tete de Cuvees!

Try to find restaurants that serve wines like Dom Perignon and Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame by the glass.  These wines are rarely offered and when they are, they will cost you around $30/a glass—sometimes much more!  So just know that your membership will pay for itself at Champagne and Shopping K Klub ONLY Tete de Cuvee Hour!

New Benefit # 2:  It’s happened to all of us.  We’ve all signed up for retailer email lists and received emails about highly rated items.  When you try to order those items for yourself you find that the retailer has already sold out of the item.  Better luck next time, my friend.  We hate that, so we fixed it.  As a member of the K Klub, we think you’ll really enjoy K Klub Head Start.  K Klub Head Start emails you about highly rated, highly allocated and rare items 2 DAYS BEFORE we communicate with any other customers!  We bet you can beat everyone to those fine wines and spirits with a 2 DAY HEAD START!

I hope you’ve realized by now that we mean business.  Kahn’s is excited about the New K Klub and we hope you’ll join us.  We’re kicking off the new Klub officially very soon, so keep checking in for more benefits as we get closer to kickoff, but if you’re ready to take the plunge and sign up for the New Kahnoisseur’s Klub, call us at 317-251-9463 or email todd@kahnsfinewines.com and we’ll get you signed up.  Cheers!

Last Saturday night, I was able to get away from our North Willow store at a fairly reasonable hour.  Before I left, I made two purchases: the Ehrhart Gewurtztraminer Rosenberg 2004 and the Ehrhart Gewurtztraminer Herrenweg 2009.  While I considered going straight home and opening these bad boys for a little Gewurtztraminer mini-marathon, I decided that it would be more fun to share this wine with some friends.  I'm a giver...what can I say?

I decided to head over to our flagship store on Keystone Ave. to kidnap Brennan to join me and another friend for an evening of good wine, good food and good company.  For those of you who don't know, Brennan loves to share.  If competitive sharing were a real sport (instead of one Kyle and I made up on observing Brennan in action), then Brennan would be its undisputed champion. He turns sharing into an art and throughout the years he has shared many great wines with me, so I decided to return the favor. After wrangling Brennan away from entering beer Purchase Orders into the system--not an easy task because of his love for beer, Purchase Orders and technology--we dropped his car off and headed to a friend's house in downtown Indianapolis to see what these Alsace wines were all about.  For a good summary of Alsace wine click here

Cliff Notes on Alsace: Suffice it to say that Alsace wines are absolutely some of my favorites.  Alsace features mostly aromatic whites like Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and my personal favorite: Gewurtztraminer; little red wine is grown.  Alsace wines range from bone dry to unctuously sweet, rare dessert wines.  Alsace vineyards are fairly dry and sunny and the best sites are able to produce wines high in acid, body, minerality, richness and wonderful, even exotic aromatics.  Alsace is one of the only places on earth where you can find full-bodied whites that are up to 16% ABV and still "dry."  I say "dry" because these wines are pretty rich, even if there is technically no residual sugar present.  

Notes on what we tried:

Rosenberg 2004: 91 pts Tried at just a little bit below room temp.  Honeyed and lush with textbook lychee and sandalwood aromas and full palate of ripe, floral scented, exotic, spicy fruits.  Drinking absolutely beautifully.  If the vintage scares you, be not afraid, because this wine is absolutely perfect right now and probably has about 2-3 more years left.  An absolute must buy.  We all agreed the Rosenberg was the superior wine.

Herrenweg 2009: 89-90: Tried initially at a fairly cool temperature and let it warm up in the glass.  Less honeyed than the 2004 Rosenberg and maintained a grapey freshness on the nose along with scents of exotic white flowers.  The interesting thing was how YOUNG it tasted.  I would recommend cellaring the Herrenweg for another year and it will be as exciting as the Rosenberg.

Three suggestions about Gewurtztraminer that you need to remember:

1. Drink Gewurtztraminer just a little bit below room temperature
2. Drink Alsace and German Gewurtztraminer at about 2.5 plus yrs. of age.  Gewurtz seems to need this time to 'integrate its perfumey, spicy exotic flavors into a seamless, elegant whole
3. Drink Gewurtztraminer food!  It's delightful with Turkey and it's a dream with Asian fare and spicy food.

Here's what Ehrhart's labels look like:

For years we have been taking the staff to distilleries in Kentucky to select barrels of Bourbon. For new employees it is a rite of passage; for the rest of us, it's just a special treat. We travel with 6-8 staff members to Buffalo Trace at least twice a year, selecting barrels of Buffalo Trace, Weller, Rock Hill, Eagle Rare or Blanton's. The last couple of years we've added Four Roses for their single barrel bourbons and Heaven Hill for Evan Williams and Elijah Craig..

We schedule the trip far enough ahead that the Master Distiller can select 4-5 barrels of each Bourbon for us to sample. The distillery staff is constantly tasting the barrels, and he wants to be sure we pick from barrels that are ready to bottle. So far, we have managed to time things out so that we only select three different Bourbons per trip! (That means tasting up to 15 different barrels!!)

On arrival we all head to the barrel room where the barrels are lined up for us. They draw two sets of samples from each barrel... one at barrel strength (that'll wake you up at 10 in the morning!) and the other cut to bottle strength. The staff then tastes thru the samples of one brand as they choose - barrel strength or cut or both. We really take this seriously... no talking allowed as we sample... we want individuals to vote for the barrel they like, not what the boss likes or their co-worker likes. Everybody votes for their top two choices, we tally the votes and, darn it, have to taste the top two vote getters again to select the best barrel. We then go thru the same process with the next brand and the next. After tasting 12-15 barrels of bourbon, (this really is a tough job!) the crew heads out on a tour of the facility - good education and a chance to walk off all that bourbon. After lunch at the distillery, we typically head for another round of tasting at another distillery - sometimes we even make it without getting lost! (The first trip from Buffalo Trace to Four Roses took 3 hours and 180 miles... according to MapQuest the trip is 35 minutes to go 21 miles!)

An interesting phenomenon occurs on every trip... by the time we arrive home, everyone voted for the winning barrel. Not too sure how that happens since we have had only on unanimous vote (last year's Elijah Craig 18 yr).

If you are interested in joining us, call one of the stores for more information... or watch for future postings in the Events section of the web or Facebook.