Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$475.00 $385.00
Armagnac is the oldest French spirit – a product that has ancient distilling traditions that date all the way back to Medieval times. It may be considered an ‘old spirit’ but nowadays, the #1 Spirit in the world according to Paul Pacult and his 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge is once again an Armagnac. This time its the 1973 Armagnac from Raj Bhakta. Thousands of spirits were rated in the challenge, but the Bhakta 1973 was the ‘Best in Show’
Bhakta is the luxury spirit brand started by the former co-founder of Whistle Pig, Raj Bhakta. It’s the sole owner and steward of the oldest collection of vintage spirits on earth, with library releases that date back to 1868.
BHAKTA 1973 Armagnac is a “Golden Anniversary” expression considered among the house’s finest 20th century vintages. ’73 was condered a landmark vintage, and is now more than 50 years past the release. It may be an expensive bottling, but considering it has the #1 title for the year and can be had at a fraction of the cost of other 50 year-old Cognacs and Scotches that don’t even begin to compare.
This one was distilled in 1973 from the grapes Ugni Blanc and Baco and harvested in the region of Armagnac. It was aged 50 years and bottled at 107.8 Proof. It’s utterly magnificent and incredibly rare. I only have a few bottles to go round.
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99 Points (Best in Show), 2023 Ultimate Spirits Competition
“Rich layers of spiced fruit aromas reveal themselves in waves; cinnamon baked plums, caramelized apple tart, and floral undertones. Concentrated flavors of mixed baking spices, peach skin, fresh tobacco, and brown sugar are luscious and ever evolving through the suede texture. A pleasure to sip.”
Rich and creamy notes of toasted oak, vanilla, caramel, and fresh baked Bundt cake immediately flood the sense’s as soon as you pop this one open. Bottled at 100-Proof, you get a little bit of heat on the front palate followed by rich oak, leather and freshly baked bread. As it starts to open, you get some sweeter, creamy vanilla notes that cream in as well as campfire s’mores and a dash of pepper. The finish is long, and a bit spicy which leaves a memorable aftertaste and leaves you wanting more.
I was given fourteen samples to taste through, and found that the 5th sample was the winner. This one is not for the faint of heart. It was a tiny barrel of just 40 six-packs, but the quality here was out of the world. It checks in at 110 Proof (55% alc.) and has harmonious sweet and savory notes that dual throughout this super long and memorable finish. It’s worth selling less bottles to bring you one this good – you guys are going to absolutely love it.
This is the very first 2024 installment of the limited production project from the Bourbon leaders, Booker’s and their iconic master distiller, Freddie Noe. They’re calling this batch ‘Springfield Batch’ as an homage to Booker Noe’s hometown in Kentucky where he was born and raised. This is a little bit of an older age statement than the last few in the series at 7 years, 7 months, and 8 days. It was bottled at 62% alc (124 Proof).
This is my third private barrel of Bourbon that I sourced from Bulleit and my first since 2022. Believe you me, they give you a ton (and I mean a ton) of samples to go through to make up for lost time. The winning combo is something people are going to love. Allow me to introduce you to Barrel #5-B3-82. It’s smooth and layered, with a full creamy mouthfeel and manages to sneak in at 104 Proof. On the nose, I get fresh cut oak, vanilla and brown butter. On the palate, freshly baked banana bread, burnt orange and graham cracker.