New Retailer: Ace Spirits in Hopkins, MN

A couple of weeks ago, a twitter follower brought Ace Spirits to my attention, wondering if I had heard about the store. I hadn't, so I looked online to see what it might be. Right on the front page:  “every whiskey available in the state.” Color me intrigued.

Since that time, I’ve been to Ace a couple of times. It’s not hard to find, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might drive past it, never noticing it’s there. On my first visit, I wondered if I was in the correct spot or if my phone had led me astray. I was in the parking lot of a small strip mall and there was no sign that said “Ace Spirits be here.” There was a large sign above one of the doors that simply said: “BEER & WHISKEY, “ which was enough for me to decide that even if I wasn’t in the correct place, it was the place I really wanted to be anyway. As I walked up to the store, I wondered if it was open. Unlike most of the liquor stores in the area, there was a definite lack of light spilling out. But above the slightly mirrored door, there was a small sign that said something about cold beer. And it was lit, so I wandered in. 

I was immediately welcomed upon entering. Which was a nice change from many of the stores I visit. It was dark, but comfortably so. It’s a small area, but not crowded. The shelves were dark wood and two walls were covered floor to ceiling with whiskey bottles. If you put my computer desk and a small tv in there, it would be exactly how I imagine my man-cave to be. 

To learn more, I reached out to Louis Dachis, proprietor of Ace Spirits. He was gracious enough to answer a few questions.

So what's the Ace Spirits story?

Ace Spirits has been an idea percolating for a few years. I had been getting very interested in beer and whiskey of all types and I found what were once wine trips were turning into brewery and distillery tours. I had been operating three Merwin Liquors stores in the cities and the amount of space dedicated to beer and whiskey was expanding as I got more and more into it and the customers responded to the increasing selection. My gal, Sara and I visited the Whiskey Shop in Brooklyn and we really loved the idea of a small and focused space. Craft beer was already exploding and we were watching dedicated whiskey bars open in the cities and menus at existing places expand to include more whiskey and better beer. 

The idea was to create an experience surrounding the purchase. A place to talk about these things we love in a comfortable space. The entire setup was to be very intentional from layout, stocking, fixtures and lighting. It would have been easy to buy Lazier shelving and slap some paper signs over the windows, but that's not what we were going after. We've blocked all sunlight from the outside with walls and window film to prevent skunking. All lights in the store, with the exception of the three above the register are narrow-band LED's and we keep the temps in the store on the chilly side to aid with the freshness goal. The build out still isn't done and we will probably always consider it a work in progress.

Your website claims to carry every whiskey available in Minnesota. And since I saw things that I haven't found elsewhere, I believe you. But why? And why do you think the competitors aren't?

Why not? It's our focus. We love the stuff. And it's funny, you can have just as long and passionate discussion with someone about the merits of Old Overholt as you can about Balvenie 40. There's a lot to be said for that. We all like different stuff and it's very true that certain items lend themselves best to certain experiences. I really enjoy it all and love to hear from the people that produce it as well as those that love to drink it. Others don't do it because there are a lot that don't sell. It's that simple. But it's sort of like being open 24 hours- you don't stay open because you do a ton of business between the hours of 3 and 4am, you do it because everyone knows that no matter when they swing by, you will be there. This is a similar concept. If you love whiskey, you know we will have it.

After visiting the website, it's not hard to see that you are doing things a little differently than most stores. Many local whiskey fans have been involved in drawings to win a chance to purchase rare spirits. Your contest is just to win the whiskeys. Free. 

I like the word "Free". It gets people's attention. Especially when it comes to these items. I wanted to let people know who we are and what we were all about. It's not much more complex than that.

Not that I'm complaining since you are basically on my way home from work, but why Hopkins? Why not Minneapolis or St. Paul?

I would love to have opened in Minneapolis, but state law prevents me from having more than one license in any given municipality. I grew up in Hopkins and love the Western Suburbs. Four Firkins covers the edge of the city, but there wasn't anything out this way. Being as close as it is to Highway 7, 494, and the new thoroughfare that Shady Oak is to become for EP, I thought this was a great spot. The bones of the space were good and because this is to be a destination, the location wasn't quite as critical. There was a store a block away that closed recently which allowed us to move in. This store did OK, and I'm hoping the neighborhood welcomes us and affords us similar success in addition to those that may come to visit from further away. So far, the response has been very encouraging.

I’d like to thank Louis again for taking the time to answer some questions. You can learn more about The Great Whiskey Giveaway at AceSpirits.com or engage with them on Twitter (@acespirits) or Facebook.com/AceSpirits. This place is not your typical Minnesota liquor store. That’s a very good thing. I have a feeling I’ll be here more often than my wife would like.

Book Review: Twin Cities Prohibition—Minnesota’s Blind Pigs & Bootleggers

Before it closed, I visited the exhibit: American Spirits, the rise and fall of Prohibition at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. I found it to be a very nice exhibit. Informative, entertaining. I saw a lot of cool artifacts and even learned a thing or two. If it comes to your area, I highly recommend it. 

After exiting the exhibit, I decided to visit the book store to see if I might find a book on the subject to pick up. I surely did. There was, of course, Last Call by Daniel Okrent. A book that while informative, had me giggling at the lengths people went to get a drink. I’d read it before and loved it. Right next to it was another promising sounding book. The title? Twin Cities Prohibition: Minnesota’s Blind Pigs & Bootleggers by Elizabeth Johanneck. This sounded perfect. A local slant on what I’d read about in other books. It was twenty dollars and short, but since I’m guessing the purchase goes to help the History Center I figured, what the heck? 

I should have kept looking. 

This title is very misleading. This is a collection of rambling, second or third-hand stories that relate the dirtier side of Minnesota in the first half of the Twentieth Century. In and of itself, this would be fine as you could see how that could be organized under a Prohibition theme. Before. During. Legacy. This is not how it is organized. Or if it is, there are no sign posts along the way. 

The subtitle claims stories about Minnesota’s Blind Pigs and Bootleggers, but spends more time on the crooked politicians and businessmen. The “Masters of the Universe” as the author calls them. The only mention of the illicit liquor dispensaries were chatty blog post-like descriptions of her visits to the modern-day businesses that happen to be in the same buildings. 

In it’s short 160 page length, I learned that the man who built the Foshay Tower was crooked, but that it now houses the swank W Minneapolis Hotel. I learned that the governor during prohibition was dirty, but also considered one of the greatest governors the state has known. That there were a bunch of robberies and murders in the first half of the Twentieth Century. And I learned that the author has an almost religious hatred of the Federal Reserve. I learned very little about Prohibition in the Twin Cities, the speakeasies or the bootleggers. 

I did learn to read the reviews before impulse buying a book though. I started out really wanting to like this. I mean, Prohibition is one of my favorite American History topics. But now? Now I just want my lunch breaks back for the week I spent reading this.

Book Review: Whiskey Women—The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick

Men have a tendency to take women for granted. Even those of us who would do anything for our wives sometimes forget just how much they do for us. It’s a sad truth to have to admit. Especially for someone who was raised by a single mother and saw firsthand how much she had to do to just get us basic necessities.

I read a lot of histories. It’s my other passion beside whiskey. Rarely are women mentioned in them. When they are, they are not normally portrayed as good people. It seems that a lot of historical writers seemed to think that if a woman was worth noting it was for how unlike a woman she was. 

And that’s what makes Whiskey Women—The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick so refreshing. Not only does it bring together my love of whiskey with my love of history, but it treats women as the human beings they are. People who work hard, have aspirations and do good things that are profitable and sometimes charitable. It also doesn’t hurt that Fred is possibly one of the best authors I’ve read. Seriously, if you see his name on a piece, just read it. It’ll be worth your time.

Doubly so in the case of this book. Minnick’s book ranges from the dawn of history up through the present day. He presents the stories of woman from such wide ranging locations as Egypt, the British Isles and North America. Whether it is the stories of woman who made and sold whiskey, those who tried to get rid of it or those who succeeded in making sure it never truly went away Minnick presents each story with respect. There is none of the “and can you believe all this was done by a woman?” that you find in other history books I’ve read.

This is a great book. Whether you are into whiskey, history or both this deserves a place on your book shelf. Love it. Go buy it today.

Book Review: Alt Whiskeys

It's been a fun summer for me so far. I've made it my personal goal to try 100 new beers this summer. I think I'm going to make it, between mixed-sixes and brewery sampler flights, I've already tasted 50. (Follow me on Untappd if you are interested in my progress.)

So what does this have to do with a bourbon blog? Well, this increased interest in beer got me to thinking about a book I bought a year or so ago. It's called Alt Whiskeys and is written by Darek Bell, owner of Corsair Artisan distillery in Bowling Green, KY. At the time, I'd never had anything produced by Corsair. But after reading the book, I wanted to. (I got my chance at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival last September.) I was also interested to learn that the author came to the idea of distilling with a background in home brewing beer. 

For some reason the idea of making whiskey and the idea of making beer hadn't clicked as things that the same person would be interested in. I knew that the processes were similar up to a point and that both were creative processes that hopefully ended up with something fun and tasty at the end of it. I will admit now, a year later, that I was pretty self-centered in that outlook. I have an intense fascination with the distilling process, but I have no desire to ever make my own home-brewed beer. And I'd projected that upon others. 

So after all this thinking about beer, I picked up the book and started to reread it. The first thing I have to say is: I loved this book. It's a technical book, but is written in a conversational style. And I'll admit, having never home-brewed, I didn't understand some of it at first. With a little research though, I was able to muddle my way through until I got up to speed. 

The book covers topics such as what brewing and distilling equipment you'll need and how to build your own (and warnings about doing it without the proper licenses), alternative grains you might use (millet, oats, sorghum, etc), inspirations from outside the world of whiskey (beer inspired, hopped and smoked whiskeys) and alternatives to malt, yeast and hops that you might use. It also includes recipes including both ingredients and instructions for brewing, distilling, barreling and bottling. 

All in all, the content in this book will be really interesting to anyone who has an interest in how whiskey is made and what else you might do beyond a traditional version. 

And if all you are interested in is the content, you can stop here. The photos are beautiful, the type choices are interesting, in a good way, and the information provided is top-notch. But I am a designer. And for me how information is presented is almost as big of a deal as the information itself. I've mentored young, inexperienced designers for almost ten years (and was a young, inexperienced designer for years before that). I have some serious issues with the design of this book. I'll just go over a couple of them. 

First, it has practically no margins. The margins of this book are a quarter inch (6.3 mm). That is barely in the safe zone that most printers ask for. They ask for this so they don't accidentally cut off your content (page 14 in my copy is a good example, margin size has slid down to an eighth of an inch while being trimmed). From a reader's standpoint, a lack of adequate margins does two things. First the book feels overfull. This can be used to good effect, but isn't in this case. Second and more important to a book of this physical size, the reader has no room to put their thumbs. This is not a one-handed book that you can hold in the middle. Even with my big hands, it needs to be held at the edge and if you have no place to put your thumbs, you cover the content. This is one of the first things I point out to young designers. Think about how the piece will be used and remove all the things that get in the way of legibility. Like thumbs.

Secondly, the body copy type size is widely inconsistent from page to page, and sometimes from the top to the bottom of a single page. It looks like it ranges from 14 point to 10 point and then to 9 point. 14 point is huge, it's the size I use for pull quotes or sub heads. 10 point is what you'd choose if you have a audience over 40 years old as they will statistically have poorer eyesight. So what if the type is huge and inconsistent? Well, if it had been brought down some, there might have been room for bigger margins for a more functional book and more elegant feel or possibly a smaller page count for a cheaper production.

I like this book a lot. Fix just these two functional design issues and this becomes a book worthy of the coffee table. As it stands this is a book I'm glad to have read. Twice. It's a book I keep on my shelf with my other whisky books. And it is a book I will read again if I ever am in a position to use the information contained within. It's also a book I would love a chance to re-layout. So uh, Mr. Bell, if you're ever going to reprint it look me up, ok?

#DavinTT Week One + a book and a whisky review

Until recently, I knew nothing about Canadian Whisky. Sure, I'd bought Windsor Canadian when I was in college to swish my mouth with when I had a toothache and couldn't afford a dentist. I didn't like it, but then I didn't like any whiskies. I'd never had anything else produced by our Neighbor to the North. And, honestly, based on that experience I wasn't in a hurry to remedy the situation.

As part of my whiskey education, I'd learned that Canadian Whisky was the product of blending whiskies. I had a vague thought that it was "blended whisky" like American blended whiskey. (You know, where they mix straight whiskey with neutral sprits (vodka) in order to make a lighter product.) This misconception did not make me in any more of a hurry to expand my whisky knowledge to Products of Canada.

So, yes, I knew nothing about Canadian Whisky but a dimly remembered dislike of a downmarket product and a series of vague misconceptions. But, recently, all that changed. You see, I'd been offered a wonderful opportunity to broaden my horizons with respect to whisky produced by our Northern Neighbor. Johanne McInnis of the blog: The Perfect Whisky Match arranged a Twitter book review/author Q&A of Canadian Whisky: the portable expert by Davin de Kergommeaux. 

In fact she scheduled four of them. One each Sunday from May 5th through May 26th. Each Sunday at 2pm Central Time we spent/will spend about a half hour asking questions inspired by our assigned reading from the book. After that we crack open a "Mystery Whisky" sample that had been sent to us and we do an online tasting. 

Book Review:

Canadian Whisky: the portable expert by Davin de Kergommeaux has been on my Amazon wishlist for the last bit of forever. The minute I heard about it, I knew I wanted to read it. This is a book that busts the many myths and misconceptions that most citizens of these United States have regarding Canadian Whisky. That "blended whisky" one from above? Yep. Untrue. A blend of whiskies is not a blended-whiskey. Hiram Walker? Turns out there is more than just those florescent liqueurs you see on the bottom shelf of the cordial section of most liquor stores associated with that name. This is a book fully worth buying. I'll admit, I was sent a review copy of the book for this project. I'm thinking really hard about buying the Kindle version though just so I can have it with me on the iPad at all times. Go buy the book. Today if possible, but as soon as you can if it isn't. 

And if you buy today (or any day) as an added bonus: since those pesky Canadians keep most of the really good stuff in country and there are more tasty whiskies made in Canada than those of us in Middle North America have probably ever realized, Davin was nice enough to provide tasting notes in the book so that we are fully aware of just what we are missing out on. 

And are we ever missing out. If Mystery Whisky number one is any indication, I need to visit Canada a lot more often.

Mystery Whisky 1

Nose: I'm first hit with a sour/acidic smell balanced by a hint of sweetness. After some discussion online and with my wife, I'll settle on pickles. Not strong and overpowering, but there. I also get some pine, vanilla and after a while cloves. 

Mouth: Velvety and thick, spicy with a good strong rye flavor. Later sips reveal an underlying vanilla/caramel sweetness. After adding water, the spice is muted to reveal some citrus. 

Finish: pickle juice is back along with pine and cinnamon spice. This is a good finish. 

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Thoughts: I love this whisky. It is elegantly balanced with a thick, velvety mouthfeel. I prefer it with no water as I love the spiciness it presents. Others, including my wife, prefer muting that with water and allowing other flavors to come to the front. To each their own, I guess. 

So what is it? After about an hour, the reveal happens: this is called Lot No. 40, is produced at the Hiram Walker distillery, bottled at 43% ABV...and (as near as I can tell) is not available in the US. So that makes the opportunity to taste it even more special. I want to thank Johanne and Davin for the opportunity to participate in these twitter tastings and greatly look forward to next weekend!

If you missed today's tasting, search for the the twitter hashtag #DavinTT to get caught up. And please make sure you follow along each Sunday at 2 pm Central time between now and May 26th using that same hashtag to live vicariously though us as we expand our knowledge and palates.

2019 UPDATE: I took another look at Lot 40 in August of 2019. It has completely changed. Read about it here.

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Book Review: Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey—An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach

If there is one job that I wish I could have, it is Bourbon Historian. I love history. I love bourbon. What could be better? But, if I can't be a Bourbon Historian, the next best thing  is to have a book written by one. Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey—An American Heritage is written by Michael Veach who happens to be a real, honest-to-goodness bourbon historian. Veach is associate curator of Special Collections at the Filson Historical Society and worked the archives of United Distillers for many years.

​Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey is a bourbon history book. There are no tasting notes. There are no myths being presented as facts. There is history. And a damn fine story. The book follows the bourbon story from before the Whiskey Rebellion all the way up until today. Along the way it dispels many of the myths that bourbon marketing people have wormed into the legends of bourbon.

This is ​a fantastic book. It includes many historical photos, labels, illustrations and documents. Weighing in at 141 pages (including the index), it is a quick read. But it is a book that every bourbon lover should own. I really enjoyed this one.

Book Review: Bourbon Whiskey: Our Native Spirit by Bernie Lubbers

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Bourbon is my favorite topic. I write about it. I think about it. I speak about it. I drink it. Heck, someday I'd even like to make it.

As you might have guessed, I also read a lot of books about bourbon. Not only does the topic fascinate me, but I'm always looking for new little bits of information to squirrel away and be pulled out when I do my (very infrequent) bourbon talks/tastings. 

A couple of years ago, I recieved an Amazon gift card for my birthday. It was given to me with the idea that I would use it to buy a kitchen gadget that my mother really wanted to buy for me. But I'm easily distracted. I ended up buying a bunch of books, spending almost the entire thing in one sitting. 

The last title I added to my cart was the Kindle version of Bourbon Whiskey: Our Native Spirit by Bernie Lubbers. At the time, I had no idea who Bernie Lubbers was. I didn't know that he'd been employed as a Whiskey Professor at Jim Beam (and later Heaven Hill). I didn't know that the used to be a stand-up comedian. I had no idea he'd been on a syndicated radio show.

But I bought the ebook. Mostly because it was right around $10 and that's about what I had left. (If I'd had more, I'd have probably gotten the paperback, I love the feel of a "real book") I bought it and had no idea what to expect. Am I ever glad I did. 

I learned a bunch about Bernie. The book starts by establishing his credentials to tell you about bourbon and tells a good bit about his life along the way. I love that. Nothing like getting right in there and introducing yourself. By the time you get to the bourbon talk, you feel like you are just being told a story by an old friend. An old friend that, just happens to have an in with the folks who make the stuff by way of his day job. So when he tells you a little about bourbon history or how it's made or even how to read a label, you can be pretty sure that the information is at least fairly accurate.

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Bernie Lubbers' book has given me more little tidbits of bourbon knowledge than any other single book I've read. I love it. I refer back to it constantly. If you haven't already, go buy it now. I see that since I bought it, a second and revised edition has come out. I assume that version is even better.

The book reviewed was the first edition of this book released in 2011. It was read in digital form on an iPad.

Review: Whiskey—A Global History by Kevin R. Kosar

Whiskey—A Global History by Kevin R. Kosar

Whiskey—A Global History by Kevin R. Kosar

This book starts out asking if the world really needs one more book on whiskey. Its very obvious answer is: yes, of course. And it's this one. 

Whiskey: A Global History by Kevin R. Kosar attempts to give a very short overview of the entire history of whiskey in 144 pages. For the most part it does a decent job of it. The author touches on the the history of distilled spirits as a whole and then each of the major whiskey producing regions individually. Toss in the obligatory forecast of the future and recipes at the end and you've got it. Succinct but packed with information.

So does the world really need another book on whiskey? Yes...and no. 

If you are a whiskey enthusiast, this is not the book for you. There are entire books dedicated to the topics covered by each chapter. In fact there are good books dedicated to the subtopics covered by each portion of each chapter. The enthusiast will find things that have been oversimplified to the point of almost being wrong. In short, the whiskey enthusiast will want to avoid this book.

This is a book for those who don't know much about whiskey and don't actually want to know a lot. If you subscribe to the theory that most people (feel they) are too busy to actually spend the time to learn anything, then this is the perfect book. It gives just the barest of information on each subject and never succumbs to the temptation to really delve deep on a topic. It doesn't even give in to the normal conceit of including tasting notes. The audience of this book is neither advanced enough nor would they probably care. I applaud that. Knowing your audience is hard. And this book knows its audience. So, for the busy person, or for someone who is just starting their whiskey journey, I highly recommend this.

This book was read in digital form on an iPad.