Introducing the Firkin 49 - The Firkin founder’s favourite selection of softly spoken relaxing
drams.

The 49 is a Highland Single-Malt Scotch Whisky - Distilled at Tullibardine Distillery 2012.

This distillery and the Firkin Founder were both founded in ’49. This is a cracker. It’s kind of long but narrow and jam-packed with creamy butterscotch toffee, crisp malt and some fruit oak. It hangs around with a tad of cinnamon and sweet biscuit.

This is an elegant and vibrant Chardonnay from internationally renowned Leeuwin Estate. The Prelude Vineyards wines are made from the most expressive fruit, with the intention that they will drink well soon after release. While being excellent to drink young, they retain great ageing potential. 

The nose is fragrant, with citrus and orchard fruit notes. On the palate, the wine shows ripe stone-fruit and gentle floral notes, with a light touch of vanilla. This is a juicy wine with bright, juicy acidity and a zesty finish. Given time, this wine will build in complexity and texture.

Scoundrels and Rogues - Sometimes, bigger is better.  Made by the most irrepressible Scoundrels and Rogues in North Canterbury.  This 2016 Imperial Cider is made from one batch selected out of that year Pleasantly Corrupted cider.  It spent eighteen months in barrel, meaning it is intense, it has got a character, and despite its 10.9% alcohol, it is so drinkable it could only be evil.

This cider is handmade and mildly offensive, but you'll get over it.

2016, sourced from low yielding gnarly bush vines.  Largely aged between 35 and 80 years. This wine is Barossa Grenache at its best.  Bright red fruits and spice flow on to a rich, yet savory palate delivering a wine of elegance.  Tight structure and tremendous length  The subtle use of French oak enhances the true varietal characters of this classic Barossa Grenache.  

You can create mixed drinks with a sophisticated, contemporary flair with this worldwide favorite. Enjoy this smooth and mellow Bourbon with its long and soft finish. Savor its unique aromas and flavors in your favorite Bourbon cocktail, on the rocks, or with a splash.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: Pear and light fruitiness, floral, gentle spice, honey.
Palate: Crisp, yet soft & smooth, fresh fruit, hints of apple.
Finish: Soft & smooth.

Exceptional North Canterbury Pinot Noir made in small volumes from the evocatively named isolated hill vineyard in Waiau. Spicy aromas and structured tannins lead into a full body wine made using indigenous yeast fermentation and spending 26 days on skins with ageing for 15 months in French oak.

This wine comes from winemaker Dom Maxwell, the talented winemaker at Greystone. Forager is his own personal winemaking project. 

From 45-70+ year old vines, this is proper Pinot Blanc from Alsace. The soft, honeyed apple and stone fruit is delicious but restrained, so what can shine through is the beautiful texture and layers of mineral and spicy/herbal notes. Schoffit's cuvee includes the rare Auxerrois variety that traditionally shared the same name as Pinot Blanc in Alsace. An elegant starter for aperitif, fish or white meat. "This is flat out delicious wine!"

Strikingly piquant, ultra-floral andseductively perfumed, this luxuriousliqueur is fabulously fleshy andbrimming with spice-saturated, plumand berry sweetness and laced withcassis and peppercorn characters. Plusit’s perfect with gooey blue cheese.

Bottled in 2021, this retsina from Gaia has a screw cap to preserve freshness. Retsina dates back to the Greece of ancient times and is made with the addition of resin from the pine tree Pinus halepensis during fermentation. 

European wine legislation has recognized it as a "traditional appellation" wine that can only be produced in Greece. Although in the past Retsina has been associated with bad oxidized and resin-exaggerated wines that many tourists have experienced during their holidays in Greece, today Retsina is a completely different delicate taste experience. Gaia decided to create a "new wave" or style around Retsina, RITINITIS NOBILIS, to redefine and reposition the quality context of their traditional wine.

Gaia produces Ritinitis Nobilis using modern winemaking technology and by adding a very carefully calculated amount of pine resin as fermenting "must" from selected grapes of the Roditis variety growing on the hills around Corinth in the Peloponnese. The result is an elegant and refreshing wine with a perfect balance between pine and grapes. Ritinitis Nobilis is a lovely partner for Greek dishes and Spanish tapas and is best enjoyed chilled to around 8?-10?C.

Stone Paddock Chardonnay is a lightly oaked wine. Showing ripe tropical fruit and peach aromas with fine grapefruit and mineral undertones. The gentle influence of oak accentuates the sweet stonefruit, melon and grapefruit flavours. The texture is creamy and luscious with a fine minerality on the finish. 

Chateau Roubine is one of the oldest wine estates in France and has been making wine since the 14th Century in Provence in the south east. The property was awarded with the cru classe title in 1953 by the French Ministry of Agriculture. 

The bottle this rose is in today reflects the chateau's long history and is printed with the Templar coat of arms, featuring a dragon and lion protected by the sun's rays. The vineyard is planted in 13 different grape varieties and this is a dry, light bodied, refreshing Mediterranean rose.