Editorial

St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching and if you're anything like us, you'll take any opportunity to pour yourself an extra-tall glass of a Fine Irish Whiskey. While there are plenty of good Irish Whiskies on the market, it can be hard to know what to choose and where to start… and how to separate the good from the greats. Luckily - as we see no shortage of Whiskies here at Wally’s, we can help with that! Compiled by Wally’s expert Spirits Buyer, shop our list below of our top essential Irish Whiskies that we’ll be celebrating with this holiday. And then grab a bottle, grab a friend, (steer clear of the green beer), and get to drinkin’ the good stuff! Sláinte!

#10. The Irishman Cask Strength Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Wally's Price: $169.99

Beautiful, full-bodied, whiskey with plenty of kick and a long, spiced finish, The Irishman come in strictly limited quantities with just over 3,500 bottles produced in 2017. Each bottle is numbered, signed, and comes in a gorgeous wooden box so you can treasure the memories with this souvenir after the whiskey is long gone.

#9. Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $54.99

Matured in refill bourbon and sherry casks, this 7-10 year pot still whiskey hit the scene only six years ago in the United States. Since then it has become one of the most popular on the market and is celebrated for its robust and fabulous flavor.

#8. Midleton Barry Crocket Irish Whiskey

Wally's Price: $299.99

Named for the Master Distiller, this beautifully packaged whiskey was aged in bourbon and new oak to add richness to this already magnificent product. This whiskey is full of international accolades, and rightly so: it has honey, rosemary, and toffee apples on the nose; tobacco leaves, toffee, vanilla, and boiled sweets on the palate; and a creamy, vanilla, and spice finish.

#7. Egans Fortitude Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $40.00

Egan’s Fortitude is a tribute to one of the distillery’s founders, Henry Egan. This was unusually matured entirely in a Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for a marriage that is sweet and smoky. Bottled at 46% abv, it has the smoothness of Irish whiskey with the flavor of a sweet single malt, and a long, lingering finish.

#6. Connemara Cask Strength Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey (115.8 Proof)

Wally's price: $75.00

One of the very few peated Irish whiskeys. This was bottled at natural cask strength and provides a smoky punch to a delicate whiskey. It was crowned best unaged Irish Single Malt at the World Whisky Awards in 2010. This is a bottling designed for a true whiskey aficionado.

#5. Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $175.00

A blend of rare pot still and grain Irish whiskeys from the most famous Irish producer. They age separately for 18 years and then are blended together in a honeymoon finish. Toffee and oak on the palate with subtle notes of leather, vanilla, and a slight nuttiness end in a long, sweet finish.

#4. Teeling 24 Year Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $500.00

A real collector's piece. This whiskey spends years in bourbon wood, followed by a finish in Sauternes wine casks. This dual maturation produces a layered experience of fruit flavors with a smoky presence. Not for the faint of heart, this has a limited 5000 bottle run.

#3. Red Spot 15 Year Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $130.00

This whiskey is just now getting its stateside release! It undergoes maturation in three casks: Bourbon, Sherry, and Marsala. Sure to be sold out as soon as the word gets out that it’s available in these United States.

#2. Knappogue Castle 12 Year Pichon Baron Irish Single Malt Whiskey

Wally's price: $95.00

Non-chill filtered, triple distilled, this whiskey spends twelve years in bourbon casks followed by further maturation in the great Bordeaux casks of Pichon Baron. Only 1,100 bottles for the whole world…this may sound like plenty for us all, but this rare whiskey will fly off the shelves.

#1. Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength Irish Whiskey

Wally's price: $74.99

My deserted island whiskey. That’s right: if I could only choose one drink to have on a deserted island, it would Redbreast 12-year cask strength whiskey. Power, depth, concentration - all the bells and whistles that would make even the most isolated island an amazing adventure. This is a true masterpiece from the Midleton distillery that can be enjoyed neat or with water.

Delight your loved ones, or indulge yourself, with any of these fantastic Rosé Champagnes this Valentine's Day. Chosen with an array of price points in mind by Wally's exclusive Champagne Buyer, below are our top recommendations sure to make a memorable and decadent addition to your holiday celebration!

NV Lanson Rosé Brut

Wally's Price: $50

92 Points - Wine Spectator

This beautiful rosé champagne from Lanson is comprised of 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier, coming from many different Cru over ten different years. It's difficult to pinpoint the individual flavors, so well is this put together, but fresh berries and graphite come to mind, along with flowers and citrus. Very complex, with a long, lingering aftertaste. It blends nicely with roundness and freshness, and beautiful texture. Shop Now

NV Henriot Brut Rosé

Wally's price: $70

93 points - Wine Enthusiast

With a high percentage of reserve wines from older vintages in the blend, this is a rich and maturely ripe wine. It has touches of red fruit along with acidity, but its main pleasure is the yeasty edge and the depth of flavor. It is comprised of 50% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier, sourced from the Montagne the Reims. Pale in appearance with a copper tint - On the nose, this Champagne may surprise with its fruit driven style which also blends rich pastry cream and sweet brioche notes. The taste culminates with a lingering touch of mouthwatering sweetness, perfect for such a sweet Holiday. Shop now

NV Veuve Clicquot Rosé

Wally's Price: $75

90 points - Wine Spectator

There's a smoky underpinning to this firm ros, with the lively bead carrying delicate flavors of white raspberry, toast, orange peel and ground ginger. Madame Clicquot created the first blended Rosé in 1818 by adding some red wine to Yellow Label Champagne. The blend of 44/48% Pinot Noir, 25/29% Chardonnay, 13/18% Pinot Meunier create the base of the Yellow Label which is then blended with 12% of red wine specially raised to give balance. Coppery-orange in color, vinous palate, and expressive aromas of very ripe wild strawberries define the experience. Shop Now

NV Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé

Wally's price: $85

90 points - Wine Spector

90 points - Wine Advocate

91 points - Vinous

40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, create a romantic and aromatic champagne. The NV Brut Rose emerges from the glass with the essence of freshly cut flowers, berries and minerals in a mid-weight, gracious style. It shows gorgeous inner perfume, along with persistent notes of chalkiness that frame the long, sublime finish. Year in, year out, this estates NV Brut Rose is one of the most consistently outstanding wines in the region. Shop Now

Ruinart Rosé

Wally's price: $89

92 points - Wine Spectator

92 points - Vinous

The very first rosé champagne to make its appearance dating back to the 18th century. 45% Chardonnay, 55% Pinot Noir create a delicate pomegranate pink champagne with slightly orange reflections. Initially restrained floral and red berry aromas build dramatically, picking up notes of more exotic flowers and smoked meat while retaining vibrancy. Firm redcurrant and strawberry flavors offer impressive clarity and depth, with an exotic blood orange quality carrying into the finish. Really lovely stuff, offering an uncommon combination of flavor impact and finesse. Shop Now

NV Krug Brut Rosé Champagne

Wally's price: $340

95 points - Wine Spectator

96 points - Wine Advocate

Krug Rosé is an unexpected rosé Champagne combining distinction and boldness. Every year Krug debuts a new edition blending Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier going beyond the very notion of vintage. Pale copper in color, this richly expressive ros shows an overall sense of finesse, but also well-defined tension between the vibrant acidity and finely detailed mousse that carries flavors of dried white cherry and apricot, Mandarin orange peel, espresso and honey, with an expansive finish of exotic clove and cardamom spice.It has a subtle pink color, with a long, satisfying finish and extra fine bubbles. Shop Now

2008 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame Brut Rosé

Wally's price: $350

93 points - Wine Enthusiast

La Grande Dame is an homage to Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, a woman who took over her late husband’s business in 1805, turning his winery into one of the most celebrated champagne houses to ever exist. Credited as the inventor of the riddling technique and the only woman to hold such a significant role in the industry, she was known as the Grande Dame of Champagne.Veuve Clicquot's 2008 prestige cuvée is a ripe, mature wine. With toastiness coming from soft fruit and a rich textured character, it is a classic of this producer's ripe style. The wine's acidity and crisp edge make a good contrast to the full-bodied character. Incredibly special, yet richly timeless. Shop Now

Mod Sélection Rosé Champagne With Gift Box

Wally's price: $450

A superb expression of elegance and vinticulture. This Rosé de Saignée undergoes a proprietary cold-soaked maceration at harvest maximizing freshness and vitality utilizing the rare saignée method. The pale salmon-hued nectar draws you near with its rich and seductive bouquet. On the palate, luscious fresh red fruit and extra-fine mousse harmonize to create a long, succulent finish. Shop Now

2008 Roederer Cristal Rosé

Wally's price: $700

96 points - Wine Enthusiast

Created 100 years after Cristal, it comes from selected old-vines for the Aÿ Grand Cru vineyard cultivated according to biodynamic principles. 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, the attack reveals an aromatic intensity followed by a full, round and refined texture. The Cellar Master, Jean Baptiste Lécaillon considers "the Cristal Rosé 2008 as close to perfection as it can be: perfect maturity combined with a crystalline freshness." With its red fruits still in place, it also has a toasty yeasty edge that is sophisticated and enticing. Shop Now

2000 Dom Perignon Luminous Rosé 1.5 L

Wally's price: $999.99

96 points - Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate Notes: The 2000 Dom Perignon Rose is a flashy, ripe Champagne that screams Pinot to a degree I have never encountered in another vintage of this wine. A dark, intense color leads to a Chambolle-like nose followed by endless red berries, flowers and spices, all backed up with plenty of muscle, richness and density. The wine continues to blossom on the palate, with utterly beguiling detail, clarity and polish, all qualities that resonate on the rich, expansive finish. The 2000 Dom Perignon Rose is 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot Noir, of which 25% is still Pinot. Geoffroy says his goal was to make a statement with the 2000 Dom Perignon Rose; he has done that and so much more. In fact, the 2000 seems to signal a stylistic shift towards a more important, serious style of rose. Behind the screaming label of this edition, the bottle holds a superb wine that demands serious attention for whoever tries to grasp the marvelous complexity. And the Magnum format allows to be engaged in such a journey with friends. This superb wine is not to be missed. Shop Now

Don't settle for another boring box of generic chocolates for Valentine's Day. These sumptuous chocolates are among the highest quality sweets available, sure to make a memorable and decadent gift - or a treat for yourself on this special day!

V. Chocolate Caramels

Wally's Price: $34.99 for 32 Piece Box

V. Chocolates master chocolatier Ron Best has been creating luxuriously rich and smooth chocolates for more than twenty years. A connoisseur of fine chocolates with an exquisite palette, Best has cultivated an extraordinary ability to create the world's finest chocolate candies. V. Chocolate Caramels are particularly marvelous: buttery, sweet, dipped in rich Belgian chocolate, and topped with nuts. There is simply nothing better on earth.

Yvan Valentin Chocolat Truffles

Wally's Price: $30 for 1/2 Pound Box

The LA-based chocolatier creates ineffably light, barely-sweet dark chocolate ganache cloaked in a thin shell of dark chocolate and then rolled in cocoa. The result is classic and utterly satisfying. Fans of traditional truffles will have a delightfully elevated experience with Yvan Valentin!

B Toffee

Wally's Price: $18.99

Based out of Newport Beach, B. Toffee adds fantastic ingredients to their hand-crafted recipe with sleek and sophisticated packaging to create a positively fabulous dessert. B. Toffee is composed of provocative manipulation of savory butters, fine domestic sugars, and premium Guittard and Callebaut chocolates topped with superior quality pecan nuts...simply the best!

Dick Taylor Chocolate

Wally's Price: $9

We'll let Dick Taylor Chocolate explain:

"THE MOST HANDS-ON APPROACH WE COULD TAKE WAS TO START WITH THE RAW CACAO. WE ARE ABLE TO SOURCE THE FINEST FAIRLY-TRADED CACAO AND PERFORM ALL THE STEPS IN-HOUSE TO TURN THE RAW INGREDIENTS INTO DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE, ALL IN OUR SMALL FACTORY IN EUREKA, CALIFORNIA. THIS ENTIRE PROCESS TAKES APPROXIMATELY THREE WEEKS TO COMPLETE BUT ALLOWS US TO MAKE SOME OF THE FINEST CHOCOLATE POSSIBLE. WE USE ORGANIC CACAO AND ORGANIC CANE SUGAR IN OUR CHOCOLATE. BY NOT CUTTING CORNERS OR TAKING SHORTCUTS IN OUR PROCESS WE ARE ABLE TO LEAVE OUT VANILLA, ADDITIONAL COCOA BUTTER OR OTHER EMULSIFIERS, IN HOPES OF CAPTURING AND HIGHLIGHTING THE SUBTLE FLAVOR NUANCES IN THE CACAO WE SOURCE FROM AROUND THE WORLD. WE HOPE YOU WILL GET AS MUCH ENJOYMENT EATING OUR CHOCOLATE AS WE DO MAKING IT."

To'Ak Chocolate

Wally's Price: $685

What says I love you? A $685 bar of chocolate! To'ak Chocolate is an Ecuadorian company founded in 2013 by Jerry Toth and Carl Schweizer. To'ak (prounounced Toe-Ahk) chocolate bars are produced with the very rare variety of Arriba cacao called Nacional cocoa, which some experts formerly believed to be extinct. It is said to have more floral notes and richness of flavors than any other cacao variety. The Heirloom Nacional cacao bar produced by To'ak Chocolate is considered to be the most expensive chocolate bar in the world.

Manoa Goat's Milk Chocolate

Wally's Price: $9

In 2010, this bean-to-bar chocolate factory debuted in the small city of Kailua on the island of Oahu. It quickly became known for its commitment to locally sourced beans as well sourcing additional beans from premier worldwide destinations. The founders built a chocolate kitchen from scratch and infused Hawaiian culture into their company’s vision and approach to sustainability. The result was a chocolate bar that is both refreshingly new, healthy, and rich in the local tradition. Word of Manoa spread quite rapidly as a result of their commitment to quality. Today, Manoa Chocolate continues to do successfully deliver on their mission: to create a remarkable dark chocolate bar.

Click Here to Shop Our Full Selection of Chocolate Products!

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