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One of the best ryes on the market is Rittenhouse, produced by Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Recently, we ran out and hit our favorite cheapo booze spot - Warehouse Wines on Broadway - to buy some more. Surprisingly they were out, as was Astor and any number of places. We were perplexed and started hearing that there was no more to be found. A bartender at Summit Bar said they had been out for awhile and a bartender at Pegu Club seemed to think they had just gotten some in but it wasn't on the shelf. Bottlerocket seemed to have given up - it was on backorder - and was stocking some other rye. Just weird.

Glenlivet is known for producing solid single malts for the upscale market - you know the ubiquitous Oban/Glenfiddich/Highland Parks that you see in every fine restaurant in town. But Glenlivet is also making some interesting higher end products like its 18 year old Nadurra Triumph (nadurra means natural in Gaelic), landing in stores this month.

The Nadurra Triumph is the second incarnation made in this style - the first was aged 16 years. The new release was distilled and casked in 1991 (think George Bush the first) and only now seeing the light of day. It was made using just a single strain of grain - Triumph barley - and then non-chill filtered to retain the flavor.

Tasting notes:

Initial impression is somewhat unexpected, with little on the nose when first opened. However, the scotch starts to reveal itself fairly quickly - we tasted without water or ice but it might be a good idea to help open her up. End result is a very smooth, well balanced, easy to drink scotch. Flavors are complex with some fruit and a bit of wood. Overall, very good.

Glenlivet Nadurra Triumph has a suggest retail price of $85 but is available at Shoppers Vineyard in Clifton NJ for $69. In Manhattan, Park Avenue Liquors (292 Madison Avenue) stocks it as well.

Cava may be Spain's national sparkler but finding a good one in the U.S. is really tough to do. Thankfully Tinto Fino, the excellent wine shop devoted exclusively to Spanish wine, has a good one - Avinyo Brut Reserva from Cataluna. This cava ($21) is fresh and crisp with a nice minerality. It's made from the first press of organic macabeo, parellada and xarel-lo grapes and is dry with just a hint of sweetness.

If you haven't been to Tinto Fino (85 First Ave, web), it's worth a stop when you're in the East Village. Their selection of wines is impressive.

Of the many booze options we tasted at yesterday's Food Network gala tasting, the most surprising was Lanson Champagne. Apparently very popular in other countries - it's the #2 champagne in the UK and the house bubbly at Wimbledon - Lanson is largely unknown here even though it is one of the oldest champagne houses, founded in 1760. But we highly recommend both the NV Black Label Brut and the light, dry delicious rose - both among the best champagnes in the price range.

Lanson Black Label Brut retails for around $30 - $35 with the best price we've found being $30.95 at Sherry-Lehman. The rose is much harder to find but if you do it's well worth the price, generally $10 more a bottle.